My dad took me to his first love Violet Allen's house for her son's party.
At the party, Violet insisted I eat some crab meat. I refused and even threw it on the ground.
I have severe asthma and can’t eat seafood.
Violet looked very upset and said, "I don’t even peel crabs for my own son, but I didn’t expect Sofia to be so ungrateful."
My dad didn’t listen to my explanation and sent me to the garden.
With all the pollen, I started having trouble breathing and gradually lost consciousness.
I wanted my dad to open the door for me because my medication was in my bag.
But he didn’t care.
He clearly saw I was struggling to breathe and that my face was pale, but he just ignored me.
And just like that, I collapsed in the garden.
…
By the time my mom found me, I had already lost consciousness and stopped breathing.
When my mom burst in, my dad even scolded her.
"You and that brat are both worthless, just like each other. I don’t know how you could raise such a daughter."
"Violet kindly peeled the crab for her, and not only was she ungrateful, but she also threw it in front of everyone."
"Gianna Rogers, this is the little monster you raised—how shameful!"
I listened to my dad berate my mom, floating above them, and I tried to hit him.
But my hand passed right through his body.
That’s when I realized I was dead.
So this is what death feels like?
My parents probably can’t see me, right?
I saw my mom, tears streaming down her face, slap my dad.
Then she picked me up and ran outside.
But no cars passing by would stop.
In the end, my mom just held me, crying and waiting for the ambulance.
When we finally got into the ambulance, the nurse was furious and scolded my mom.
"How can you call yourself a mother? Your child has severe asthma—why didn’t you keep her medication with you?"
"And she can’t eat seafood or be around pollen, yet you let her be exposed to both?"
"Didn’t the doctors tell you this during treatment?"
My mom sobbed uncontrollably. She knew how serious my condition was.
She clung to the nurse’s uniform, begging, "Please, please save my daughter. It’s my fault, all my fault! Please, just save her."
That’s my mom—she always put me first.
If it were my dad, he would’ve just made excuses and blamed someone else.
I wanted to hug my mom and tell her it wasn’t her fault.
She had already sacrificed so much for me.
But my hand still passed through her body.
I started crying too.
Why? Why can’t I hug my mom? I just want to ease her pain!
The nurse, seeing my mom’s desperation, tried everything to resuscitate me.
When we arrived at the hospital, the nurse shook her head as she looked at my mom.
"It’s too late. She has no signs of life anymore."
"How could you be so careless as parents? Why didn’t you pay more attention to your daughter’s condition?"
My mom couldn’t even hear the nurse’s last words because she fainted from crying so hard.
I stayed with my mom in the hospital room. Even after she woke up, the tears didn’t stop.
She kept calling someone. I recognized the number—it was my dad’s.
But no one answered. He was probably having a good time with Aunt Violet.
I quietly stayed by my mom’s side, watching her cry until there were no more tears left.
In the end, she took me to a terrible place all by herself.
When she came out, she was holding a small box, looking lost and broken.
She walked down the street alone, nearly falling several times.
Each time, I wanted to catch her, but I couldn’t touch her.
When we got home, I saw that my mom’s feet were bleeding.
She sat on the floor holding that little box, and she stayed there all night.
The next day, when she woke up, she didn’t seem quite herself.
Tears started flowing from her eyes again.
I reached out to wipe them away, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t.
I knew I couldn’t touch my mom, but I didn’t want to see her so heartbroken.
And so, my mom sat there with that little box for three whole days.
Wasn’t she hungry?
I watched her the whole time—she didn’t eat anything at all.
She looked so worn out.
I wanted to eat something too. My favorite was the chicken and potatoes she used to make because I loved potatoes.
But now, I couldn’t have any of it.
By the third day at noon, my mom seemed to have made a decision. She took some papers and prepared to leave the house.
But just as she reached the door, she suddenly collapsed.
I screamed in panic, hoping someone would help her.
But no matter how much I shouted, no one could hear me.
