Isaiah didn’t come back home that night.

Just like their last few wedding anniversaries, Astrid was left all by herself watching over the table full of dishes she had prepared.

She waited until night turned into day again.

In the past, she would have called him relentlessly and almost begged him to come home to celebrate with her.

But now, she was no longer willing to humiliate herself.

Besides, Isaiah never cared about their marriage anyway.

Nor did he ever care about her and Coco.

She picked up the fork and went for a particularly large piece of marinated pork rib.

The rib was very difficult to swallow and somehow tasted bitter in her mouth.

It was a perfect analogy for their marriage for the last five years. There was never even a hint of sweetness, only sadness and bitterness.

She poured all of the leftover dishes into the bin and proceeded to pack up her luggage.

Then she deleted all photos of Isaiah from her phone.

She even tore their wedding pictures.

She went another step further and even uprooted all the sunflowers she used to plant for him in the garden.

After everything was done, she dragged her exhausted body upstairs to coax Coco to bed.

To her horror, she found Coco in bed with her cheeks flushed red and a speck of blood on the corner of her lips!

She almost shrieked in horror and immediately rushed Coco to the hospital.

Doctor Daniel Niell was assigned to attend to Coco.

He put a stethoscope over Coco’s chest and began his examination.

That was when they heard a familiar voice from outside the ward, “Which ward is Doctor Niell assigned to?”

“Mommy, I think that’s Uncle Isaiah!”

Coco's eyes lit up as she spoke, “Does he know I’m sick? Is that why he came to see me? Good thing I’m still in my school uniform!

“He once told me I looked very cute wearing it!”

Astrid told herself it was impossible.

Despite that, she could not deny that she felt a tinge of eagerness as well.

Perhaps Isaiah did come to visit Coco out of the goodness of his heart.

Coco had been coughing and getting sick frequently lately.

Isaiah’s mother had been calling Astrid recently to check on Coco’s condition as well. She would also instruct Isaiah to pay attention to Coco.

When Astrid turned, she almost lost her balance.

Isaiah was holding a little girl while Juno was trailing behind them with a gentle look in her eyes.

“There’s nothing wrong with Emmie, it’s just a light cough. Don’t be so dramatic about it!

“Doctor Niell is very busy, let him attend to his patient first!”

"Juno, it’s not just a cough!” Isaiah looked like a nervous wreck.

“What if it develops into something more serious, like a lung infection? That’s very dangerous!”

The light in Coco's eyes instantly went out, and she suddenly hunched over and started coughing violently.

The sight of it made Astrid’s heart twist into a knot. She patted Coco on the back and turned to Doctor Niell.

"Doctor, Coco’s fever won’t go away, and she’s even coughing up blood. Please tell me if there’s anything wrong with her! It's not pneumonia, is it?”

Doctor Niell did not respond, he looked like he was put in a difficult spot.

Astrid turned to Isaiah and pleaded, “Doctor Lear, could you help me? My daughter’s condition is very serious and she needs to be looked at…”

Isaiah frowned when he noticed the speck of blood on the corner of Coco’s lips.

Again, his sympathy lasted only for an instant.

Then, he suddenly declared firmly, “Doctor, please attend to Emmie!”

Astrid looked at Isaiah in disbelief.

She felt chills all over her body.

Isaiah was not even trying to hide his favoritism for Emmie. He completely ignored Coco’s grief and tears in her eyes.

Coco did not mean anything to him!

Astrid walked away with Coco and took a taxi to another hospital.

When the doctor gave Coco an injection, the girl who had always been afraid of needles held back her tears and told Astrid, “Mommy, look, I’m not crying. Do you think Uncle Isaiah will like me just a little more if he knows? Would he come to visit me?”

Astrid looked at the longing in her eyes and felt like crying again.

“Coco, you are a strong and sensible girl. You deserve the affection of someone better.”

“But I want Uncle Isaiah to like me,” Coco sobbed.

