I never imagined sending that kind of text to Robert.

He was the one I finally got together with after so much effort.

When I first met him, I was a fresh-faced orphan who had just left the hills.

I had been on a reality TV show about rural life, and because of my tragic backstory, I ended up being sponsored.

I was standing there in my mud-soaked, yellowed linen shirt and brown cotton pants, in front of him.

Unlike others who sneered or mocked me, as class president, he took me on a tour around the school, always checking in to make sure I understood everything and ending with a radiant smile.

He was nothing like the kids back home.

No trace of dirt on him.

No ingrained yellow stains or thick calluses, no timid look in his eyes.

Looking at his smiling face, he seemed even brighter than the sun that day.

That's when I began to dream an impossible dream.

I had always been a top student in my village.

But in the city, that barely counted for anything.

I was in high school and still couldn't differentiate the alphabet.

Everyone treated me like an exhibit in a zoo—curious but dismissive.

They couldn't imagine there were no qualified teachers where I came from.

People often asked me what I lived on after my dad died and my mom left with another man.

I'd just stare at the calluses on my hands and stay silent, becoming more reclusive.

I buried myself in my studies.

Robert never laughed at me.

He'd tutor me, walk me through problems, and then with his brightest smile, tell me, "Ignore them. Just focus on your studies."

And when others laughed, he'd use his position as class president to shut them down.

I fell for him, but I knew he was out of my league, preferring someone like Sienna Edith, who was like a princess bathed in moonlight.

So I quietly stayed in the background, working hard to repay his kindness with my grades.

Eventually, we both got into the same college.

Meanwhile, Sienna had been sent abroad by her family.

Their would-be graduation romance fizzled out.

I was thrilled.

Through college, I won a full scholarship.

Kept busy tutoring and doing part-time jobs.

College was even busier than high school.

With the money I earned, I would buy him breakfast daily and get him birthday gifts.

We even majored in the same subject.

I focused on my skincare, lost weight, and studied harder.

Hoping that one day he'd look back and see that the meek girl he knew had blossomed beautifully just for him.

Four whole years had passed.

Everyone knew Jane Morrison, the geeky beauty queen of the school, was head over heels for Robert.

It didn't matter to me that he wasted away pining for Sienna, turned into a player, or gave up on his studies and himself.

I always saw him as the light, following him loyally.

Until graduation night, when we were both a little tipsy and our friends teased us together.

He walked me home, and standing there under the dim streetlight, he asked me, slurring slightly, "Jane, do you like me?"

His question made me feel defeated—was I that transparent?

I looked him straight in the eye and confessed, "Yes, Robert, I've liked you for a very long time."

We never brought up Sienna, who had disappeared from our lives four years earlier.

Watching him gradually shake off his gloom and become more carefree, I believed he had moved on.

After all, they say every cell in your body is replaced over seven years.

We had more than a decade of history, and our daughter was already so grown.

Even though he always chose Sienna over me, I believed our daughter meant something different to him, that she was a bond that could not be broken.

Looking back, I see how foolish I was.

Despite warnings from teachers and police about a murderer drifting into our area from another city, who had already claimed three girls in half a month.

He knew about it, yet he still chose to leave our daughter for Sienna.

Just this once...

I always made it a point to pick up and drop off our daughter, no matter how tired or busy I was.

But this time, it led to the ultimate separation...

What was he doing while our daughter was being tortured by a killer?

He was out walking under the moonlight with Sienna.

The pain felt like my heart was splitting in two.

My cheeks were wet again.

I thought they were tears, but then everything turned a shade of red—blood.

A panicked voice of a young officer echoed in my ears, "Hurry, the victim's mother is bleeding! Get her to the hospital, now!"

Waking up in the hospital, the rookie cop with tears in her eyes urged me to hang in there.

She explained my emotional rollercoaster was why I'd suddenly coughed up blood.

Looking at me clinging to my daughter, even in sleep, she wore a face full of guilt.

She repeatedly assured me that they were closing in on the killer.

I knew it wasn't on them.

I just wanted to get back home.

While she was fetching my meds, I wandered out of the room, cradling "my daughter" in a daze.

I bumped right into Robert and Sienna.

They were fussing over a small cut on Sienna's finger.

"If cooking's not your thing, maybe skip it next time. Does it hurt?"

"I just wanted to show off my culinary skills."

"I know how great you are already, no need to overdo it next time."

Robert tenderly blew on the faint blood trace on her finger.

Sienna gave him a pouty, embarrassed look, still stubbornly muttering, "I wasn't pushing it..."

Feeling my stare, Robert looked up at me.

Our eyes met, and his face flashed with panic, quickly turning to annoyance and disgust.

"Jane, after all these years, I can't believe you'd stoop to stalking. You know I hate being micromanaged."

"This is just annoying."

I ignored him, holding my daughter even tighter, desperate to get home.

But as I moved to pass them, Sienna grabbed me, her face more hauntingly beautiful than ever.

"Let go!"

