The day she found out she had caught a sexually transmitted disease was also Beatrice Fairleigh’s birthday.

The doctor explained, “This condition is only spread through inappropriate relations between men and women. In your situation, it has already developed into cancer.”

She hurriedly searched on her phone, wishing that among the huge amount of online information she could find just one proof, one would be enough, saying this was not a sexually transmitted disease.

But the vast internet gave her only one answer: the doctor was right.

However, from the first time she broke that boundary until now, Jaxon Carter had been the only one.

She walked home like a walking corpse, about to remind Jaxon to go for a check as well. After all, they were husband and wife; if she was infected, he might already be too.

Yet before she reached the doorway, she heard her daughter, Millicent Carter, calling out excitedly inside the house.

“Wow! Aunt Sienna is really great, and managed to get a personally signed comic. Unlike my mom, who has no abilities at all. It would be nice if Aunt Sienna were my mom.”

Beatrice tensely pushed the door open, only to see Millicent happily embracing Sienna Holland’s waist, while Sienna rested her head against hers, intimately close.

Jaxon watched quietly from the side, and they looked like a real family.

He noticed the motion at the door and saw that Beatrice had come home. He frowned as he spoke, “Why are you only coming back now?”

Millicent shouted, “Mom, why are you so slow at everything? You didn’t even cook food. Aunt Sienna is about to go hungry.”

They acted as though they hadn’t seen Beatrice’s drained face and as if they had fully forgotten today was her birthday.

Beatrice walked numbly, completely ignoring their stares, and when she lifted her eyes, she noticed that a two-tier cake had actually been placed on the coffee table.

Her already numb heart felt as if it had begun beating again. She looked toward Jaxon and Millicent with pleased surprise.

So they still remembered her birthday.

But Jaxon looked away from Beatrice as though ignoring her, picked up the cake, and said to Sienna, “Sienna, we didn’t take good care of you today. Let’s go eat out together.”

“Hooray! We’re going out to eat! No need to eat Mom’s cooking anymore. I want to eat ice cream!” Millicent excitedly shouted.

“Okay, I will buy you a super-large cone,” Sienna said as she touched Millicent’s head.

Beatrice quickly cut in. “In weather this cold, eating ice cream will make you sick. Millicent cannot eat it.”

“Hmm, mean mom. I hate you! Why must I obey you?” Millicent pulled a face and refused to look at Beatrice.

“Beatrice, you really spoil the mood, whatever you do. The kid is so happy, and you still insist on saying upsetting things.” Jaxon spoke as he walked out the door.

Millicent hooked her arms around Jaxon and Sienna and hopped toward the outside.

Beatrice quickly slipped on her shoes and anxiously tried to follow them, but just when she reached the underground garage, Jaxon’s car brushed past the tip of her nose and sped off.

Until midnight, they still had not come back home.

Beatrice sat in the dark living room, tensely gripping her phone. Jaxon, who normally never posts on Facebook, posted one today.

It said, [Congratulations to Sienna on her promotion. Today is truly a good day.]

In the picture, Sienna had cake spread across her face, Millicent was planting a kiss on her cheek, and Jaxon was watching her fondly, affection almost spilling off the screen.

The light from the phone display lit up Beatrice’s face, cool and pale.

So nobody remembered her birthday; that cake didn't belong to her either.

From what time had things turned into this? The Jaxon from earlier days would even celebrate the day they first met.

The Millicent from the past, the first thing she did each morning after waking was to kiss Beatrice’s cheek.

So could love disappear? The love that grew from campus to wedding dress, the family warmth that grew from crying infancy to strong growth, what Beatrice once believed would never shift, had all become unfamiliar.

Sienna, this woman who, since university, had called herself Jaxon’s “brother”, broke into Beatrice’s life like heavy rain, taking away her happiness.

Her lower body suddenly pulsed with waves of hurt, and the doctor’s words sounded again inside her ears.

“There are currently clinical trial treatments overseas for this type of disease, but it remains in the human experiment phase. After treatment, how well it works is still uncertain. If you want to try, we can assist you in making contact. Think carefully, and you can contact us.”

The doctor told Beatrice that after the application got approved, she would leave in one month.

