On the day of the SAT, my husband Tyler Ford put down his work for the first time and drove our son Charlie to school.

On the way, Tyler received a phone call saying he had something urgent to do, so he left us halfway.

We couldn't get a taxi, so we had to run all the way to school, but ended up being late and banned from entering.

Charlie was deeply irritated, which caused an acute asthma attack and ended up in the ICU.

The only special medicine that could save Charlie was in Tyler's company, and he was the only person in charge.

So I called Tyler, and I heard the voice of his childhood sweetheart from the phone.

"Tyler is busy, what do you want?"

I didn't have time to think why Tyler was with her. I just said anxiously, "Let him answer the phone. Our son is in ICU and we need the special medicine from his company."

Tyler's voice came from the phone. "Is it fun for you to make up this nonsense to deceive me every day?"

Then he hung up the phone.

I called again, but his phone was already turned off.

On that day.

I lost my son forever!

...

"The patient's condition is extremely critical. Didn't you just say that there is a special medicine? Do you have it now?"

The attending doctor walked out of the ICU with an anxious expression on his face.

"The patient's asthma has triggered heart failure. If he doesn't take medicine within two hours, he will be beyond help!"

Two hours?

My hand, which had been dialing the phone, suddenly stopped.

I was trembling, and I nodded anxiously. "Okay, doctor, please try your best to stabilize his condition, I will get the medicine as soon as possible!"

I said as soon as possible, but I was so panicked that I couldn't stand still.

I sat on a chair in the hallway, anxiously dialing Tyler's number.

Over and over again.

But all I could hear was the sound of the robot saying that it had been turned off.

I was so anxious that I had to call Tyler's assistant Zachary and ask him to help me deliver the medicine.

But he said that only Tyler could handle the special medicine, and no one else had the authority.

There wasn't much time, and I had no choice but to use all kinds of ways to get Zachary to tell me Tyler's location.

He seemed to sense my anxiety and fear.

After some hesitation, Zachary finally gave me the location.

I ran straight ahead without thinking.

It was a pet hospital.

Through the glass door, I saw Tyler hugging Joanna sitting on the sofa, his face full of love.

As soon as he saw me come in, the tenderness on his face immediately turned into indifference.

"Wendy, are you done yet? You even followed me here?"

He stood up and looked at me with disgust, as if my presence was a mistake.

I didn't dare to delay, so I got straight to the point and said anxiously, "Charlie has an asthma attack and is in a serious condition now. Only the special medicine you control can save him. Hurry up, get the medicine and come to the hospital with me."

I reached out to pull Tyler, but he turned aside in disgust and frowned at me, looking speechless.

Joanna glanced at me and said lightly, "Wendy, I know you don't like me, but there's no need for you to curse your own son just to trick Tyler away from me!"

Curse?

Hearing this, Tyler's brows instantly frowned even deeper.

He said coldly, "Have you had enough? If you have, leave now and don't embarrass yourself here."

Obviously, Tyler didn't believe me either.

"What I said is true! Charlie was late for the exam, so he got upset and had an acute asthma attack.

"He is still in ICU now and his condition is very critical! If you don't believe me, you can go and see for yourself!"

I was extremely anxious and almost shouted to explain the reason.

"Aren't you putting on such a show just to blame me for abandoning you and Charlie halfway? Can't you give me some private space?"

Tyler spoke disdainfully, and his gaze at me became even colder.

Before I could continue explaining, Joanna spoke again, "Wendy, when I was taking Dobby out for a walk today, a car drove illegally and crushed Dobby's leg. I didn't know what to do, so I called Tyler. I didn't know he was on the way to take you to the exam. If you feel uncomfortable about this, you can just tell me. I can apologize to you. But now asthma and serious condition? It's really a bit exaggerated.

"As a mother, how can you joke about your son's life?"

Joanna pouted, feeling aggrieved but also a little proud.

I couldn't help but yell at her, "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"Tyler..."

After being yelled at by me, Joanna immediately ran into Tyler's arms with a crying voice.

Tyler hugged her and glared at me angrily.

"Wendy, that's enough! Didn't you see Joanna's dog was injured? Joanna is already in great pain, and you are still making trouble and being mean to her. How can you be so unsympathetic?"

I was about to explode with anger. I took two deep breaths, suppressed my anger, and said to Tyler in a gentle voice,

"You can say whatever you want to me, but Charlie really can't wait."

I added in a sincere tone, "Come with me to get the medicine and save Charlie. I'm begging you, please?"

That was the first time I begged Tyler in such a humble manner. His furrowed brow slightly relaxed after hearing what I said.