It wasn’t until evening, when the neighbor came home, that someone found her and called 911.
The doctor put my mom on an IV and comforted her as she woke up.
“Ms. Rogers, don’t keep hurting yourself like this, your daughter wouldn’t want to see you suffer.”
“No matter what, you need to take care of your own health!”
I nodded hard. The doctor was right! Seeing my mom like this broke my heart.
Just then, my dad barged in.
“Gianna, what nonsense are you up to now? Pretending to be sick again?”
“Where’s your fucking daughter? Get her out here! Right now! I need to teach her a lesson!”
“I don’t know how the hell you raised her, but she’s fucking disrespectful and rude.”
“Violet kindly peeled that crab for her, and not only was she ungrateful, but she also threw it on the fucking ground.”
“And you, barging into someone else’s home like that—do you have any manners? Why are you so brash?”
“Did you know Violet twisted her ankle because you fucking bitch pushed her?”
My mom listened to my dad’s rant without any expression, just quietly glancing at the little box.
The doctor was shocked and looked at my dad angrily.
Ever since Violet came into the picture, my dad never treated my mom kindly again.
He would always criticize her, saying she couldn’t compare to Violet and calling her an old hag who didn’t know how to take care of people.
I was furious!
I wanted to tell my dad, “Dad, I’m already dead. Does that count as an apology to Violet? So, can you at least apologize to Mom now?”
But I knew he wouldn’t hear me.
He suddenly grabbed my mom’s wrist. “Gianna, are you fucking deaf? I’m talking to you!”
“Are you pretending to be fucking mute too? Don’t you have any shame?”
“Damn, do you know how humiliated I felt when you slapped me the other day?”
The doctor, seeing how rough my dad was, quickly pushed him away.
“Mr. Evans, this is a hospital. Please be mindful of where you are.”
“And Ms. Rogers hasn’t eaten for three days. She’s very weak and is on glucose right now.”
“If you have time to blame your wife, why don’t you show some concern for your daughter?”
“Do you even know that your daughter has…”
“Shut up! What business is it of yours? Who the hell are you?” My dad pushed the doctor aside.
The doctor was furious. “If you keep this up, I’m calling the police!”
My mom didn’t want to cause trouble for the doctor.
She tugged at his sleeve and then threw the papers at my dad.
“Sign them. From now on, we owe each other nothing.”
“And from this day forward, you’ll never see our daughter again.”
When my mom mentioned me, tears started flowing again.
The doctor sighed as he wiped away her tears, shaking his head.
My dad looked at the divorce papers and actually laughed.
"Gianna, so you've already prepared for this, huh? You really want a divorce?"
"It seems like you've had everything planned out, just waiting for this fucking moment, haven’t you?"
"But don't forget, with my power, you won't be able to take our daughter from me!"
My mom stared at my dad coldly.
"Daughter? Judah Evans, you've always preferred sons over daughters. Do you even remember you have a daughter?"
"If you cared about Sofia, would you not know she has severe asthma?"
"If you cared about our daughter, would you have never taken her out to have fun?"
"Because every time you go out, it's always with Violet's son!"
"Judah, you don’t care about me or Sofia, so don't even think about seeing her again!"
I nodded firmly, agreeing with her.
Dad never took me out to play.
Mom used to lie to me, saying Dad was busy with work and didn’t have time.
But there were several times when we went to the amusement park, and I saw Dad there with Violet and her son.
And they looked so happy, just like a real family.
Mom would always take me away, looking heartbroken.
Suddenly, Dad grabbed my mom by the throat.
"Gianna, don't you dare push me, or I’ll kill you."
"I'm telling you, even if we divorce, you won’t get a fucking dime."
"And I’ll use every resource I have to make sure you don’t get custody of our daughter!"
"I’ll make sure you live a lonely, miserable life!"
I frantically tried to pry his hands off her, but I couldn’t do anything.
Luckily, the doctor pushed my dad to the ground.
"Mr. Evans, you’ve gone too far—this is attempted murder!"