Because of the confidential nature of the experiment, once she reached overseas, she would cut off contact with everything in the country.

Beatrice found the business card the doctor had given and sent a message. [I am signing up to participate in the human experiment.]

Through the whole night, Jaxon and Millicent didn't return.

Beatrice kept her eyes open until dawn and still didn't hear their voices.

Early the following morning, while Beatrice was arranging clothes, she noticed the family photo album, and her sorting motions paused.

She turned through it page after page with care, worried about ruining the pictures.

Each of these pictures was like the first half of her life.

When they were attending university, she and Jaxon held hands, smiling happily toward the camera.

When they graduated from university, Jaxon, in a bachelor’s gown, held her close, the smile on his face as if he was hugging the entire world.

At the wedding ceremony, Jaxon, a grown man, even cried in front of many family members and friends because he was marrying her.

When Millicent was born, Jaxon held Beatrice’s hand and said affectionately, “Wife, we will never have another child. I cannot bear to let you be so tired.”

As Beatrice watched, the edges of her eyes slowly grew wet. The kindness from the past was still clear in front of her, making the ugliness of the present feel even more shocking.

The farther she turned in the album, the less often she appeared; the protagonist in the photos slowly became Sienna.

When Jaxon’s business plan succeeded, Sienna stood beside him, closely holding onto him under the guise of brotherly closeness.

At that time, Beatrice objected to how close they were. Jaxon tapped the tip of her nose and said fondly, “Jealous? I just enjoy watching the way you look when you get jealous.”

Beatrice acted upset. Jaxon gently rubbed against her neck. “Beatrice, don’t worry. In my eyes, Sienna is only like a man. I would never possibly like her.”

When Millicent had her birthday, Sienna stood between Jaxon and Millicent. They laughed happily, as if she were Millicent’s real mother.

At that moment, Beatrice kept complaining to Jaxon that Sienna was too involved in their life, but Jaxon slowly grew annoyed. “Sienna is my brother. How many times do you want me to repeat it!?”

Later, Beatrice completely vanished from the album. The woman in the album turned into Sienna, Jaxon’s “brother”, Millicent’s godmother.

Beatrice weakly shut the album, unable to keep looking. She was afraid the hurt in her heart would rip her apart.

Jaxon came back at this time. Surrounded by the sweet heavy smell of women’s perfume, he walked toward Beatrice holding roses.

“Wife, flowers for you.”

Beatrice moved away from Jaxon’s hug. He believed the scent of roses could hide the perfume smell on his body.

But he didn't know that just the night before, Beatrice had smelled that strong rose-style perfume on Sienna.

How could the natural smell of roses hide the specially mixed perfume scent?

Besides, she had never liked roses and was even allergic to roses.

“Why are you suddenly giving me flowers?” Beatrice frowned and didn’t accept the bouquet.

Jaxon said gently, “I saw the flowers looked nice, so I brought them to you. Why are there so many questions?”

The hope that had just appeared in Beatrice instantly turned into dust.

Jaxon didn't remember her birthday; giving flowers was only his way to hide the smell.

“You know, I have always disliked roses, only lilies,” Beatrice said quietly.

“Then, should we go buy lilies together? I was thinking you could sometimes change your preference,” Jaxon said casually.

“Do you want me to change my preference, or do you yourself want to change your preference? Or is it that you want to change people?”

Jaxon froze and suddenly said in anger, “If you don’t like it, then forget it. Is there any need to be this serious?”

Jaxon threw the flowers aside carelessly and walked into the room without turning back.

Beatrice’s phone got a text message. It was birthday wishes sent to her from the mobile official site and the bank.

Besides that, her message inbox was totally empty. Nobody remembered her or cared for her.

She bitterly lifted the corner of her lips, but tears fell one after another onto the phone, wetting the screen.

The phone ringtone suddenly sounded, and Beatrice jerked awake in surprise.

It was Millicent’s teacher calling. As soon as the call connected, the person on the other end anxiously shouted, “Millicent already has a fever of 39 degrees. Why are you still sending her to school?”

Beatrice’s tears suddenly stopped. With no chance to sort her feelings, she answered the teacher in a hoarse voice. “I’ll come right now.”