And he seemed to be moved.

"Tyler, Dobby is bleeding heavily! The doctor suggested that we go to a larger hospital for surgery!"

At this moment, Joanna looked at the bleeding dog and was so anxious that she was about to cry.

Hearing this, Tyler's face also became tense.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to Dobby."

As they spoke, Tyler and Joanna picked up the dog and headed into the car.

I pulled Tyler over and begged. "Charlie's medicine..."

Tyler looked at me with hesitation.

"Tyler, hurry, Dobby is really dying!"

Joanna was also anxiously urging.

I gave up my dignity, knelt down in front of Tyler, and begged again. "If we delay any longer, Charlie will die. Please, give me the medicine!"

Joanna interrupted again at the right time. "Charlie has always been in good health, how could he suddenly die? Dobby is the one who is really dying. This is a life, so stop lying and snatching Tyler from me."

When Tyler heard this, he shook my hand away and said coldly, "There should be a limit to fooling around. Even if you are vying for favor, there is no need to kneel down in public. You are not only embarrassing me, but also embarrassing Charlie. How does Charlie have such a shameless mother like you!"

After saying that, he got into the car without looking back and drove away with Joanna and her dog.

Then the hospital called.

"Ms. Smith, please come to the hospital to see your son for the last time..."

I hung up the phone and rushed to the hospital like crazy.

But when I arrived at the hospital, Charlie had already turned into a cold corpse.

I held Charlie's body and cried until all my tears ran dry.

Two days later.

I silently arranged Charlie's funeral on my own, feeling as if my heart was dead.

Even though I saw him cremated with my own eyes, I still hadn't come to terms with it.

I just didn't understand.

Charlie was full of confidence just a moment ago and said he would definitely be admitted to Stanford.

How did he suddenly turn into ashes?

He was so sensible, smart and filial, why did he end up like this?

I held Charlie's urn in my hands and wiped it carefully.

I kept recalling every moment of Charlie and me in my head.

Tears gathered in my eyes unconsciously.

Tyler, who had disappeared for two days, called me.

"Today is my mother's birthday party. She allowed you to bring Charlie to the villa to celebrate. You should dress up nicely before you come here, don't embarrass me."

I took a look at Charlie's urn, wiped my tears, and replied coldly, "Okay, I will take Charlie there."

Tyler and I were high school classmates.

At that time, I was considered an excellent student by my teachers.

A nice girl in the eyes of relatives.

And Tyler was a naughty student who always sat in the last row.

The teacher threw more chalk on his head than on the blackboard.

Back then, I couldn't stand careless boys like him.

I felt like they were taking pride in making teachers angry.

Very childish.

So whenever I saw Tyler, I always took a detour.

Until one day, on my way home from school, I was surrounded by a group of punks in an alley.

Just when I was feeling desperate, Tyler appeared like a god, and fought off them alone.

That was the first time I thought this guy was pretty handsome.

"Nice girl, next time you are in danger, can you please not be so stupid?"

Tyler spoke breathlessly.

"What is considered not stupid?"

I looked at him curiously with my big round eyes.

"Run, do you understand? If you are being bullied and can't fight back, just run."

He gave me a look of disdain and escorted me home.

Since then, Tyler had often followed me around.

My classmates all laughed at him and called him my shadow.

He didn't care and generously admitted that he was just protecting the flowers of the country.

Later on, he began to be less careless.

He wouldn't make strange noises during class or make teachers angry.

His seat also began to move slowly to the front.

His change was so sudden that I couldn't help but notice it.

Every time I turned around to peek at him, his eyes, which were originally listening to the class attentively, would immediately meet mine.

When our eyes met, I would immediately turn around as if I had done something wrong and got caught.

But my hot cheeks made me feel like something strange was slowly growing in my heart.

Tyler's grades were getting better and better.

He said he had to keep up with me to protect me.

I asked, "How long will you protect me?"

He looked at me indulgently and said, "It's up to you."

I thought about it and asked, "Is it okay for a lifetime?"

He smiled, and without thinking, he said with a hint of shyness, "Sure."

I thought a lifetime would be very long, but I didn't expect it to end when Joanna showed up.

Everything changed because of Joanna.

"You can celebrate your birthday at any time, but Joanna is sick and I can't just ignore her.

"I won't go back tonight. Joanna is in a bad mood and needs company.

"Christmas is just a ceremony, you can celebrate it with Charlie, but Joanna is at home alone..."

No matter when or where, he would leave me for a phone call from Joanna.

This home seemed to have become dispensable to him.

His strong favor for Joanna made me gradually disappointed in him.

But I still felt grateful to him.

