Chapter two
last update2025-10-16 15:10:31

Upon hearing what Patricia just said, Jeremy’s anger exploded even further. His eyes widened, Immediately he took a step closer, his wet clothes clinging tighter to his body, his fists shaking as though he was struggling not to strike the air.

“So you did what is right?” Jeremy roared, his tone breaking with fury. “You call this right? You undermined your own daughter’s life. You gambled with her breath, her future, her chance to survive just to save who? Your ex-boyfriend! And now you stand here so proud, saying it was the right thing to do. Patricia, what is wrong with you? What came over you that you could make such a decision? Have you gone completely nuts?”

The veins in his neck bulged as he leaned forward, his eyes locked on hers.

However before Jeremy could even finish, Patricia snapped. She flung her hand into the air, her voice cutting him off sharply like a whip.

“Keep your mouth shut, Jeremy!” she barked, her face twisted in anger, her voice trembling with the effort to sound firm. “Why are you shouting at me like I am your slave? Like I did something unforgivable? You talk as if I stole the only oxygen that was keeping your daughter alive and handed it to Stephen. It was only a pill. Do you hear me? Only a pill! Nothing more!”

Her chest rose and fell quickly, her words laced with scorn. “Why are you acting like I gave Steven our daughter’s very life? Stop making this sound bigger than it is!”

The room went cold. Jeremy’s jaw clenched, but before he could release the storm inside him, Steven’s voice broke in.

“Patricia,” he said firmly, raising his hand as if to calm her. “Calm down. I’ll handle this.”

Immediately he pushed himself up from the sofa, his movements slow but deliberate, brushing his shirt smooth as he stood. His eyes shifted from Patricia to Jeremy, and then he took careful steps forward, closing the space between them. His voice came out calm, yet with a strange weight behind it.

“Jeremy,” Steven began, his tone steady, “you have every right to be angry. Yes, you do. I understand it.” He paused, his lips curling into a faint, almost measured smile. “But you shouldn’t blame Patricia. She didn’t have another choice, and you know it. That is the only reason she did what she did.”

Steven’s voice grew firmer as he straightened his shoulders, his eyes narrowing with a calm confidence that only fueled Jeremy’s rage. “Jeremy,” he said slowly, “I am very sure Patricia would never have given me that last pill if my condition wasn’t truly worse. You know it too, even if you don’t want to admit it. My body was failing, and though she never wanted to… she gave it to me because she has a good heart. A heart that can’t stand watching someone die when she has the power to save them.”

He let out a breath, then continued, almost like he was lecturing a child. “I shouldn’t even be explaining myself to you. I don’t owe you that. But looking at your face, I know you’re angry, very angry. And perhaps you deserve something for that anger. Some… compensation, if that’s what will quiet your storm.”

With that, Steven slowly slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. His movements were deliberate, almost insulting in their calmness. He counted out some Cash, about a thousand dollars, and held them out toward Jeremy.

“Here,” Stephen said, his lips curling into a faint smirk. “Take this. Use it to get yourself something. Or better yet, buy your daughter a toy. I noticed her hospital room… nothing cheerful, nothing bright for a child to hold onto. No toy, no comfort. Perhaps this will help you give her something she’s missing.”

At that moment the entire room froze, everyone’s eyes darting between the two men.

Then Jeremy’s face darkened, his chest tightening as he stared at the money in Stephen’s hand. For a brief moment, silence reigned.

Then Jeremy moved. With a sharp snap, he smacked the money from Steven’s hand, sending the cash scattering across the floor. His voice thundered with fury. “Is this some kind of a joke to you? are you mocking me, mocking my daughter’s pain, in my face?”

The sound of the bills hitting the ground echoed through the tense room. Patricia flinched, Mr. Raymond shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but Jeremy’s eyes stayed locked on Stephen, burning with fire.

Steven, however, didn’t flinch. He leaned in closer, his lips curving into something that was neither a smile nor a scowl, but something darker. His voice dropped, quiet but sharp enough to pierce the silence.

“Well,” he whispered, his breath brushing against Jeremy’s face, “there is something I really want to tell you.”

Steven leaned in so close that Jeremy could feel his breath against his ear. His words came out in a hushed whisper, laced with mockery that only Jeremy could hear.

“I wasn’t really sick,” Steven murmured, his tone low and cruel. “Not sick at all. I only wanted to test her to see just how much Patricia still cares about me. To see if she’d leave that good-for-nothing daughter of yours, that cursed little child, and come to save me instead. And look at how perfectly it worked. She chose me. She gave me the last pill meant for your daughter and didn’t even hesitate. Doesn’t that tell you something, Jeremy? I still have a big place in her heart. You should get that into your thick skull. Everything you saw… all of this… I was only pretending.”

Immediately the words struck Jeremy like lightning. His chest tightened, his blood boiled, and his eyes darkened with a rage he could no longer contain. His fists shook at his sides, his entire body trembling like a volcano about to erupt.

And before Steven could utter another poisonous word, Jeremy snapped. With a roar that came from deep within his chest, he drove his fist hard into Stephen’s stomach. The blow landed with a sickening thud.

At that moment Steven’s body folded instantly. His face twisted in pain as he staggered backward and crashed to the floor, both hands clutching his stomach, gasping for air. The shock in his eyes was clear he hadn’t expected Jeremy’s fury to explode so violently.

Immediately the room erupted in chaos. Patricia shot up from her seat, her hands flying to her mouth, while Mr. Raymond’s face burned red with rage.

“Jeremy! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Patricia’s voice pierced the air, trembling with fury. She rushed forward, pointing at him with trembling fingers, her face pale with shock.

But before Jeremy could even turn to answer, before he could release the storm in his throat, Patricia immediately marched toward him, and in one swift motion, she raised her hand and delivered a hefty slap across Jeremy’s face.

“Slap!!”

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