Cora’s voice echoed through the yard.

The sting on Kaelen’s cheek was nothing compared to the shock that jolted his heart.

His eyes, filled with suspicion, bored into Cora. His voice was cold with disbelief and rage.

“Cora, Nell is your own daughter. How can you be so vicious, joking about her life and death!”

Cora’s hands, hanging at her sides, trembled uncontrollably. Her voice was a choked sob.

“I wish more than anything that this was just a joke. I would do anything if God would just give me my Nellie back!”

Kaelen’s anger turned into a bitter laugh. He gathered the wooden blocks into his arms.

“You took Nell to the clinic just two days ago. If something had really happened to her, don't you think the clinic would have notified me?”

His gaze was like ice. “I don’t care where you’ve hidden her, but you bring her home right now!”

With that, he walked out, clutching the pieces of wood that were meant to be a child’s final resting place.

Cora stared at his back, closing her eyes in utter despair.

She saw the leftover wood shavings in the yard and, as if on autopilot, grabbed a broom and started sweeping.

Her own voice was the only sound in the small yard.

“When Nellie comes back, she’ll be sad to see her daddy making presents for another little girl…”

But Cora didn’t know that Kaelen was standing just outside the gate, and he had heard every word.

A thick, mocking absurdity rose in his throat. This time, he truly turned and walked away.

A light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

The cold drops mingled with the tears on Cora’s face, falling together to the merciless ground…

The rain continued until the next day. Kaelen returned around noon.

The moment he walked in, he frowned. “Cora, I told you to bring Nell home. Where is she?”

Cora stood by the door, her voice dead. “Nell is at the clinic.”

Kaelen froze for a second, his tone growing sharper.

“You’re a doctor yourself. Nell has had this fever for days now. Why isn’t she better?”

“If I’d known you were this incompetent, I would have sent Nell to live with my mother!”

Hearing this, Cora let out a hollow laugh. How could he even think of sending their child to his mother?

The first thing his mother had said when Nell was born was, “What bad luck. A girl!”

She hadn't even glanced at Nell again, just picked up her basket of eggs and a chicken and left.

“Gave birth to one without a dick, and she expects me to make her chicken soup? Not a chance!”

After that, his mother never once came to see them during Cora’s postpartum recovery.

Kaelen had been away on a mission. Cora wasn’t producing enough milk, and Nell would cry from hunger.

She had no choice but to ask a neighbor to watch the baby while she rolled up her pants and waded into the freezing river to catch fish to eat…

When she thought about it, the number of times Nell had seen her paternal grandmother could be counted on one hand…

Her laughter stoked Kaelen’s anger. “Cora, what are you laughing at? Am I wrong?”

Cora had no energy to argue. She just said, “If you’re not busy today, come with me to see Nell.”

Even if he was a terrible father, he was still her father.

When Nell was alive, she would sit on a small stool by the gate every day, waiting, just to see if Kaelen was coming home.

The child didn’t get to see her father when she was alive; she shouldn’t be denied him in death.

She didn’t want to dream of Nell again, crying and asking, “Mommy, why won’t Daddy come to see me…?”

But Kaelen just waved his hand. “Not today. I have to go to Shauna’s parent-teacher conference.”

Cora froze, the words coming out with difficulty. “Parent-teacher conference?”

Kaelen glanced at her, explaining.

“Shauna doesn’t have a father. I can’t let her be mocked by the other kids.”

“I’m planning to file the paperwork to transfer her legal guardianship to my name soon. That way, when Nell starts school, they’ll have each other for support.”

Cora stared at him, a sense of profound absurdity washing over her.

But Kaelen kept talking.

“Then Nell and Shauna will be real sisters. Make sure you tell your parents that next time they send a package for Nell, they shouldn't forget Shauna’s share. Of course, I’ll be a good son-in-law to them from now on…”

“Kaelen!” Cora stared at him in disbelief. “Are you trying to make it so Nell can’t even find peace in the afterlife?”

The atmosphere in the yard instantly turned to ice.

Kaelen stared at her coldly, his words slow and deliberate.

“Cora, can you stop this charade? I saw Nell playing at the edge of the village yesterday afternoon!”