Because he gave me good genes, letting me give birth to such a smart and outstanding son.

I just wanted to stay with Charlie and raise him to be a successful person.

For Charlie, I had endured for more than ten years.

But now, Charlie is dead.

He died because of Tyler's indifference and ruthlessness!

There was nothing left for me to worry about anymore.

With a lot of thoughts in my mind, I came to the Ford Villa.

Everyone in the Ford family gathered together in a joyful and lively atmosphere.

Tyler and Joanna sat among the crowd, chatting and laughing.

They looked like a very loving couple.

The Ford family had always liked Joanna very much.

It seemed that only Joanna fitted the image of Mrs. Ford in their minds.

In their eyes, I was just a babysitter taking care of Charlie, cowardly and deceitful. Even the younger generation of the Ford family dared to point at my nose and scold me.

I walked in expressionless.

When I arrived at the lobby, I heard Tyler's mother Olivia praising him. "Tyler, I heard that Charlie has a chance to be admitted to Stanford this year. This is all thanks to your good education. Charlie's lucky to have a father like you."

Tyler responded calmly, "After all, Charlie is my son, so he has to be excellent."

Joanna also agreed. "Charlie is indeed excellent. He not only studies well, but also has a good character. He is sensible and polite. Everyone likes him.."

Tyler's sister Maeve immediately joked. "Since you like Charlie so much, you can be her stepmother!"

Maeve had always been close to Joanna and wished she could be her sister-in-law.

Her words drew laughter from the whole family, and it seemed that it was also everyone's heartfelt wishes.

As I walked into the lobby, everyone who had just been enjoying themselves suddenly changed their expressions, as if they saw a fly barging in.

"Wendy, where is Charlie?"

Tyler asked in a cold voice when he saw that there was no one beside me.

I stared at him with cold eyes. "You still care about your son?"

Tyler looked unhappy and said in a slightly angry tone, "What are you talking about? I am indeed busy and don't have much time to accompany Charlie, but he's the reason I work so hard. I only have this one son, and he is the only heir to the Ford family. Everything I have will be left to Charlie in the future. How can I not care about him?"

"Everything is left for Charlie. If you hadn't said just now, I would have thought it was left for Joanna."

For Joanna, Tyler cruelly left Charlie and me on the road to the SAT.

He ignored my kneeling pleas and left resolutely for Joanna's dog,

When I thought about this, my heart still ached.

When the Ford family heard what I said, they all looked at me as if I were a stranger. No one expected that I, who was always gentle and obedient, would refute Tyler in public.

Tyler frowned and said impatiently, "I didn't take you and Charlie to school, so what? How long are you going to make a fuss for such a trivial thing?"

Joanna took the opportunity to instigate. "Wendy, I know you are petty and jealous. It's fine when you act capriciously just in front of Tyler. But today is Ms. Olivia Ford's birthday, you know that she just wants to see Charlie, and Charlie also likes to come to his grandma's house. How can you deliberately hide Charlie just to vent your anger? You are really unqualified as a mother."

As soon as she said this, everyone looked at me with disgust.

Especially Olivia, her face turned red with anger. She said sternly, "Anyway, the SAT is over, and Charlie can be independent. Tyler, bring Charlie here right now and don't let him meet this irresponsible woman again. Don't let her ruin my precious grandson."

Maeve also glared at me. "Knowing that Charlie was coming, Joanna specially cooked his favorite beef pizza. Compared to a petty woman like you, Joanna is more like Charlie's mother."

Over the years, I had worked tirelessly without complaint for Charlie.

I gave everything unconditionally, but to the Ford family, everything I did couldn't compare to Joanna's beef pizza.

They actually thought that Joanna, the murderer who indirectly killed Charlie, was more suitable to be his mother than me.

Ironic.

How ironic.

I laughed, and my laughter was filled with tears.

"Wendy, have you had enough?"

Tyler got angry. "Charlie is my son, not a bargaining chip for you to use to get jealous and make trouble. A woman like you who doesn't care about his preferences and has no sense of responsibility is really not worthy of being his mother."

"Today is my mother's birthday. If you don't want to be here, you can leave, but Charlie must attend. He is my son, a descendant of the Ford family. Hurry up and bring him out!"

I stopped laughing, looked at Tyler with red eyes, and said word by word, "I have brought Charlie."

Tyler looked around and asked, "Where is he?"

The other members of the Ford family were also looking around, searching for Charlie.

Olivia even stood up from her seat and squinted her eyes to look for Charlie. "Where is my precious grandson?"

I took the urn out of my bag and placed it heavily on the table.

"He's here!"