Chapter 8
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Six months later, while driving Abbott to the chess academy, I got stuck in traffic at the hospital entrance and saw Winston and Cornelia.
The two were sitting by the roadside, holding a medical report, looking a bit dazed.
Cornelia suddenly stood up and screamed, “The results are still the same! It’s not a mistake! Why is my life so miserable?!”
After that, she ran off in despair.
Winston didn’t even lift his head, his gaze fixed on his feet.
After a while, Edmund showed up.
He strode over, grabbed Winston by the collar, and threw a punch.
Winston fell to the ground without any strength to resist.
Edmund shouted in fury, “Didn’t you say you’ll give me 20 grand a month? You’ve owed me for two months now. Do you want me to post your sex tapes online?!”
Winston got up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and murmured, “I’m out of money. I won’t support you anymore. Do whatever you want.”
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Edmund snapped, “No money? Aren’t you the boss? Don’t you get dividends? Who are you trying to fool?!”
Looking up at the sky, Winston answered, “I have ALS. My partner pulled out the investment as soon as they heard. The equity value was just enough to repay the 5 million bank loan. I can’t work now, so there’s no income.”
Edmund was in disbelief, “You’re broke now?”
Winston gave a sarcastic laugh.
“If I weren’t sick, that money would be nothing, but-”
Before he finished his words, a drop of tear rolled down from the corner of his eye.
The rear window suddenly rolled down.
I turned around, only to see Abbott was looking out the window, shouting, “Dad!”
Winston saw us, his body trembled, then he lowered his head. and choked up, “Abbott, Esther, I’m sick, I miss you both so much…”
“Dad, your collar,” Abbott continued.
Winston raised his tear–streaked face and asked blankly,
“What?”
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“Ilas poop on it.”
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After that, Abbott rolled down the window, blocking Winston’s face, which was full of despair and helplessness.
For a long time, I kept avoiding news about Winston and Cornelia on purpose.
Once the gears of their fates started turning, their ending was already set.
Until that day, Abbott and I had just finished eating the new dish our housekeeper learned to make and were sitting in the living room chatting.
I changed my approach to educating Abbott. Besides having him attend chess classes, I wanted him to experience more of life.
He paused and asked me, “Mom, do you feel lonely?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle for a moment, then slowly nodded.
“Yes, I hope you can spend more time with me.”
He thought for a moment and agreed.
Since then, after dinner, he no longer went straight to the study
but spent time chatting and watching TV with me.
When Cornelia’s face appeared on the news, I froze for a
moment.
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She had completely changed into a different person.
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Her face was haggard, her eyes vacant. Her cheekbones pointed out, and her lips became much thinner.
She was wiping away tears in front of the reporters.
“My life is tough. My then husband was paralyzed, and my new one has ALS. Have some mercy. Please help me out…”
Following that, the camera shifted to a bed in a shabby room.
A man lay quietly on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
It was Winston. Now, he was all skin and bones. I barely recognized him.
The reporter was all fired up as he spoke to the camera.
“No matter what, you’ve got to admire Ms. Leopold’s spirit. She and her husband came together for love. Back then, he gave up everything for her, and she’s stuck by him through tough times!”
Abbott watched the guy on TV and offered, “Mom, I want to go see Dad.”
I nodded.
Two days later, I tracked down the address from the TV and was kinda shocked.
It was an old, rundown building, even worse than Cornelia’s last
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She had completely changed into a different person.
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Her face was haggard, her eyes vacant. Her cheekbones pointed. out, and her lips became much thinner.
She was wiping away tears in front of the reporters.
“My life is tough. My then husband was paralyzed, and my new one has ALS. Have some mercy. Please help me out…”
Following that, the camera shifted to a bed in a shabby room.
A man lay quietly on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
It was Winston. Now, he was all skin and bones. I barely recognized him.
The reporter was all fired up as he spoke to the camera.
“No matter what, you’ve got to admire Ms. Leopold’s spirit. She and her husband came together for love. Back then, he gave up everything for her, and she’s stuck by him through tough times!”
Abbott watched the guy on TV and offered, “Mom, I want to go see Dad.”
I nodded.
Two days later, I tracked down the address from the TV and was kinda shocked.
It was an old, rundown building, even worse than Cornelia’s last
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rental apartment.
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Holding Abbott’s hand, I headed up to the second floor.
The door was wide open, but no one was around. The furniture was old and worn, with clutter everywhere.
Just as I was wondering if I had the wrong place, a murmuring sound came from the bed in the corner of the room.
Winston’s eyes were wide open, staring straight at us.
I held Abbott’s hand and walked over.
Tears immediately welled up in his eyes and streamed down as he mumbled, “Son, son, son-
I silently watched him.
His eyes were sunken, his body gaunt, and the once sharp and lively gaze now appeared cloudy and dim.
His hair was a mess. The front of his shirt was half–wet, with bits. of vegetables stuck to it.
I could hardly believe this was the same man who used to be meticulous about his appearance.
He stared at me without blinking.
Pain, sorrow, regret, and despair were written all over his face.
1 que joj jou bes
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I spoke calmly, “Abbott said he wanted to see you, so here we
are.”
Abbott took out a stack of cash from his backpack.
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“Dad, here’s the money I saved for you. I want to give it to you,” Abbott said seriously.
“What’s the use of giving it to him? He still has to rely on me!” Cornelia chimed in.
She entered the room, snatched the money from Abbott’s hand, and quickly started counting it.
“Only 20 grand?” She glared at me, her voice sharp, “Don’t you think that’s too little? He left you over 20 million dollars!”
“What about the 5 million you got back then? Didn’t he also buy you a house?” I asked back.
Cornelia sneered.
“That house? He only paid 20% of the full price as down payment. With him bedridden, how could I afford the loans? I sold it and bought this one instead, at least I have a place to live.”
“The remaining 800 thousand dollars is in the bank, carning just over 1,800 in interest each month. Together with the subsidy from the community, it’s barely enough for us to get by.”
“Esther, he’s the father of your child, after all. Shouldn’t you give
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back some of the money?”
I laughed.
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“Isn’t it enough to live on? Didn’t you claim money matters the least to you? But now you’re broke and asking me for money. If I were the one broke, would you give me a penny?”
Turning my head, I looked at Winston, who had been crying in a low voice, and calmly said, “Back then, you swore over the phone to stay chaste for love, and you did it, even for a lifetime. You admired Cornelia for staying by her disabled husband’s side, and now you’ve experienced the exact same treatment.”
“Winston, you got what you wished for. So, what exactly are you crying about?”
Winston started trembling all over, letting out a long whimper.
I took Abbott’s hand and left without looking back.
Along the way, I stayed silent for a moment and asked Abbott.
“Do you blame Mom for treating Dad that way?”
Abbott shook his head, “No.”
“The teacher said, once you make a move, there’s no way back. You must think carefully when playing chess, or one wrong step could ruin the whole game.”
I let out a sigh of relief, then suddenly remembered something
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and said nervously, “Promise me, son, that you won’t end up like your dad.”
Abbott was a bit puzzled.
“What makes you think I’ll make the same mistake as he did?”
I was momentarily speechless, not knowing how to explain.
Abbott figured it out on his own.
“I get it. Mom, don’t worry. I’m the one holding the pieces.”
“The one holding the pieces?” I was confused.
Abbott’s voice was calm and confident.
“The one holding the pieces is always responsible for every move. Once a piece is placed, it can never be changed.”
I was still dumbfounded, but I believed in my son.
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After all, he was a genius.
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