Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Even after I got out of the operation room, it seemed that Shawn didn't care that we had just lost our seven-month-old unborn child. Even though this hospital belonged to his company, Dawson Group, he purposefully set me up at a simple hospital bed in the corner of the stairwell. Coldness was all I could feel as I laid there, and even my son, who was keeping me company, couldn't help but shiver. Even then, he didn't care about himself. Instead, he gripped my hand tightly and breathed warm air onto it with his little mouth. "I'll make you warm, Mommy!" I forced a weak smile, trying to trick him. "Mommy's not cold, Aster." When I saw his hands swollen red and blue from the cold, I couldn't help my tears. Just a few steps of the staircase away, Jasmine was staying in a luxurious ward. She had doctors on command to check on her 24/7 as well as a bunch of bodyguards and maids at the beck and call, all at the behest of Shawn. Aster clenched his teeth, and seemed to come to a conclusion. "Mommy, let me go ask Jasmine for help! If she asks Daddy to save you, he'll come!" I looked at my son's gaze, as clear as a spring of water, and I couldn't help feeling heartbroken. He was a good boy, but he was only six years old. He wouldn't comprehend that Jasmine was the one who had pushed me down the stairs and fell down by my side to incriminate me. That woman wanted nothing but for me to die early. Suddenly, a warm stream of blood flowed out under my body. My son screamed. "There's so much blood! Mommy, there's so much blood!" Before I could say anything, he started making a mad dash up the stairs. I knew that he was trying to go find Jasmine, and I was so anxious that I felt a pang in my heart. I wanted to crawl up, to stop him, to do anything, but I just couldn't muster up even the slightest bit of strength. After several days of being left in this weakened state, I couldn't hold on any longer, my life slipping away from my body. Miraculously, my soul managed to leave my body, and I quickly drifted after my son. He'd just managed to get to the entrance of Jasmine's ward, but before he could knock on the door, the bodyguard there kicked him. "Mr. Dawson ordered us not to let you bother Miss Stark!" My son hit the ground with a loud thump, but he was in too much of a hurry to even try climbing back up. Using his limbs, he crawled over to the door and hit it with his clenched fists as hard as he could. "Ms. Stark! Ms. Stark! Mommy's bleeding so much! Please, tell the doctors to save her!" To keep me company, my son had suffered hunger and cold these past few days. My poor son, who'd been living in luxury his entire life. After everything, his hands were already swollen beyond recognition. Now, as he pounded on the door, his skin split open, smearing fresh blood on the wood. I cried out, begging him not to do this. He shouldn't beg that witch for me! I was already dead… Unfortunately, souls couldn't speak. Suddenly, the door of the ward opened. Jasmine was sitting there, elegantly sipping on a bowl of nourishing soup. "Let him in." Like a cub being caught by the scruff, the bodyguard outside dragged him into the room by the collar of his shirt, before throwing him on the ground in front of Jasmine. Jasmine carefully examined her newly manicured nails. "You want me to save your mother, boy?" Seeing him nod vigorously, she smirked. "Kneel down in front of me and beg for forgiveness on her behalf, and I'll call the doctors."