“Even now, I don’t know what it’s like to have him hug me.”

Astrid felt like she’d been stabbed and subconsciously clenched her fists.

There goes your second chance, Isaiah!

You only have one last chance!

After receiving emergency treatment at the hospital, Coco's condition was finally under control.

Astrid was very attentive and made porridge for her to eat as well.

However, Coco had no appetite and refused to eat at all.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

She did her best to force herself to swallow the porridge before telling Astrid, “Mommy, I will lead the dance on stage at school on Children's Day.

“Would you call Uncle Isaiah and ask him to watch my performance?”

Astrid’s hand froze midway. “You want him to come?”

“I do. I really do. It’s going to be my first time performing on stage. It will be the last time I ever ask him to come watch my performance…

“I only hope he will remember the way I shine on stage and never forget about me.”

Sensing Astrid’s hesitant silence, Coco shook her head dejectedly and burst out in tears. “Never mind, I shouldn’t have asked for so much.”

“Coco, you’re not asking for too much.”

Astrid felt morose as she said that. She then reached for her phone and composed a text to send to Isaiah.

[Coco has a dance performance at her school on Children's Day, would you go watch her?]

As usual, there was no reply from him.

Coco stared at the display on Astrid’s phone without blinking.

Every time a notification popped up, she would become very excited. However, her excitement would only be rewarded with disappointment.

They waited until dawn.

“Is he not going to come watch me perform?” Coco asked and coughed violently again.

Then, she tried to justify it nonchalantly, “Maybe he’s just busy with all the surgeries, I understand. I don’t blame him.”

Astrid observed how sensible Coco was, but could not help but feel crushed.

She wanted to comfort her, but did not know how to at all.

Last night, even when Coco was facing an emergency medical crisis, Isaiah still mercilessly refused to attend to her and prioritized Emmie over her.

The sight of Coco trying to defend Isiah despite how much she was hurting was awful for Astrid to behold. She could not take it.

“Mommy, don't be sad! I would still be very happy that you get to watch me perform!

“Mommy is all I need,” she declared as she snuggled up to Astrid.

Astrid gently kissed her and smiled reluctantly, “You can do it, my dear. Mommy is looking forward to seeing your wonderful performance!”

Coco was very motivated by this and forced herself to finish another bowl of porridge and even had a couple of cherries.

While Coco was getting her IV drip, Astrid stayed with her and watched the instructional dance videos the teacher sent.

At one point, a notification message from Isaiah popped up.

[Okay.]

Astrid was overjoyed. She excitedly showed Coco the message, “Look, he says he’s going to come and watch you perform!”

“Really?”

Coco was just as enthused and showered Astrid with kisses.

“This is the first time Uncle Isaiah is going to see me perform, so I must do my best!

“Mommy, please help me put on my outfit. I want to practice right now!”

In their five years of marriage, this was the first time Isaiah made a promise with Coco.

Astrid was overjoyed, but could not quell her concern as well.

A voice inside her head wondered if Isaiah’s reply was nothing more than a typo.

However, she decided she could not rain on Coco’s parade when she saw how happy she was as she put on her outfit.

Isaiah’s reply gave Coco a boost of confidence.

Despite the condition of her body, she made herself practise for three hours in the ward.

When they were taking a break, she produced all kinds of little trinkets from her bag to show Astrid.

She was chirping away cheerily like a little bird.

“Look, this is a clay doll the teachers taught us to make during arts and crafts!

“Uncle Isaiah likes lions… Do you think he’ll be happy if I give him that?

“Mommy, I won sixteen badges this school year! I came in first place in class, and the principal gave me a box of chocolates! I saved it to eat with you and Uncle Isaiah on Children's Day!”

“That’s wonderful, you did a good job, Coco,” Astrid said with a smile.

She hoped Isaiah would not skip the appointment.

She hoped Coco would have an unforgettable Children’s Day before they left for good.