After ending the call, she rushed into the room and nervously told Jaxon, “Millicent has a very high fever! I am going to school now. Can you drive me there?”

Resting on the bed, Jaxon casually waved his hand. “Just call a taxi yourself. It is such a minor issue, don't disturb me.”

Before Beatrice could respond, he rolled over and kept sleeping with his back facing her.

No one knew until what time he and Sienna had been wild last night, for him to fall asleep in the middle of the day, and even stay uncaring after hearing his daughter was ill.

Beatrice didn't know how to drive. When they had just married, she truly wanted to learn to drive and had already enrolled in the driving school.

Back then, the moment she came home, she happily told Jaxon about it, but Jaxon said, “Why learn to drive? Isn't it me to be at home? You are my princess; I will be your personal driver.”

Beatrice was held back and persuaded by Jaxon so she would not learn how to drive. In the end, she stopped learning to drive and didn't even get the lesson fee returned.

At first, Jaxon was very willing to pick Beatrice up and dropped off. Every day, he drove her to and from work, drawing jealous looks from people around them.

But after she became pregnant, Jaxon slowly showed up less. He often said his job kept him busy and told her to ride a taxi home on her own.

Beatrice felt sorry that Jaxon was struggling by himself. He had only recently opened his own law firm. To save money, she didn't even want to take a taxi and squeezed onto the subway every day with her large belly.

However, the constant heavy workload and the tiring commute left Beatrice worn out in both body and mind, and she began to show signs of threatened miscarriage.

After Jaxon found out, his eyes turned red as he hit his own head. “This is all because I cannot make enough money, making you go through this, and I almost made us lose the baby.”

Beatrice’s heart ached, and she held Jaxon’s hand. “I was careless while pushing onto the subway. Next time I will definitely, definitely pay attention. Don’t blame yourself.”

Jaxon lifted his head and looked at her with shining eyes. “Wife, stop working, okay? For our child, just stay home and rest during this period. Compared with money, our child matters more, right?”

Beatrice had always believed women should be independent to control their own lives, but for the child, she hesitated. In the end, under Jaxon’s hopeful look, she gave a stiff nod. From that moment, she stepped back little by little and became a housewife, never going out to work again.

And Jaxon, in the life afterward, time after time only showed her his back. She had already lost track of how many times she had seen it, just like the scene today.

But now time was tight, and Beatrice simply had no chance to think further. She could only hurry downstairs to flag a taxi.

It was the morning rush hour now, and heavy rain was falling, making it hard to catch a taxi.

By the time Beatrice reached the school, she was already wet all over. Her down coat had flattened, tightly sticking to her body. Her body would not stop shaking. The pain in her lower body grew even clearer, faintly leaking thin lines of blood.

But she truly could not focus on herself. Leaning forward and barely bearing the discomfort, she anxiously looked for Millicent’s figure.

Seeing her condition, the teacher was shocked. “How did you end up like this? Did you come by yourself? Where is the child’s father?”

Beatrice had no time to reply and only anxiously asked, “Where is Millicent?”

The teacher pointed toward one corner of the classroom. Millicent’s cheeks were bright red, resting weakly on the desk.

Beatrice painfully picked up Millicent and hurried straight to the hospital. Along the way, she carefully shielded Millicent, not letting her catch even one drop of rain, while her own hair was already wet.

The doctor addressed Beatrice with blame. “Why do you only take the child to the hospital after the fever lasts this long? With a fever like this, she already had it yesterday. Now it becomes very risky!”

Beatrice looked in pain at Millicent in her arms, wishing she could bear the illness instead of her.

After they went into the ward, she herself already felt very cold and kept coughing and sneezing, yet she still remained beside Millicent without moving a single step, from time to time placing her hand on the girl’s forehead to check if the fever had dropped.

After one bottle of IV drip was finally finished, Millicent slowly came awake.

Beatrice’s eyes brightened with happiness. After Millicent woke up, she looked around the room once. The first words she said after seeing her were, “Looking at you is really never anything nice!”

Beatrice felt her joy vanish like cold water had been thrown over it, and her eyes slowly grew dim.