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Aster frowned. "Mommy did nothing wrong! You were the one who pushed her down the stairs, I saw it!" Jasmine's expression suddenly became ice-cold, and she waved her hand, gesturing for the bodyguards to throw him out. "Fine, then go watch your mother die." Aster panicked, his eyes red as tears fell down his cheeks. "I'll do it! I'll say sorry!" And so, I watched as my son kneeled down in front of Jasmine. My heart felt like it was being stabbed with knives a thousand times over, and I wanted nothing more than to run over and hold him in my arms. He was Shawn's only son, and the heir to Dawson Group, yet he was being played for a fool! It was my fault as a mother for not protecting him… Jasmine covered her mouth, jeering. "Aren't you forgetting something?" My son wiped his tears and bent down, heavily knocking his head on the floor. "Ms. Stark, get mad at me, not Mommy!" The ward was warm, with the heating on full blast, and Jasmine wore only a thin white dress. Yet, my son was sweating profusely from the heat. Jasmine's heart was as cold as ice. She shot a glance at the bodyguard. "Didn't you eat? Put your back into it!" The bodyguard understood what she wanted and walked forward, clamping Aster's neck with his hand and smashing him towards the ground. Aster let out a pained cry as his head hit the tiles with a loud thump. After a few times, a large bump appeared on his forehead, swollen, bruised and purple. Sweat mixed with blood, clumping his hair together in a tangled mess, and he was in a poorer condition than a beggar. I screamed and pounced at the bodyguard, shouting at him not to hurt my son, but my arms phased through his body time and time again. I couldn't save my son. I couldn't even let my furious cries be heard. Jasmine waved her hand again, gesturing for him to stop. "Don't kill him, now." Aster's eyes were closed, his breathing weak. With a trembling hand, he tried the best he could to reach into the pocket of his down jacket, pulling out a toy with much difficulty. Along with motion, an accessory that looked like a little golden pig clattered onto the floor at his feet. "I… I'm done… Can you save Mommy now…? Here's… The toy car Daddy gave me, and the piggy Grandpa gave me… "I don't want anything… I just want Mommy…" I kneeled down beside Aster, placing my arms and hugging him as I sobbed. In the past, Shawn and I were a loving couple, admired by many. "Astrea, let's call him… Aster." He'd hug Aster as he told him bedtime stories. He'd hold Aster's hand gently as they walked around, and even taught him how to dive and ski. He never bought any toys for him, though, saying that they would be a waste of his time. "He's the only heir of the family, after all, so he should be the best at everything." This toy car, however, was a gift from him to Aster when we went to Universal Studios. He participated in a gaming contest on his own, and won it for him. Aster, naturally, treated the toy like a piece of treasure, even putting it by his pillow when he went to bed. Meanwhile, the golden pig wasn't some toy bought in a random curio store. The fortune tellers said that the golden pig could bring Aster good luck. His grandfather hired the best designers to encrust it with ninety-nine diamonds, with the hopes that it'd protect him and keep him safe. All of this, however, came to an end when Jasmine came back from overseas. Time after again, she incriminated me, causing Shawn to lose every bit of trust he had in me. When Aster protected me, Jasmine cried and convinced Shawn that I taught him to hit people and lie, and that I was a terrible influence. I was in the middle of my thoughts when Jasmine stepped down from her hospital bed into her high-heels. She strutted over to Aster and stomped on the toy car, crushing it to pieces. "Are you trying to show off how much your family dotes on you, you brat?!" Then, she ordered the bodyguards to strip off Aster's thick coat and twist his arms behind his back, before digging her sharp nails viciously into his tender skin. After a few scratches, his chest and stomach were covered in bruises and torn flesh, blood dripping down. "A gold pig? You're a dumb piglet, more like!" Jasmine cackled, her sneer vicious. "How do you think your mother died? I bought out the doctors, you idiot! You haven't seen that short-lived little sister of yours, right? "Such a tiny little thing, couldn't even cry… The doctors suffocated her to death, serves her right." Hearing this, I wanted to become a vengeful ghost and drag this witch down to the underworld with me! "Honestly, it's your fault for being born to that useless woman. How dare she steal Shawn from me while I was overseas?!" In a moment, Aster seemed to have an epiphany. He opened his swollen eyes and bit Jasmine's wrist, making her screech. "Bad lady! You're a bad lady! Gimme my little sister back! I'm telling Daddy so the police can catch you!"

