It felt like I had spent my entire life making one mistake after another.
I chose to be with Andre, then he ruined my education and destroyed my family. Then, I chose to give birth to a child, only to have him suffer from illness.
Now, I chose to work in a nightclub, only to run into Andre again and the entanglement cost me my father's life. My existence felt like the cruelest joke.
I sat on a hospital bench, laughing and crying like a lunatic.
"Josephine, don't be like this." Andre tried to hug me, but I slapped him across the face.
I stared at him coldly, as if I'd returned to nine years ago, when all I had for him was hatred, "Andre, why did you come back? Why won't you leave me alone?"
"You want revenge, but what did my mom and I do wrong? Wasn't it your dad who betrayed your mother? You don't even know who you should really hate and you've ruined my whole family. What do I owe you, huh?" I shoved him to the ground and punched him like a madwoman.
Back then, my mother was just a young woman in her early twenties. She had just entered the workforce, simple and kind and quickly attracted a crowd of admirers.
Among them, Andre's father stood out. He wasn't just good-looking, he also had a promising career.
My mom quickly fell for his romantic pursuit. But she didn't know he was already married and that his wife was five or six months pregnant.
The biggest regret of my life was meeting him and falling in love with him.
But time couldn't be turned back, I could only drown in endless remorse over the years.
Andre was still stunned when my father's wheelchair suddenly rushed between us, "Andre? Why are you here again?"
Andre turned and stared at my father in shock.
Afraid he'd agitate Dad, I hurried to push the wheelchair away, "Dad, why aren't you asleep yet? He's not Andre, you're mistaken. Let's go home, okay?"
"No, it's him." My father stubbornly locked the wheels with his hands. When I stopped pushing, he used both arms to shove me aside, "Josephine, go home. Don't let him fool you again."
Before I could explain, my dad turned to Andre, he was agitated, "What are you planning to do to my daughter now? You think you haven't hurt her enough already?"
"You wanted revenge, didn't you already get it nine years ago? Josephine's mother died because of your revenge. If that's still not enough … if it's still not enough … then take my life too." Before we could react, my father spun the wheelchair around and charged into the street.
"Dad, what are you doing!" I lunged forward, but failed to grab the handles in time.
A large truck blared its horn repeatedly, brakes screeching in panic. But it was all too late.
I watched as my father was thrown into the air, like a broken kite crashing to the ground. Blood spread beneath him, growing wider, thicker.
"Dad …" My body trembled as I crawled off the ground, staggering forward.
"Mommy, what happened to Grandpa?" The voice behind me made me freeze. I slowly turned around and rushed to grab Cedric, holding him tightly, "Don't look, Cedric. Don't look."
What I didn't notice was Andre staring at Cedric, his face drained of color, "You … kept that child?"
