My daughter Vilhelmina Kostomarov suffered a hemorrhage in a car accident. It put her life in danger. She needed her father’s rare blood type to save her life.

Unfortunately, my husband, Maximilian Kostomarov, who was the father of my daughter, didn't answer my phone calls. It made me panic at this time. It turned out that God's destiny had another will. My daughter, Vilhelmina, eventually died from lack of blood. She had not yet received intensive care.

Meanwhile, Maximilian still didn't answer my phone calls. That gave me the courage to look for him at the hospital. I searched the entire hospital. Finally, I heard him entwined in love with his assistant in the locker room. It was the most embarrassing and disgusting thing in my life. I lost my child and my husband was having an affair behind my back. The two of them were still unaware of my presence near them.

Maximilian said with a sly smile, “It’s enough, right? I will not see you for the next two days, honey. My lovely daughter, Vilhelmina, is getting ready for her birthday. I have to go home and be a good father.”

This time I didn't make a scene. I just silently called the funeral home.

“Hello, I'm a widower now. So, I don't have to wait for my husband. You can start preparing for my daughter's funeral.”

“Yes ma'am. We will cremate the body of your daughter, Vilhelmina Kostomarov’s body in three days.”

***

The midwinter winds were conical and piercing, making the locker room super cosy for both of them. The good show continued until Vilhelmina was put into a body bag and sent to the funeral parlour.

When I left the hospital, I saw Maximilian organizing his clothes while coming out of the stairwell and going back and forth with Kimberly Beadsworth.

It was already eight o'clock in the evening when I got home. When I turned on the light, the duck slippers were neatly placed in the entrance hall. I then saw Vilhelmina smiling wilfully in the family photo. But just now, I was at the funeral parlour personally for her coffin.

Vilhelmina's physical condition was deplorable. Her mouth, which was torn open, could not be stitched up. The crushed skull of her face made it difficult for her face to return to its original state. Plus there were blood clots in the brain due to bleeding. Her legs, limbs, spine and sternum were broken.

Vilhelmina had to get more than three hundred stitches first, only then could she be put into a coffin. My daughter now looked like a sleeping human being.

Everyone around me offered their condolences. They said that life and death have their own destiny. Only for me, this was not the case. My daughter, Vilhelmina could clearly have been saved if I had managed to get a blood donor. Vilhelmina was clearly saved.

I still remembered after arriving at the hospital, she was quickly pushed into the operating room. The doctor meant that all the broken bones could be repaired, but the ruptured internal organs needed an emergency blood transfusion.

I knew Vilhelmina had a rare blood type. Unfortunately, the hospital blood bank reserves were not enough. It made me immediately think of Vilhelmina's father, Maximilian Kostomarov, who has the same blood type as the child. But I couldn't get through to Maximilian.

Vilhelmina's life was hanging in the balance. I could only turn the hospital floors, but the phone was always off. The people in Maximilian's department said that he didn't have an operation at this time. The hospital was too big for me to find him.

Meanwhile, my daughter had already been declared dead after failing to be rescued. I held on to my last breath and continued to look for Maximilian. I just hoped that he would come to see Vilhelmina for the last time.

But to my surprise, I heard him entwined with his female assistant, Kimberly Beadsworth, in the locker room on the thirteenth floor. My heart ached to the point of numbness. I held onto the wall to gasp for breath in small gulps.

***

Finally, I sent Vilhelmina to the funeral parlor. I could never forget the way her chest cavity was sunken in and could only be filled with cotton. Her eyes closed tightly at that time.

I put away the crayons on the table. The door lock suddenly twisted. Maximilian arrived home from work. He couldn't change his shoes before rushing to the phone and rubbing his hands together anxiously.

“Did my lovely daughter call me?” Maximilian asked me.

Vilhelmina studied in a boarding elementary school. Every night after the evening activities at eight-thirty, the children could take back their cell phones to call home.

It has been two years. The habit has weathered the storm.

Maximilian and I looked forward to hearing the children's voices to relieve the fatigue of a long day's work. But the phone would never ring again.

“I called you before, Max.” I lowered my eyelids.

“Oh, really? I’m sorry, my wife. It's my fault that I'm too busy today. There was a traffic jam.” Maximilian Kostomarov chagrined. “Vilhelmina told you something, right? Come on, tell me about it!”