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Jasmine, furious, yanked her hand away and stood up, ruthlessly kicking Aster in the stomach. The poor boy arched his back in pain, retching violently. In the past few days, he hadn't even eaten more than scraps while taking care of me, so in that moment, nothing came out but blood mixed with stomach acid. Suddenly, footsteps came from outside the door. Jasmine's expression changed and immediately put on Aster's clothes properly. The moment she finished zipping up his jacket, Shawn walked in the door. "I left my watch… Aster?" His eyes locked onto his son, whose forehead was bruised and swollen. His expression shifted to shock. “What’s going on? Jasmine, did you hit him?” Jasmine furrowed her brows and massaged her temples, swaying as if she was about to faint. Shawn immediately stepped forward, holding her in his arms. "I don't know what I did wrong, Shawn…" Jasmine murmured, deliberately lifting her wrist to reveal the bite wound. As she cried, she recounted the false tale of how Aster had hit the door and made a ruckus outside, and how she let him in out of the goodness of her heart, only for him to hit himself on the wall repeatedly, saying that she abused him. Seeing the bloody marks on her wrist made any lingering suspicions Shawn had about the situation vanish. However, I knew that Aster had already lost most of his strength by that time, so he didn't even manage to bite her all that hard. Those marks were left behind by the blood in his mouth! The bodyguards stood beside him, subtly supporting him so that he wouldn't crumple to the ground. "You've become a sly one, Aster! To think that you've learned to cause trouble while I wasn't around… How in the world did Astrea raise the heir of our family to become a hooligan? I'll make sure she never sees you once we get a divorce!" My son didn't cry while he was being beaten up, but this was the straw that broke the camel's back. "Daddy… Don't you love Mommy anymore? Don't you want me anymore…?" His weak, trembling voice, his battered face, and his swollen, tear-filled eyes made Shawn’s foot hesitate mid-step. Jasmine’s eyes flickered, and she stumbled out of Shawn’s arms. "Silly boy, your father's a grown-up! He wouldn't be as childish as you, throwing that toy car on the floor! You even said you didn't want it anymore!" That was when Shawn noticed the shattered toy car on the floor. His expression stiffened. Jasmine discreetly signaled to one of the bodyguards, and he tapped his phone, playing an audio recording. "Bad lady! You're a bad lady! Gimme my little sister back! I'm telling Daddy so the police can catch you!" At that point, Shawn's expression became stormy, and he was so angry that his fingers trembled. "To think I was worried about you… You must have learned to act pitiful from your mother!" I shook my head, screaming desperately—no, no! Aster was the most well-mannered child there was! Why wouldn't he believe his own son? Shawn ordered the bodyguards to throw Aster out of the room. Aster collapsed onto the floor, motionless. Even after Shawn retrieved his watch and finished comforting Jasmine, he found Aster still lying face down outside the door. "Still keeping up the act, huh? So young, yet so manipulative." At that, he took a picture and sent it to my phone. "Come and get your son! Do you want to embarrass yourselves even more?" What Shawn didn’t know was that I was already kneeling beside Aster, crying as if I had died all over again. At that moment, I hated myself more than I hated Shawn and Jasmine. Why did I have to stand by and watch my son suffer such cruel abuse? Why did I have to die so soon? If Jasmine truly became Aster’s stepmother one day, would we have to endure this living nightmare forever? Seeing that I didn't message him back, Shawn scoffed and walked away, and that's when Aster slowly came to. His sweat and blood had dried, sealing his eyelids shut. Too weak to stand, he groped blindly toward the familiar staircase, crawling forward with great effort. "Mommy… I want to go back to Mommy…" Doctors and nurses passing by whispered among themselves—some in pity, others in ridicule. I followed behind Aster, my soul pierced by a thousand needles. Step by step, each feeling like a lifetime. By the time he finally made it back to me, my blood had long since frozen in the cold night air, but Aster didn't understand. He smiled brightly. "Mommy's not bleeding anymore!" Without his desperation keeping him awake, he passed out by my lifeless body. The next morning, a janitor was the first to notice something was wrong. She screamed in terror, stumbling up the stairs. "T-They're dead!" Shawn, jolted awake by the commotion, stormed out in frustration, shoving aside the medical staff. "What now, Astrea? Did you get the janitor in on the act too, after what you told Aster to do yesterday?" The moment he saw my face, paler than the walls around me, every last trace of color drained from his own.