Chapter 4

I was about to leave when Eric stopped me.

He said he had something to discuss with me.

In the end, Eric and I stayed behind in the private room.

What I didn’t expect was that Julia stayed too.

Eric’s gaze was cold, and his words carried no warmth at all.

“Noah,” he said flatly, “since you’re a married woman now, I hope you won’t come back and bother me again.”

Julia immediately tapped his shoulder playfully, laughing softly.

“Eric, how can you say something like that?” she said. “Noah is a grown woman now. She knows what she should and shouldn’t do.”

The two of them spoke in perfect harmony.

And every word shredded my heart.

No matter how many promises I made, they never believed me.

Still, I nodded.

“I won’t,” I said quietly.

“Not anymore.”

Before they could say anything else, I turned around and walked out with Lily in my arms.

Lily and I returned to the cheap shared apartment I had rented temporarily.

When we took a bath that night, Lily sat in the bathtub while I gently washed her hair and body.

Suddenly, she asked in a small voice,

“Mommy… did those uncles and aunties today hate me?”

I shook my head.

“Of course not. Lily is so adorable. Why would anyone hate you?”

The only person they hated…was me.

Lily seemed like she wanted to say more.

But when she noticed my reddened eyes, she sensed my mood.

She quietly grabbed a handful of bubbles and didn’t say anything else.

When I finished rinsing her off, she leaned forward and kissed my cheek.

All the grievances I had been holding in all day nearly burst out at that moment.

But I couldn’t cry in front of Lily.

After putting Lily to sleep, I received a message from Julia.

“Noah, if you have time, let’s talk.”

I frowned and replied, asking her to just say whatever she needed to say over the phone.

But she didn’t respond.

Not until the next morning.

Julia called me.

“I’m standing outside your place,” she said. “I just want to ask you one question.”

My heart skipped.

“Do you plan on returning to Kiribati?”

She continued calmly.

“To be honest, Eric and I both hope you go back there.”

“After all, your wife is there too, isn’t she?”

My blood froze.

She knew.

Shame flooded my entire mind.

But Julia kept talking.

“It’s not easy to find a woman who can accept… your unusual body.”

“Your wife must be very generous.”

I hadn’t expected their disgust toward me to be so strong— that they couldn’t even tolerate me living in the same country as them.

I glanced at Lily, still sleeping peacefully beside me.

Then I went downstairs.

Sure enough, Julia was standing on the stone steps outside the building.

I took a deep breath and looked straight into her eyes.

“I’m not going back.”

The truth was— I had lied to everyone.

Lily wasn’t my biological daughter.

I had adopted her in a war-torn country.

At that time, I had already reached the end of my life.

The silicone implants inside my body hurt constantly.

They reminded me every single moment—

Whether I was a man or a woman,

I would never receive Eric’s love.

Life had completely lost its meaning.

Until Lily appeared.

Now, I had finally let Eric go.

All I wanted was to give Lily a good life.

Julia let out a cold laugh.

The gentle mask she usually wore disappeared instantly.

“Noah,” she said slowly,

“I know you’re short on money.”

“If I give you a large sum…”

“Would you be willing to leave Manhattan?”