Chapter 1
The male model who was by Nicole Steinfeld's side ran away again and when I found out, she had already brought him back.
In front of me, the male model put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the lips affectionately.
"I've heard that Mr. Cruise's horse riding was one of the best in the circle before retiring from his family. I bet Mr. Cruise's children won't be far behind either. Mr. Portman, I want to see it. Can you let the child next to him ride for me? As long as they make me happy .…"
He moved closer to Nicole and put his fingers into her collar.
"Tonight, you can play whatever you want, Ms. Steinfeld and from now on, I will never leave again."
Nicole's gaze lingered on his face for a moment and the next moment, she looked at me.
She did not say anything, but everyone on the equestrian field understood what her gaze meant.
My face turned pale and I begged her while protecting my five-year-old son, Ezra.
"Nicole, no, this is our only child!"
Everyone burst into laughter. Nicole felt embarrassed and looked at me with disdain.
"It's not like he hasn't ridden a horse before. Most horses on the riding field are docile. What can go wrong? What are you still standing here for? Go ride! If you can't make Derrick happy, he doesn't have to get off the horse tonight!"
After that, everyone roughly pulled me away and carried my five-year-old son onto the horse.
The horse was startled and ran forward like mad, while Ezra's innocent cries for help made my heart ache.
I turned back and looked at the observation deck from afar. Nicole and the male model were already kissing under the crowd.
In the messy wind, I saw Ezra pulling the reins tightly. Even though he was very scared, he had to pretend to be strong.
My struggle caused Nicole's dissatisfaction and she directly ordered someone to remove my arm.
I was in so much pain that I was exhausted and lay on the ground, feeling hopeless.
Nicole, it was the seventh time and the last time.
——
The smell of disinfectant stimulated my nerves and I slowly woke up from the hospital bed.
In the ward, apart from the lazy Derrick sitting on the sofa with his arms around Nicole, there was no other member of the Steinfeld Family.
Seeing me open my eyes, she asked lazily, "Are you awake?"
My face turned pale and my eyes fell on the ventilator beside me.
She fell silent for a moment and made an impatient "tsk" sound.
"You're in shock again. Why are you so fragile?"
I numbly pulled the corners of my mouth and did not respond to her.
"Where's Ezra?"
Nicole pursed her lips.
"He's lying in the intensive care unit. He's useless. He can't stand running a few laps."
She looked at me with a hint of blame.
"Why do you think your son is so precious? If he can't endure a little hardship, what will he achieve in the future?"
I gave a bitter smile.
Last night, Nicole called Ezra and me to the equestrian field. I could not count how many laps Ezra ran at the equestrian field because of Derrick's words. I only remembered that Ezra had difficulty breathing in the end.
After a long time on stage, Nicole and Derrick finally had enough fun. She buttoned up her last shirt button and spat out two words to me in the racecourse as if to give alms.
"That's enough."
I had a pale face as I watched the staff carry my dying son off the horse.
The pain and stickiness in my shoulder surrounded me and I looked at Nicole who was surrounded by everyone in a daze.
After staggering two steps, I struggled to sit up and asked her for help.
"Nicole ... 120 ... quick! Something's going to happen to Ezra!"
I endured the pain of dislocation and beads of sweat dripped from my forehead.
Chapter 2
The young men who were with Nicole noticed my expression and gathered around me.
"Isn't it true that you just made your son run two laps on a horse? Why did you end up like this?"
"You know, Nicole, he's acting pretty convincing. I'm about to take it seriously. Is dislocation really that painful? Is the sweat on his forehead so real?"
"He's acting exactly the same as he tried to pretend that your grandma's death wasn't because of him! Not bad, Ethan, your acting skills haven't deteriorated at all over the years!"
Nicole came over with her lover and looked me up and down with a frown.
She probably forgot what my expression was like before I went into shock from heartache, so like everyone else, she thought I was pretending.
Derrick stepped forward before her. He looked at me with disgust and pretended to be surprised as he watched the liquid flowing from between my son's legs.
"Oh my God, did your son wet his pants?!"
He deliberately raised his voice to draw everyone's attention to Ezra's legs.
"How did you teach your son, Ethan? He still can't hold his urine even at this age. Hahaha, you are the same, aren't you? Or else, why does Nicole dislike you so much?"
A huge feeling of shame overwhelmed Ezra and me and I almost could not breathe.
Ezra instinctively reached out his hand to Nicole for help, "Mom, help me, my body hurts so much, I feel so uncomfortable."
Unfortunately, she slapped her son's hand away in disgust.
"Shameful!"
After saying that hurtful word, she led everyone away and even the staff at the equestrian field did not take me and my son seriously, leaving me alone on the grass shouting for help.
Later, my son fainted and my heart skipped a beat, then I fainted too.
As soon as I woke up, I was here.
My eyes were sore and once again, I almost lost the child I raised with my own hands.
Derrick leaned his head against her head and his hand gently stroked her shoulder.
