When Jason hesitated between pink or blue, she fondly pulled out her black card and bought out the entire store.
Just as I, battered and disheveled, walked into the store, I heard the shop assistant say to Jason with heartfelt admiration.
“Mr. Woods, you’re so lucky to have such a wonderful wife. The baby’s not even born yet and it already has the most loving mother in the world.”
Staring at the little star-patterned hair tie around my wrist, I suddenly recalled that day when our daughter, Yura, was rushed into the ER with acute meningitis.
I had called Vivian 199 times. Her phone was on, yet she didn’t answer even once.
Inside the emergency room, our daughter whispered to me, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s, “Daddy, I won’t sneak milk candies anymore.”
I cried as I gently stroked her face. “Why would you say that, baby?”
“Because… Mommy must be mad if I wasn’t obedient… That’s why she doesn’t want to come see me. Dad… I’m sorry… I'm such a useless child. I couldn’t help you get Mommy’s love.”
As my daughter lay dying, I knelt with no dignity at the doorstep of Jason’s apartment, begging him to let Vivian come with me to the hospital just for a moment.
What I got instead was Jason summoning bodyguards to pin me to the ground and slap me over and over.
By the time the doctor called to say my daughter had passed, Vivian had just woken up and slowly opened the door.
She looked at my swollen face, too bruised to form words and said indifferently, "I told you not to bother Jason. This is the price you pay for not behaving yourself."
Snapping out of my thoughts, I dropped all the shopping bags and turned to leave. But Vivian coldly grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the luxury watch store on the top floor.
"Ethan, haven’t you always been whining about wanting a watch?"
Watching her grip my wrist and casually start picking out watches for me, Jason quietly clenched his jaw.
He squeezed in between Vivian and me, wrapped his arm around her waist and gave me a mocking smile.
"Ethan, if it weren't for your selfless kidney donation, my body might’ve already collapsed. Vivian, how about we treat Ethan to a nice dinner tonight to show our thanks?"
Vivian gently helped Jason smooth out his bangs with a tender look in her eyes. "My precious Jason, whatever you say goes. I’ll listen to everything you want."