The Dead Father, Seven Days With My Daughter

The last time I fought with Quinn, she slammed the door and walked out. The anger was too much for my weak heart, and I passed away right then and there.

She spent the next week traveling with her old flame and his son, claiming she needed to clear her head. Meanwhile, our young daughter stayed home alone, guarding my cold body for seven days and nights.

When Quinn finally remembered us, she found me dead and rotting. Our daughter was pale, skeletal, and on the verge of death.

After realizing what she had done, Quinn broke down, sobbing at my grave while clutching our daughter. But Chloe fought to break free from her arms, hiding behind my tombstone.

She looked at Quinn with wide, tearful eyes and asked, "Who are you? Please don't bother my daddy, okay?"

Quinn and I had the worst fight of our lives that night. She swept everything off the table, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Caleb Brooks, stop being so paranoid! There is nothing going on between me and Xavier!" I stared at the floor, silently picking up the new shoes I'd found in her closet.

They were a limited-edition pair, very hard to get, but they weren't my size. I felt a sharp pain in my chest and sighed. "Can you at least be rational for once? Our daughter is watching."

Quinn knocked the shoebox out of my hand. The force was so great that it left a deep red mark on my skin.

"I am sick of this life! Do whatever you want from now on!" She grabbed her coat and stormed out.

The sound of the door slamming echoed through the house, making my ears ring. I sank to the floor, exhausted, trying to clean up the mess she left behind.

My five-year-old daughter, Chloe, ran out of her bedroom. She wrapped her tiny arms around my neck and stroked the red mark on my hand.

"Daddy, does it hurt?" Looking at her watery eyes, my heart ached as I pulled her into a hug.

"Chloe, it's okay. Daddy isn't hurt. I'm just... really tired." I had trusted Quinn for seven years, but she and Xavier Sterling kept pushing my limits.

At this point, I truly didn't have the strength to keep this marriage together anymore. Chloe stood up and took my large hand in her two small ones.

"Chloe will help Daddy to bed. My teacher said if you sleep, you won't be tired anymore." Her sweetness managed to soothe the suffocating gloom in my chest.

I tucked her in and lay down beside her. I patted her back as she told me stories about her day at preschool until she fell asleep.

Quinn never cared about Chloe. Even though she carried her for nine months, Chloe lived like an orphan who happened to have a mother.

Quinn had married me willingly, but she resented me for getting her pregnant. I felt a wave of helplessness wash over me.

Our marriage had always been nothing more than a tool for her to get back at Xavier. I was the fool who believed her lies all those years ago.

Late into the night, Chloe's breathing became deep and steady. My phone buzzed with a message, and I checked it without thinking.

It was a photo from Xavier. In the picture, Quinn was lying on white hotel sheets wearing a piece of sexy lingerie.

There was no caption, but the message was clear. He was claiming what he thought was his.

The blood rushed to my head, and a stabbing pain shot through my heart. I stumbled into the living room, searching for my medicine.

The bottle I usually kept so carefully was nowhere to be found. As I felt the world fading, I suddenly remembered.

It was Quinn. During the fight earlier, she had thrown everything off the table.

The white bottle must have bounced out the open window. Those pills were my lifeline.

When we first got married, I worked myself to the bone to give Quinn a luxury lifestyle. I built a company and made a fortune, but I destroyed my health in the process.

Years of long nights and bad habits led to heart disease. For the rest of my life, I was supposed to survive on those meds.

Quinn knew I was sick, but she only ever called me a pathetic weakling and told me she wished I would just die. By some cruel twist of fate, she had thrown my life away.

My heart stopped so suddenly that before I knew it, I was floating in the air as a ghost. I looked down at my sleeping daughter, my heart breaking even in death.

Dying was a release for me, but she was so small. What was going to happen to her?

The next morning, Chloe woke up on her own. She rubbed her eyes and tried to rest her head on my arm, but I was gone.

Because she lacked a mother's love, she was incredibly clingy with me. Most nights, she couldn't sleep unless she was holding my hand.

I had tried to give her 120% of my heart to make up for Quinn's coldness. I never ignored her calls, and I gave her everything she asked for.

When she couldn't find me, she looked close to tears. She ran through the house with bare feet, calling for me.

Finally, she found me lying on the floor by the sofa. Chloe pressed her small face against my cheek to act cute.

"Daddy, why are you sleeping here? The floor is so cold." She lay on top of me for a long time, but I didn't move to comfort her like I always did.

Chloe pouted, looking a bit upset, but she whispered to herself. "It's okay. Daddy must be really tired and hasn't had enough rest yet."

My poor baby. She was so young that I hadn't even taught her what life and death meant.

