Chapter 7
Watching the two children go inside, Emily breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to her own room.
But what she didn't notice was the flash in Oscar's eyes.
He had taken Sophia's words to heart.
Back in his room, Oscar opened his computer, his fingers flying across the keyboard.
He had secretly memorized Sophia's phone number earlier, and now he used his tech skills to hack into her phone. He quickly found the so-called "video" file.
Before clicking on the video, Oscar took a deep breath, feeling somewhat anxious.
He didn't know if Emily would approve of what he was doing, but he didn't want anything to threaten her.
Fortunately, the video was blurry - he could only see William's back, and even up close, he couldn't make out the face, let alone prove the person in it was Emily.
Oscar copied the video to his own computer, then completely deleted the original file from Sophia's phone, even clearing it from the recycle bin.
Only after finishing all this did he relax.
He sat in his chair, his chubby little face full of seriousness.
The man's silhouette in the video looked somewhat familiar.
Oscar frowned, staring at the figure on his computer screen for a long time. The more he looked, the more it seemed to match William's build.
But if it really was him, why would Emily have no memory of William and treat him like a complete stranger?
Oscar muttered to himself, his determination growing stronger.
He had to find out what really happened back then. He would never let Emily be wronged again.
He pressed his lips together tightly, his mind made up.
He couldn't tell Emily about this yet - he didn't want to upset her.
Once he got to the bottom of things, he definitely wouldn't keep it from her.
Closing his computer, Oscar walked out of his room just in time to see Nina running into William's room, clinging to his side and chattering away.
William was leaning against the headboard. Though his face was still pale, he patiently listened to Nina talk, occasionally responding with a word or two.
"Sir, how are you feeling today? Should I give you another checkup?" Nina's big eyes blinked as she looked at him with an adorable expression.
Hearing this, William's lips curved up involuntarily. "No need, you've already checked on me many times."
He looked half-amused. Nina's face flushed, then she put on a serious expression, pretending to be stern. "The doctor said regular checkups help you get better faster. You need to cooperate with my examination."
William simply couldn't resist her sweet pleading.
He cleared his throat lightly, about to give in, when Emily walked in from outside and tapped Nina's head helplessly. "Stop bothering him; he needs to rest."
"It's okay." Before Nina could speak, William had already come to her defense.
"Nina just told me that my eyes and legs will need more time to recover. Is that right?" He urgently wanted an answer to this question.
Emily nodded seriously, then remembered he couldn't see and cleared her throat to answer. "Your condition is quite special. It needs gradual treatment."
"Can I stay here a bit longer then? Once I get my memory back, I'll leave right away. I definitely won't disturb you all."
Emily fell silent, unsure how to respond.
William seemed to sense her hesitation and softened his voice even more, pleading with Emily from a position of humility. "I can't see right now, I have no memory, and my legs aren't working well. I just hope to stay a bit longer. As soon as I'm healed, I'll leave immediately."
"Mommy, just let him stay and play with me a bit longer, okay?" Nina tugged at Emily's arm, gently swaying it.
Left with no choice, Emily agreed. "Whatever you want."
The next day was the children's birthday.
Emily got up early to make a cake, and the sweet smell of cream filled the kitchen.
Nina ran in and out, sometimes helping Emily pass things, sometimes running to William's room to pull him to the living room to wait.
"Today is my brother's and my birthday. My mom made a cake - you have to try it." She pulled William's hand, her eyes curved with joy.
William let her pull him along, slowly settling into the wheelchair and following her to the living room.
Because he couldn't see, his hearing was sharper.
He could clearly hear Emily's footsteps moving around in the kitchen.
"Happy birthday to you..."
As the birthday song rang out in the living room, Emily came out carrying a double-layer cake. The children looked at her and ran over, each hugging one of her legs. "Mommy, we love you."
The moment those sweet voices rang out, Emily felt all the hardships of these past years had been worth it.
"Try it quickly." Her voice grew even softer as she carefully set down the cake and watched the two children make their wishes.
Oscar and Nina cut the first slice of cake together and placed it in her hands. "Mommy, we love you."
Emily replied, "I will always love you, too."
After the simple birthday celebration, as night fell, the two children couldn't stop yawning from sleepiness.
Emily turned around to see that Nina had already fallen asleep in William's arms.
Her little head rested against William's chest, sleeping soundly, with a bit of drool at the corner of her mouth.
William was slightly hunched over - a position that clearly made Nina more comfortable.
Emily was somewhat surprised.
William seemed so cold, but unexpectedly, he was so attentive with children.
She lightened her steps and carried the two children one by one back to their bedrooms to rest.
William said goodnight to her and returned to his own room.
In the quiet of the night, Emily looked at her two sleeping children, tears welling up in her eyes.
After tucking them in, she tiptoed out, went to the kitchen to get a bottle of wine, and sat in the yard drinking alone.
She had given birth to triplets that year, but sadly her eldest son had been weak and died young - a wound in her heart that had never healed.
If it weren't for the children who needed her, Emily probably wouldn't have made it through.
Now, watching how well-behaved and sensible the children were, she couldn't help imagining what it would be like if her eldest son were still here...
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
She drank more and more, her head growing heavier.
The empty bottle slipped from her hand. Emily stood up and stumbled toward the house.
In his room, William had just taken off his pants, his forehead covered in sweat.
Just then, unsteady footsteps approached, bringing with them the strong smell of alcohol.
Before William could react, Emily, reeking of alcohol, floated into his arms like a light leaf.