However, she could not shake the fear that her hopes would be all for nothing.

After hurriedly getting Coco discharged from the hospital, Astrid took her to the supermarket to buy the snacks and ribbons the teacher instructed them to bring tomorrow.

While Astrid was busy picking out snacks, Coco pranced up to her and asked in a voice filled with wonder, “Mommy, I saw Daddy picking out a doll in the gift section! Do you think it’s a Children’s Day present for me?”

Astrid turned around to look.

She spotted Isaiah, who seemed busy choosing a suitable doll.

He was wearing a gentle and affectionate smile while doing so.

Suddenly, from behind the rack, Emmie ran and wrapped herself around Isaiah’s leg and called out “Daddy!” in a cheery voice.

Then came Juno with a cup of yogurt.

Astrid quickly removed her earphones and put them on Coco while shielding her eyes in one smooth gesture, “I’m sure you’ll get a present. Come on, let’s go, it’s getting late.”

That night, Isaiah did not come home again.

Coco slept with Astrid and was so excited that she woke up before the sun had risen.

She happily stuffed the rainbow music box into her school bag, then she asked Astrid to braid her hair into a tiara around her head.

She even drew a family portrait and planned to give it to Isaiah as a gift to remember her by.

Astrid took Coco to the kindergarten and waited by the entrance for a while, but Isaiah was nowhere to be seen.

The one they ended up seeing was Juno and her daughter Emmie, who both dressed up.

Emmie was adorned in a sparkling dress similar to a real princess.

She showed it off to her schoolmates, “Look, my Daddy had this custom-made for me! He spent twenty thousand dollars on it!

“When he found out I liked princess dresses, he ordered hundreds of beautiful dresses for me!”

“Mommy, I just remembered something. Emmie is the transfer student who came to our kindergarten recently.

“Uncle Isaiah spoils her, I’m so jealous,” she said meekly.

Astrid suppressed the bitterness she felt and did not speak.

Both girls were the same age and liked princess dresses equally.

Isaiah spoiled one of them like a princess while the other was an eyesore as far as he was concerned. He would rather not mention her at all.

He did not even buy a gift for Coco.

At the shift in Astrid’s mood, Coco paused and asked hesitantly, “Is Uncle Isaiah not coming because he’s busy?”

Astrid decided to make up another lie to save Coco’s feelings from getting hurt.

She produced a doll and showed it to her, “Even though he’s not coming, he got a present for you.”

Coco immediately brightened at the sight of the doll.

“Look, everyone! My Daddy loves me so much that he got me a doll!”

All the children who were flocking around Emmie suddenly turned their attention to Coco’s doll.

Emmie declared arrogantly, “What a pleb! Who cares about a doll? My house is filled with dolls!”

Astrid was worried the children would get into a fight and wisely led Coco away.

To her surprise, Emmie ran toward Coco and began to scramble around inside her bag.

“Oh! So you’re the one who stole my rainbow music box!” she cried.

“You better give it back!”

Coco was caught off guard by the sudden shove from Emmie and fell on the grass.

The music box fell out of her hand and landed on the ground.

“Coco!”

Astrid was horrified and went to pick Coco up off the ground.

Coco’s right cheek was cut by a branch and was bleeding.

Then Juno’s voice called out, “Your daughter is a thief, Astrid! She deserves it!

“Tell her to return the music box to my daughter before I tell the parents’ group about this! You don’t want to get humiliated, do you?”

“I’m not giving it back!" Coco wrapped her arms around the music box to defend it and cried out grievously, “And I’m not a thief!”

Astrid was immediately enraged when she saw Coco in such a state.

“For the record, Ms. Calzier, “ she hissed, “it was her father who gave her the music box! You better quit pointing fingers, or I’ll break them!”

“What’s going on here?”

A man’s gentle voice broke across the scene.

Astrid turned toward the voice and frowned.

It was Isaiah.