In her mind, she just thought her daddy was having a long nap. She expected me to wake up eventually.

She had no idea that I could no longer walk the path of life with her. When Quinn left, I had hoped she would never come back.

But now, I didn't care about her cheating anymore. I didn't care about Xavier or his son mocking me.

She could even scatter my ashes to the wind for all I cared. I just needed her to come home.

Our daughter was only five. she couldn't feed herself or stay alone for this long.

I stayed by Chloe's side from morning until dark, but Quinn never showed up. Chloe's stomach began to growl loudly.

She crawled back onto my cold body. "Daddy, why aren't you awake yet? Chloe is hungry. I want the pancakes you make."

Quinn was pampered and never learned how to cook. When I was busy working, I begged her to look after Chloe.

But she just bought bags of junk food for a toddler who had barely started on solid meals. Chloe's stomach couldn't handle it, and she often ended up with high fevers.

That was the first time I ever yelled at Quinn. I could handle whatever she did to me, but the child was innocent.

Even a stepmother would have had more heart than to watch a child suffer like that. From then on, I took Chloe everywhere, even to my office.

I kept a stroller and toys in my workspace just so I could see her sleeping safely near me. To make sure she stayed healthy, I stopped keeping instant snacks in the house.

The kitchen was only filled with fresh ingredients that needed cooking. Now, I regretted that decision more than anything.

If I had known my time was so short, I would have prepared better. Time ticked away, and I couldn't stand seeing her so miserable.

I tried to leave the house. I had to find Quinn, even if it meant my soul would shatter into pieces.

I didn't know which hotel they were at, but I knew where Xavier lived. I had seen his address on Quinn's GPS dozens of times.

The woman who claimed she was always working late was currently curled up on Xavier's sofa. She was playing video games with his son.

When the game ended, Quinn let the boy win on purpose. The boy, Rhett, jumped up and hugged her.

"Quinn, I wish you were my mommy," he said. Xavier fed Quinn a piece of sliced watermelon and stroked her hair.

His eyes were full of a tenderness I had never seen. He pretended to scold the boy. "Rhett, don't say that. You have a mother, it's just my bad luck that she left us."

Quinn looked at Xavier with such deep sympathy. It was a look neither Chloe nor I had ever received.

She pulled Rhett into her lap. "It's okay. A mother's love is important for a child. Rhett, you can call me whatever you want. I already think of you as my own."

After Chloe was born, Quinn told me she trusted me to raise her alone. She rarely even showed up for parent-child events at school.

I always made excuses for her. I told Chloe that Mommy wasn't ignoring her, she was just very busy.

I carried the burden so they could have a relationship. I never imagined she was playing house and being a "Mommy" to someone else's kid.

Xavier looked shy as he asked, "Won't Caleb be mad if he hears that?" Quinn's face immediately turned cold at the mention of my name.

"Don't worry about him. He was picking fights before I left. He used to be normal, but now he's always on edge." Xavier smiled brightly when he heard that.

He pulled Quinn into his arms, his voice dripping with honeyed sweetness. "Then don't go back tonight. Just stay here and enjoy the peace."

I floated above them, spinning in circles with anxiety. I opened my mouth to scream at the top of my lungs.

Quinn, you have to go home! Our daughter is waiting for you! Please, stop worrying about his kid and look at your own!

But it was useless. I had no voice, and they couldn't hear my desperation. Quinn thought about it for a second and then leaned back against Xavier's arm.

"Okay," she whispered. The TV blared in the background while Rhett sat happily in Quinn's lap.

She leaned her head on Xavier's shoulder, occasionally feeding him fruit. They looked like the most perfect, happy family in the world.

Looking at Xavier's smug face made my ghostly stomach turn. I couldn't watch them act like lovers anymore while Chloe was alone.

When I drifted back home, Chloe was sitting by my side, staring into space. Her eyes were red from crying.

She had brought over her favorite stuffed bunny. It was made of cheap material, so I usually didn't let her sleep with it for hygiene reasons.

To get her to let go of it, I used to play a game. "Daddy likes Bunny too. Can I hold him for a while?"

Usually, she would cry and fight me for it. But today, she lifted my stiff, cold hand and tucked the bunny under my arm.

"Daddy, I'm giving you Bunny. I don't want him anymore. Please don't be mad at me." She gripped my arm and tried to bribe me.

"Sleep with Bunny, and when you wake up, you'll forgive me, right?" My ghostly tears vanished into the air before they could land.

This silly girl thought I was refusing to wake up because I was angry with her. How could I ever be angry at my sweet Chloe?

I regretted marrying Quinn, and I regretted forgiving her a thousand times. But I was always grateful that she gave me Chloe.

