When Lucas was five, he was unexpectedly diagnosed with genetically carried congenital leukemia.
Without any family history, I assumed Jarvis had hidden something about his family's medical background, until Sarah suddenly returned to the country and, without shame, visited Lucas.
Due to an unknown cause, Lucas was conceived through artificial insemination, and his birth was fraught with difficulties but also filled with immense joy.
For ten months, I poured all my time and love into him. Because of him, I tried to change my anxious, insecure self, just to give him a happy and fulfilled home.
Even before he was born, I had already decided to give him everything I lacked in my childhood. I wanted him to be the happiest child in the world.
I thought we would continue to be happy, but Lucas’s sudden illness shattered everything.
In the ward, Jarvis's phone was unreachable. As I looked at the pale-faced Lucas on the bed, my heart was in agony.
Worried that I hadn’t seen Jarvis yet, I called his close friend Freddie Cohen, only to unexpectedly learn that Jarvis had gone to the airport.
Realizing he had let something slip, Freddie quickly told me not to overthink and hastily hung up.
Jarvis finally showed up the next morning, his clothes noticeably wrinkled, with a lipstick stain on his collar and a faint scent of perfume lingering on him.
Upon hearing from the nurse that Lucas was out of danger, he loosened his collar, irritably questioning why I hadn’t taken better care of Lucas and let him end up like this.
"Ashley, maybe you should quit your job! The little money you're making is pointless, and you can't even take care of Lukie, so why bother?"
After saying that, he didn’t spare me a glance, bending down to gently tuck Lucas in, his eyes filled with nothing but pain and concern.
In our three years of dating and six years of marriage, Jarvis had asked me countless times to quit and become a full-time housewife, but this was the first time he spoke with such a commanding tone. His eyes were full of love for Lucas, yet he completely ignored me, who hadn’t slept all night, and even resented me.
Seeing how self-righteous he was, my already growing suspicions prompted me to coldly remind him, "Jarvis, do you know that Lucas fainted this time due to a hereditary disease, and it’s leukemia?"
Jarvis wanted to argue but stopped himself, something clearly on his mind. After a long pause, he coughed and said he wasn’t sure.
Afraid I would press further, he gently caressed my face and tried to change the subject with a smile, "Ashie, I didn’t really mean to blame you. I’m just so worried about our son’s illness that I spoke without thinking. Don’t overthink it."
"Lukie came from your womb, I know you care about him more than I do." Jarvis had used that line to silence me countless times.
Unwilling to remain in the dark, I pulled his hand away, locking eyes with him, and said with a half-smile, "But I’ve asked your mother, and no one in your family has ever had this so-called hereditary leukemia. I don’t have it, and neither do you. So why does Lucas have it? Is it just a fabrication?"
Past memories replayed in my mind, and some overlooked details suddenly seemed absurdly significant.
Five years of devoted love—no one loved Lucas more than I did. Having lacked affection in my own childhood, I gave him everything I had.
He was my emotional salvation, the person I cared about most in this world, aside from Jarvis.
But the current situation forced me to consider that there might be a real issue with Lucas’s birth.
After Lucas was born, Jarvis put him on a pedestal, handling him with the utmost care and indulging him in every way.
I thought it was the joy of becoming a father, but now it seems he was merely transferring his affections to Lucas, not to me.
When he looked at Lucas, his eyes brimmed with love, as if Jarvis were seeing someone else through Lucas.