I looked at my husband with eyes full of expectation. I really wanted to tell him the truth. The truth was that our daughter, Vilhelmina Kostomarov was dead.

But I opened my mouth and just said, “She didn't say anything, Max. Our daughter just shared interesting things in school today. She then asked me about her birthday arrangements in three days.”

“Oh, okay, but hold on, Arabelle.” Maximilian Kostomarov pulled out his cell phone to reply to the message. He then absentmindedly chimed in, “By the way, is there something wrong with you today? Why are you calling me so many times?”

I made up a lie. “Nothing happened, Max. It's still about Vilhelmina's birthday. She especially cares about her tenth birthday this year. She has been talking about it all this month. She is so excited for her party.”

Maximilian took back his cell phone. He then naturally put his arm around my shoulders.

“Don't worry, my wife. I've been preparing for Vilhelmina's birthday half a year in advance. I promise I will give her an unforgettable memory.” He inhaled and frowned. “What is this smell on you?”

I answered, “Oh, sorry, Max. There's blood all over your pants!”

“It's fine, my wife.” Maximilian suddenly changed his face. “Are you okay? Are you injured?”

That was Vilhelmina's blood. I forced myself to hold back my grief.

“I had a car accident, but I wasn't hurt. This blood is someone else's.”

Maximilian sighed in relief. “Speaking of which, I also saw a car accident victim being brought to the hospital tonight. I think she is a girl who is the same age as Vilhelmina's age. This accident is so tragic, Arabelle Moonstone. It's probably impossible to save her after being hit like this.”

Maximilian took off my coat and found home clothes for me to change. Meanwhile, I just sighed beside him.

Maximilian still explained, “I do not know who is the child of the family. I think her parents probably don't want her to live anymore, right? It's the end of the year and the roads are complicated, Arabelle. We still need to remind Vilhelmina to pay more attention to traffic safety. If she's the one who got into the accident, I really don't dare to think about it.”

After saying that, he kissed my forehead and walked straight to the bathroom. The unfamiliar perfume on his body made me nauseous. I looked at Maximilian's back.

After he entered the room, I called the funeral home. I wanted on the day of Vilhelmina's birthday, to send her to her ultimate happiness.

***

The next morning, Maximilian prepared breakfast as usual before going to work at the hospital.

Meanwhile, I packed the food and threw it to the stray dogs and cats downstairs. After a few minutes, I glanced at the sticky note he left in the entrance hall.

Maximilian: [My wife, please remind me to be home on time tonight to pick up Vilhelmina's call. I love you forever.]

I knew people's hearts were really hard to gauge. Maximilian was playing the role of a good husband and father at home.

But actually, at the same time, he had a rendezvous with his lover, while his daughter was dying.

I pulled the corner of my mouth. My eyes started rummaging through Vilhelmina's belongings.

I then prepared all of them to send to the funeral home for cremation. But I didn't find her favourite peace quilt. She had used it for seven years.

If not for the boarding school to unify the purchase of bedding, she did not want to leave the quilt at home. But I remembered that she had just washed it and put it in the cabinet. In desperation, I had no choice but to call Maximilian.

Maximilian said, “Oh, you search that quilt, Arabelle? I lent it to Kimberly. Didn't her baby just come out? She has been coughing for a long time.”

Kimberly Beadsworth was Maximilian's childhood sweetheart. After they separated, she married abroad that year.

But then she divorced her ex-husband half a year ago. It made her return to Luxembourg with a big belly.

During pregnancy, Maximilian took care of her. It became more intense after the child was born. Maximilian often bought milk powder and clothes for Kimberly’s baby. I just couldn’t believe he also lent Vilhelmina's favourite peace quilt to her.

I cursed to my husband, “You are sick, Maximilian. Vilhelmina will cry if she goes home and doesn't see the peace quilt.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt ridiculous.

Would Vilhelmina even come home?

She was born prematurely. I was nine months pregnant when I went to work with an illness.

I ended up in a coma with a high fever. It caused Vilhelmina to get a bacterial infection. She then went into an incubator after she was born.

After all that happened, Maximilian and I climbed 3,000 steps to get that peace blanket at the Borobudur Temple. Not long after covering it, Vilhelmina's illness miraculously improved.