"And your daughter’s asthma is so severe—how could you not know?"
"Sending her to the garden was nothing short of murder!"
My dad glared at the doctor, then suddenly laughed.
"I get it! You must be Gianna’s fucking lover, right? Working together to deceive me?"
"My daughter’s asthma was cured when she was little. Damn, do you think I don’t know that?"
"What’s next? Are you going to tell me my daughter is dead?"
"You must think I'm a fucking fool!"
In reality, my asthma never got better.
It’s just that Dad never cared about me or paid attention to me.
I remember one time he came home with flowers, saying Aunt Violet sent them for me and that I should take good care of them.
But my asthma was so severe that I couldn’t be around pollen at all.
Mom told Dad several times, but he never listened.
He even said that Mom was just jealous of Violet and afraid she’d take me away.
More than once, Dad would bring flowers to my room, trying to place them by my bed.
He’d even mutter, "Your mom says you’re allergic to pollen and that your asthma hasn’t improved. I don’t believe her."
"I think she’s just worried you’ll like Violet more, so she made it up."
"Sofia, how would you like Violet to be your mom? Your current mom is just a worthless woman!"
When I saw Dad placing the flowers by my bed, I quickly knocked them over and ran outside.
Dad would always curse at me, calling me ungrateful and worthless.
But Mom had told me that if I inhaled pollen, my asthma would get worse.
If I hadn’t run away, I might have died long ago.
But Dad never believed Mom or me.
Mom looked at Dad with tears streaming down her face, completely disappointed.
"Judah, just sign the papers. I won’t take a cent from you, but you’ll never see Sofia again."
“You love Violet, don’t you? Now you can go ahead and start a new family with her.”
Without a second thought, my dad signed the divorce papers and tossed them back to my mom.
“You won’t get any fucking money, and our daughter won’t be yours either. You bitch will never be able to take her from me!”
I watched my dad leave and shouted after him in anger.
“I’m not going with you! I want to stay with Mom. You’re a bad person, Dad!”
After he left, the doctor kept comforting my mom.
I quietly watched them, thinking how wonderful it would be if the doctor were my dad. He was so gentle and kind.
That night, Mom lay awake in her hospital bed, unable to sleep.
I stayed by her side, watching as she finally cried herself to sleep.
I knew the truth about Dad.
Mom had told me before that Dad and Violet were childhood sweethearts and first loves.
But back then, Violet chose to pursue her career and married a university professor instead.
Eventually, she followed the professor abroad to build a life there.
Dad had wanted to go with her, but his parents stopped him.
He always insisted that Violet had been forced to leave, that it wasn’t her choice.
But if it wasn’t her choice, who could have forced her to marry an old man?
My parents’ marriage was a business arrangement with no real emotional connection.
But Mom always took care of Dad and never harbored any other intentions.
After they got married, Mom thought they could at least live together with mutual respect.
But then Aunt Violet returned, a widow with a large inheritance.
She started reconnecting with Dad more and more.
Because of that, Dad began to see Mom as less and less valuable, accusing her of marrying him for his wealth.
He constantly told Mom how much better he was than her, that she was just a business school graduate with no real abilities.
When Mom became pregnant, she stayed home all the time.
Dad rarely came home, and he was even having a candlelit dinner with Violet when Mom went into labor.
When he found out Mom had given birth to a daughter, he was even more disappointed.
After that, he hardly came home at all.
Mom stayed in the hospital for two days.
Finally, she took the little box and returned to her parents’ house.
My grandparents had passed away two years ago, so now Mom had no family left.
She looked around the cold, empty house and clutched the little box tightly.
“Sofia, I’m so sorry. I couldn’t give you a healthy, happy life.”
“But I can’t bear to bury you. Would you be willing to stay with me forever?”
I nodded hard.
Of course, I would. I wanted to stay with Mom forever and make her happy.
But she couldn’t see my response.
That afternoon, Mom placed the little box on an altar and wrote my name on it.