"It's all Mr. Cruise's fault for not teaching his son well. He just ran a few laps and he was already in the intensive care unit. Mr. Cruise is indeed a jinx. You and I rode back and forth so many times in the past, sweating profusely, but we were still fine and nothing happened to us."
He made the woman amused. She looked up and kissed him on the lips.
"How can he compare to you? If I had met you earlier and trusted you to raise that child, he would definitely be as strong and healthy as you."
She deliberately emphasized the last words, adding endless ambiguity.
I did not know how many times I had heard such hurtful words and every time I heard them, my heart ached a little more.
I would also always question her without long memory.
"You gave birth to him from your belly. How can you say such things!"
Every time it happened, Nicole would look at me coldly and drive me crazy without saying a word.
But now, I felt completely numb and felt nothing.
Perhaps it was because of the weakness of my body after just waking up from the shock, the cool breeze blowing in from the window made me feel particularly cold.
"Nicole, could you please help me close the window? I'm very cold. The doctor said that after waking up from shock, I need to rest more and not catch a cold. Thank you."
My voice was hoarse and my tone was indifferent.
That was what the doctor told me the first few times I went into shock.
Nicole's face was cold and her words were like a knife in the cold winter.
"You're just in a temporary state of heartache and shock and it's not like you've been in a car accident and are all in pieces. Why are you afraid of the cold? Are you using shock as an excuse to slack off and not go back to the manor to take care of my mom?"
Chapter 3
After saying that, she was about to leave. She had been waiting here for half an hour and her patience had long been exhausted.
Before leaving, she deliberately opened all the windows.
"Tsk, not to catch a cold? I want to see what will happen if you catch a cold."
I listened to these words in silence, just like the previous five years, bearing her hatred alone.
But now, I was so tired. I did not want to bear the burden of her grandmother's death anymore, nor did I want to be the punching bag for the entire Steinfeld Family anymore.
Five years ago, the story of Cinderella and the Prince happened to Nicole and me.
When we were deeply in love, Nicole took me to the Steinfeld Family's manor.
Although the Steinfeld Family was a small family, they had been arranged marriages for several generations, except for Nicole.
She refused.
In the entire Steinfeld Family, no one really liked me. They all tried to please me for my money.
Only her grandmother, Harrieth Steinfeld.
Harrieth was over ninety years old and her health was gradually declining.
The failure of her organs forced her, who was once the most influential person in the Steinfeld Family, to step down and sit in a wheelchair.
She was the only person in the Steinfeld Family who truly supported my relationship with Nicole.
She liked me very much and she would often ask Nicole to call me to the Steinfeld Family's manor to accompany her.
She was the one who raised and took care of Nicole since she was a child. She often told me about Nicole's childhood.
But as she spoke, the aura around her became gloomy and sad.
In the broken story, I learned that Harrieth had a young confidant before her marriage arrangement.
However, everything was done out of necessity.
Later on, she could not even speak up.
But even so, she still agreed to my proposal to marry Nicole without bringing any gifts against everyone.
Though I did not bring any gifts, in the Cruise Family, the wife had always been in charge of the money when getting married.
So, after getting engaged, my parents and I handed over the financial power of our family to Nicole.
On the eve of the wedding preparations, Nicole and I took grandmother out for a walk.
While walking down a slope in the park, Harrieth wrote on a piece of paper that she was thirsty. Nicole ran out to buy some water and I stayed behind to look after her.
In this moment, she seemed to see an old friend and felt very excited.
I leaned on the wheelchair and looked around, but I did not see anyone.
"Ethan!"
Nicole's voice sounded behind me and I turned around.
In that moment, the wheelchair slid down the slope ....
My negligence caused a tragedy.
After handling Harrieth's funeral, Nicole still married me, but not because she loved me anymore, but because she hated me.
Out of guilt, I gave everything in the Cruise Family to Nicole, including the position of chief executive of the company.
After Nicole became wealthy, powerful and influential, she hated me even more.
She changed the name of the company from Cruise Group to Steinfeld Group and replaced the position of the Cruise Family in the company with the Steinfeld Family.
"Ethan, just stay trapped in the Steinfelds and struggle to make amends for the rest of your life!"
Not only Nicole, but everyone in the Steinfeld Family had pinned their anger and hatred on me.
During our married life, Nicole met a male model from a bar, Derrick Nolte.
The two were in love and their love was inseparable ....
As for me, I could only watch myself trapped in the quagmire of the Steinfeld Family, blaming myself and struggling with the loss of our two children, Nicole and myself.
And now.
"Mr. Cruise, I'm sorry. As a doctor, I have to tell you something. Your son who has just recovered from a severe cold should not do strenuous exercise. If he does, he will ... I'm sorry, your son died this morning. There is one more thing. You have had seven consecutive shocks in five years, which has caused great damage to your body and heart. From now on ... you may have to take medicine all year round. If you have another shock, you will most likely die. Even if you are saved, you will need a heart bypass surgery."