I snapped, my voice icy.

Sienna flinched at my tone but held on, her eyes wide and innocent as she tried to smooth things over for Robert. "Jane, are you mad?"

"Someone was following me home last night, and I got scared, so I called Robert. He said my lock wasn't sturdy enough, so we went to buy a new one together. I tried cooking to thank him, and that's when I cut myself. We didn't do anything, I swear."

As she spoke, she kept making tearful glances at Robert.

I glanced down at her so-called injury.

Just a light pink mark, almost invisible unless you really looked.

Yet Robert acted like it was a severe injury, even giving me wary looks, as if afraid I'd lash out at her.

Fed up, I shook off Sienna's hand with a sharp jerk, "A match made in heaven, really. Trash finds trash. Please, spare me the details about your play."

Sienna's face drained of color, and she started crying.

Robert was clearly taken aback by my response.

I'd always been the one who was accommodating and resilient.

Now Sienna was trying to clear the air, and I was expected to gracefully accept her explanation?

"Jane! You're out of line!"

"Sienna was just worried about a misunderstanding and was trying to be nice about it. What's with the attitude?"

Sienna... Robert... their names dripped with familiarity.

I wished I could shield my daughter from seeing this side of Robert, but she wasn't there.

My heart turned colder.

"What reaction did you expect?"

I snapped, turning to leave.

Sienna, weeping, collapsed into Robert's arms, "I didn't think it would end like this."

"If I'd known Jane would take it so hard, I wouldn't have called you that night. Maybe I should have let that drifter take me out instead, just to avoid this drama."

"It's not too late to die now."

My retort was bitter.

Robert stormed over, fury in his eyes, and slapped me across the face.

The world spun.

He grabbed my wrist, his grip painful, but I felt numb, just staring back at him coldly.

Maybe it was the iciness in my gaze.

His angry expression faltered, and after a moment's pause, he began to explain, "Sienna's telling the truth. You know she's been through a lot; I'm all she has left."

"You shouldn't be so harsh on her."

I looked past him.

Sienna smirked at me provocatively.

I struggled, feeling like my wrist might snap.

Robert suddenly let go, seeing the swelling on my face, his voice softened, "I know you're upset I missed picking up Nia. I promise, from now on, I'll be there to pick her up every day, okay?"

"No need."

No need for that anymore.

My heart seized up again.

I dared not think about how desperate my daughter must have felt in her final moments.

Robert seemed impatient.

He yanked me closer, "Jane, you were always the reasonable one. Why make a big deal out of this minor issue? I've promised to take care of Nia. What more do you want? Nia herself isn't fussing, so what's your problem?"

I staggered as he pulled me.

The bag slipped from my hand, and my daughter tumbled to the ground.

My breath caught, my heart shattered, unable to breathe.

Tears welled up as I trembled, squatting to pick her back up.

But Sienna quickly moved closer, peered at the bag, pinched her nose, and stomped on it, "Robert, what is this? It stinks."

I pushed her away, eyes blazing.

She fell to the ground, screaming.

Robert was furious, berating me right by my ear.

But I couldn't hear any of it.

Only now did I fully see just how much Nia had suffered.

Perhaps my defiance had finally pushed Robert too far.

He grabbed me roughly, glaring, "Aren't you embarrassed by this charade? Stop it already!"

He hadn't recognized his own daughter and kicked the bag.

Onlookers recoiled, screaming in disgust.

He dragged me to watch as he threw the bag into a trash can with a loud bang.

I sobbed, shaking my head, trying desperately to stop him, but he held me down.

A crushing weight settled on my chest, and I broke down, crying uncontrollably, "Robert, you monster! That's Nia! That's our daughter!"

Maybe it was my heartbreak, but somehow he looked frightened.

His hold on my wrist suddenly loosened.

I was a mess, scouring through the trash like a lunatic.

Collapsed on the ground, people's stares cutting through me like I was some sort of apparition.

Robert finally snapped to, realizing what was happening.

He squatted down in front of me, eyeing the black trash bag in my grip, then back at me.

His face twisted with concern, he stammered, "Jane, you've lost it, haven't you? If you're sick, get help. This can't be Nia!"

"Even if you resent me, you shouldn't damn our daughter like that."

"Are you even listening to me?!"

He shoved me down, yanked the bag from my hands, and held it aloft.

But he couldn't bring himself to drop it.

I watched his hands tremble, unable to stay still.

A junior officer who had fetched my meds rushed over, pulling me to my feet.

He turned a stern gaze on Robert, "Mr. Salome, you're Nia's father, correct? Mrs. Salome mentioned you were supposed to pick Nia up the night she went missing. We need to talk."

Robert's complexion turned ashen. He tried to reach out to steady me, shaking.

"I don't understand... Jane... how this could have happened, how... this could be our daughter."

He paused, his voice faltering.

I pushed his hand away, my voice cold, "Are you actually saying that this heap of trash, trampled and tossed by you, isn't our daughter?"