Chapter 3

The ceramic shards flew onto Christopher's pant legs and shoes, leaving a white scratch on the leather. He suddenly felt an eerie sense of weightlessness. The feeling spread from his chest to his entire body, as if the scratch was carved on his heart and not on his shoes. Christopher was speechless for a moment. Suddenly, he caught sight of blood on the floor. It came from the wound on Brooklyn's foot. He stepped forward and reached out to hold her arm instinctively. "Brooklyn, you're hurt." At that moment, Samantha let out a pitiful sob. Pursing his lips, Christopher released Brooklyn's arm and instructed her quickly, "Take a seat for now. I'll bandage Samantha first before tending to your wound." Brooklyn gave him a wry smile and strode out of the office without sparing him another glance. That evening, Brooklyn picked up her phone and saw Samantha's Facebook post. It was a photo of blue skies, the vast ocean, and a giant cruise ship. Beaming widely, her employees held up a red banner that said, "Thank you, Ms. Zeller, for the company trip!" Christopher had his arms around Samantha as they stood at the bow. Both of them were smiling happily in the photo. Since Samantha had just become the new boss, she took her employees on a company trip for team building. Meanwhile, Christopher went along to help her build authority and win their hearts. Brooklyn was reminded of those years she had fought alone to build her company. Christopher kept her company as they stayed up through the night to revise project materials and brainstorm ways to improve customer traffic… But it was always Brooklyn who reached out to Christopher. He never took the initiative to think of her needs. Christopher also never accompanied her to any company events, not even when she begged him to. He didn't like socializing, so Brooklyn didn't push him. At that moment, she thought he was already doing enough. But after seeing how he treated her in comparison to Samantha, the disparity in love and effort became painfully clear. For an entire week, Samantha kept updating her Facebook with travel photos. She even sent a few directly to Brooklyn. There was a bouquet of red roses and a pair of matching couple bracelets on their wrists, side by side. Samantha's text read, "Brooklyn, this restaurant for couples has great food! We even won these beautiful matching bracelets from the kissing challenge. You and Chris should come and try it sometime!" Brooklyn tightened her grip around the phone and suppressed the suffocating pain she felt in her chest. Her finger was trembling uncontrollably. She had to try a few times before she finally managed to capture a screenshot and save it as evidence. Samantha came looking for Brooklyn the day she and Christopher returned from the company trip. She spoke in a pitiful tone. "Brooklyn, I've only been away for a week, but all our business partners cut ties with us suddenly. They are even spreading rumors that I'm having an affair with Chris. "This is also your company. Even if you hate me, you shouldn't ruin the company. If you're really upset with me, I'll hand the company back to you." Brooklyn didn't want to argue, even though she had been falsely accused without reason. She enunciated each word coldly, "The company belongs to you. Don't come to me now that things have gone wrong." Samantha dropped to her knees and cried, "Brooklyn, I'll keep kneeling here if you're still mad at me. But you shouldn't jeopardize Chris' company from going public, even if you're angry at me." Brooklyn didn't have a chance to respond when she was suddenly shoved aside with force. She accidentally hit her head on the doorframe, and a streak of bright red blood trickled down her cheek. She saw Christopher rushing over to help Samantha up from the floor, his expression full of worry and concern. "Samantha had knee surgery before, so she can't kneel on the ground or be exposed to drafts. Why are you making things so difficult for her? Can't you be more tolerant?" Hot tears welled up in Brooklyn's eyes immediately. It felt as if the festering wound in her heart was torn open and bleeding profusely after getting stabbed by a knife. He remembered Samantha's weak knees, but what about her company? What about Robert? Christopher remembered none of it. Brooklyn snapped angrily, "If you think I'm making things difficult for her, come back with evidence before you accuse me." She slammed the door shut. The next day, Brooklyn went to the kindergarten to pick up Robert. She saw a few shady-looking young men carrying Robert away by force. Brooklyn rushed up to stop them and save her son. However, she nearly lost consciousness after getting beaten to the ground by the group. With the last ounce of her strength, she managed to call the police and tried to call Christopher. Once, twice, and thrice… The call went through on her 20th try. Unexpectedly, Samantha's lazy voice came from the other end of the call. "Chris is in the shower." Brooklyn was so furious that she finally lost consciousness and fainted. She found herself in a hospital ward when she opened her eyes once again. Christopher's anxious face appeared in front of her. "About our son—" Christopher cut her off and spoke urgently. "The ones who picked Robert up were Samantha's friends. I gave them permission to do so. They only fought back because they didn't recognize you and thought you were trying to kidnap him. "You need to hurry up and explain things clearly to the police. Samantha was also taken in for questioning. She has had trauma from police stations, and it will be hard on her to stay there…" As Christopher spoke, he helped Brooklyn sit up. He only realized that she was in pain and slowed down his movements when she let out a soft hiss. Brooklyn smiled bitterly. She thought that he was worried about her health, but it turned out that he was merely concerned about Samantha's suffering. "I want to see Robert," Brooklyn said. "I'll bring him to you immediately once you withdraw your police report." Brooklyn let out a laugh. It turned out that she could still laugh even though she was utterly heartbroken from disappointment. She asked, "Aren't you going to ask how many bones I've broken, how much does it hurt, or even whether I'm thirsty?" Christopher brought a cup of water to her lips and coaxed gently, "I've called in the best specialists for you. You'll be fine." Brooklyn chuckled drily and gave her statement to the police. Ten minutes later, Samantha entered the room with Robert in tow. The boy looked listless as he walked in. Tears rolled down his cheeks when he saw Brooklyn lying in the hospital bed, looking as pale as a sheet. He cried, "They put headphones on me so I couldn't hear your voice. I'm sorry, Mom. Are you hurting a lot? Let me blow on your wounds for you." Brooklyn's tears finally spilled from her eyes. Even a child could see that she was hurting, but Christopher hadn't cared to ask once. Brooklyn caught sight of Samantha approaching them at that moment. She instinctively pulled Robert closer to her side, putting some distance between them. Samantha gave her a half-smile and glanced at Christopher, who was outside taking a call. She leaned closer to Brooklyn and whispered, "I gave Robert a little gift. Why don't you guess what it is?"