Maximilian said impatiently, “Why are you so angry at me, Arabelle Moonstone? It's just a quilt, isn't it? Our daughter is going to grow up, that quilt is crippled and old. It will be replaced one day.”

In my heart, I really felt bad. He was wrong, Vilhelmina won't grow up anymore. I hung up the phone without a word. I was in a bad mood. Then I copped my bag and took a cab to the hospital. I rushed straight into the doctor's office.

“Give me back my daughter's peace quilt right now!”

Kimberly looked up in surprise. I knew she saw the anger in my eyes.

“Mrs Arabelle, I thought Mr Maximilian had discussed this with you first. I didn't mean to take Vilhelmina's things on purpose. It's because my child's illness has not been cured before.”

I shouted, “Cut the crap! I don’t want to hear any words from you, Kimberly.”

I was so angry that I drew sideways glances from the other doctors and nurses in the office. Kimberly was also forced to redden her eyes.

“How about this, Mrs Arabelle? When Vilhelmina is not happy when she gets home, I'll immediately wash the quilt and send it back?”

“No way! A thief is in no position to bargain.”

I took a few steps forward and grabbed Kimberly's wrist. She struggled to get up but accidentally bumped into a chair. It made her whole body fall to the ground.

“Arabelle Moonstone!” Maximilian arrived in time and pushed me away. “It’s just a broken quilt, Arabelle. Is it necessary to hit someone like this?”

“Mr Maximilian, I'm not a thief,” Kimberly mumbled her lips. She looked like a pear blossom in the rain.

I was pushed and staggered. The back of my head hit the door handle and passed out. The moment before I lost consciousness, I saw Maximilian running towards me in shock. I closed my eyes and thought to myself, ‘If I die like this, will I be able to see Vilhelmina?’

***

But I didn't die. I just had a slight concussion. When I woke up, my nurse friend, Samantha Wright was by my bedside. Meanwhile, Maximilian was nowhere to be seen in this room.

“You're pregnant, Arabelle.”

I was stunned for a while. “What? I'm pregnant?”

How did I get pregnant at this time?

Vilhelmina had always wanted a brother or sister. Then Maximilian and I had been trying for years but had never gotten it. We thought it was due to age and work pressure from both of us. I didn't expect that just after Vilhelmina's accident, I would be pregnant. 

Perhaps, it was Vilhelmina who sensed that I had no hope of life and took the form of a fetus to cheer me up. Thinking of this, the pain inside me slightly lessened.

I said, “I don't want my husband, Maximilian, to know about this matter for now, Samantha. Can you keep it a secret for me?”

Samantha nodded. “I just heard you guys arguing in the doctor's office, so I thought something was wrong between you and Dr. Maximilian.”

“It's fine, Samantha. Don’t worry. I can handle it.” I skimmed my lips. “By the way, where is he?”

Samantha shook her head. “He was just called away by his female assistant, Ara. Maybe he has something to deal with at work?”

I knew the true answer to it. He didn't actually have anything to deal with at this time. I saw a live sex scene in the stairwell of the ward.

Kimberly hooked Maximilian's neck. She then demanded a kiss. Maximilian was afraid of being discovered and refused at first, but soon he got into the mood, he left dots of red marks on Kimberly's neck. Until I called over. Only then did he end his passion.

Maximilian left behind the lustful Kimberly. He rushed to the bathroom to clean up and then to the hospital room to continue playing the role of a good husband.

“I was the one who was impulsive about what just happened.”

Maximilian apologized with an apologetic face. “Luckily you weren't hurt, Arabelle, otherwise I would have hated to smack myself to death.”

I bristled. I chose to say nothing.

“I was just busy now, Arabelle. There are a lot of surgeries at the end of the year. You take a few days off, stay home and have a good rest. We will have fun together on Vilhelmina's birthday.”

I hang my head and obediently respond to my husband. “Okay, I agree.”

Maximilian didn't know that I had resigned and was preparing to move out of the city. He was even less aware that Vilhelmina was about to turn into a handful of ashes two days later.

The police department suddenly called me. They said that there was a news discovery about Vilhelmina's car accident.

When I arrived, the driver had already been arrested. I looked at the vicissitudes of the middle-aged man across the table. My eyes were so red that they were about to drip blood.