That’s when I realized the box held my ashes.
On the third day, Dad suddenly barged in.
He brought several bodyguards with him, storming in with anger.
As soon as he saw Mom, he slapped her so hard she fell to the ground.
“You worthless bitch! Did you encourage Sofia to do this?”
“Hurry up and bring Sofia out. I’m taking her to apologize to Violet!”
Mom looked at him in disbelief. "Judah, are you seriously not letting this go just because Sofia spit out the crab meat that could have triggered her allergies? That’s your daughter!"
Dad waved his hand dismissively. "I don’t have a daughter like that. If I catch her, I’ll beat her to death for trying to kill someone at such a young age!"
I shouted back, "I didn’t do it!"
Even though I’m young, I know that only bad people hurt others, and I’m not a bad person!
But Dad couldn’t hear me.
Mom, furious, tried to hit him. "What nonsense are you talking about? How could Sofia harm anyone when she’s so little?"
This seemed to spark an idea in Dad’s mind. He pointed at Mom and said, "You’re right! The idea to throw acid on Violet must have been yours. How else would Sofia, being so young, get her hands on acid?"
Mom, enraged, grabbed a decorative vase by the door. "Throw acid? When did this happen? Where? Do you have any proof? If you dare to slander my daughter, I’ll go down with you!"
"Yesterday morning. Violet was shopping at the mall when a child threw acid on her. That child’s height, appearance, even her fucking clothes were identical to what Sofia was wearing at the party. The mall’s surveillance cameras caught the whole thing!"
Dad, looking smug, pulled out his phone and played a video, tossing it to Mom.
I stood on my toes and craned my neck to watch the video with Mom. The footage did show what Dad described.
But I was already dead—how could I have thrown acid?
Dad, seeing Mom’s silence, clearly believed she recognized the child in the video as me. He crossed his arms and said in a condescending tone, "See, I’m not wrong. Sofia is my daughter—I’d never mistake her. Hand her over, and I’ll take her to apologize to Violet on her fucking knees. Given my relationship with Violet, she won’t hold it against Sofia. This way, the police can close the fucking case quickly. Otherwise, when they arrive, it’ll be a different story."
"I didn’t do it! That wasn’t me, you horrible, awful Dad! My dress had a rip in the pocket, and Mom sewed a little pink piggy patch on it. The one in the video doesn’t have that!"
I tried to punch Dad, but my fist went right through him, hitting nothing but air.
But Mom just laughed, her eyes full of sarcasm. "Fine, I’ll wait for the police to come."
Dad’s face darkened. "Gianna, don’t push your luck!"
Mom casually gestured for him to go ahead.
Dad dialed a number and put the call on speaker. As soon as the call connected, his tone became sickeningly sweet. " Violet, Gianna is shielding that brat. Go ahead and tell the officer handling your case that we refuse to settle. They need to learn their fucking lesson this time, or they’ll just do it again."
"Judah, let it go. I’m fine, really. Sofia is just a child; I can understand why she might hold a grudge over your punishment. Please, don’t fight with your wife or hurt the child," Violet’s soft, delicate voice came through the phone.
Dad’s face immediately softened. "Violet, you’re so understanding. If you were Sofia’s mother, she wouldn’t have turned out this fucking way!"
At that moment, Mom pulled out her phone and made a call of her own. "911? I’d like to report someone here for slander and making false accusations against my daughter. Please send someone over immediately."
Dad slapped the phone out of Mom’s hand before she could say anything more. But before he could speak, Mom, with tears in her eyes, lunged at him, fighting to get her phone back. "Give me back my phone! It has pictures of Sofia—that’s all I have left of her!"
Dad shoved Mom to the ground. "You’re fucking crazy!"
Mom laughed bitterly. "Crazy? You think I’m crazy?"
"If I’m crazy, then you’re a complete idiot! How could you conclude that was Sofia just from a video where you can’t even see the face clearly? Sometimes I wish Sofia didn’t have a father like you!"