Chloe was the only light in my life, the only thing that made the hard days worth living. Without her, this world would have meant nothing to me.

I tried to reach out and hug her, but my transparent arms passed right through her small body. The warmth that was once so close was now a million miles away.

Chloe fell into a deep sleep leaning against me. Since it was autumn, the house got quite chilly at night.

When she woke up, she couldn't stop sneezing. Her little nose was bright red, and she was clearly getting sick.

But she didn't care about herself. Her first thought was to check if I had moved.

The stuffed bunny had fallen from my stiff hand onto the floor. Seeing the toy lying there lifelessly made her burst into tears again.

"Daddy, you don't want Chloe, and you don't even want Bunny?" She shook my body, her nose running.

Then, she realized something was wrong and touched my freezing forehead. "Daddy must be sick like me. You're not ignoring me on purpose."

"When I'm sick, Daddy always stays by me. Now it's my turn to take care of you." She tried to drag my body toward the bedroom.

She thought I would get better if I was in a real bed. But she was far too weak to move a grown man's weight.

After trying a few times, she had to give up, her face flushed with fever. I panicked, circling her in the air: Call her! Call your mom! I taught you the number!

Maybe she heard me, because she ran to get the phone. "Chloe is useless. I can't move Daddy. I'll ask Mommy to help."

I let out a breath I didn't know I had. Finally. If Quinn came home, everything would be okay.

She might hate me, but Chloe was her flesh and blood. She wouldn't let her suffer.

Chloe dialed the number she had memorized, but it was declined after two rings. My heart sank. In the past, I would have been angry.

But now, I was only capable of begging. Chloe didn't give up and called again.

After a long series of dial tones, the call finally connected. Quinn's annoyed voice came through the speaker. "Caleb, are you serious? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Mommy, it's me." Quinn's tone softened slightly when she realized it was Chloe.

"Chloe? Why are you calling? Where's your father?" Chloe nervously picked at her fingernails.

"Daddy is sleeping. I don't feel good and I don't have any strength. Mommy, can you come home and help me move him to the bedroom?"

There was a long silence on the other end. Quinn was clearly trying to keep her temper in check.

"Put your father on the phone," Quinn said coldly. Chloe held the phone against my ear. "Daddy is listening now."

Without Chloe's innocent ears to worry about, Quinn let loose. "Caleb, is this a joke? Using our kid to get sympathy?"

"Chloe is just a child. Stop dragging her into our mess! I am not coming home yet. Stay there and think about what you did wrong!"

The line went dead with a heartless click. Quinn didn't even give me a chance to "respond" before hanging up.

I watched Chloe as her fever spiked, and I felt like I was burning alive with her. I wished I could come back to life just to take the pain away from her.

When I married Quinn, she never told me about Xavier. I was blinded by her sweet talk and married her despite my parents' warnings.

At our wedding, Quinn cried the entire time. I thought she was just overwhelmed with happiness.

But after the ceremony, I caught her in a dark corner, kissing Xavier passionately. The funniest part was that she had told me he was just her cousin.

Once the marriage was official, she didn't even try to hide it. "I did it to get back at him. I couldn't stand him getting married while I was alone."

I asked her with tears in my eyes, "Then what am I to you?" She laughed. "You're my husband. I gave you the title, isn't that enough?"

I truly loved her. Back when I was poor, I spent my last cent on the designer dresses and expensive skincare she wanted.

But I never saw her use those things. One day, a store clerk recognized me and said my wife had returned everything for cash.

I checked her phone and realized the truth. The money I saved by skipping meals was spent on high-end gaming consoles and sneakers for Xavier.

I had bet everything on the hope that she had a conscience. I hoped that for the sake of our child, she would find her way back.

But the moment Xavier got divorced and moved back to town with his kid, I knew I had lost. I wasn't the type to demand perfection in a marriage.

We fought over small things, but I thought we could make it work. I believed her and gave her chances to explain herself.

But when I asked her to prioritize our family and stay away from Xavier, she exploded. She called me petty, jealous, and paranoid.

"Caleb, you aren't even half the man Xavier is. Stop projecting your own filth onto everyone else!" She blamed me for everything.

She forgot her duty as a wife. She forgot her responsibility as a mother. She tilted the scales entirely toward a stranger.

I had mentioned divorce before, but she always avoided the topic with lies and excuses. I thought she was just immature and needed time.

I waited year after year, trying to change her with love. But Quinn's heart was like a block of ice that would never melt.

A person's heart can only hold so much. Some give it to family, others to work.

Chloe and I only wanted a tiny corner of her heart to keep our simple life going. But Quinn wouldn't give us a drop of love; it all went to Xavier and his son.

The hatred and anger she showed us was enough to scar Chloe for life. Now I understood why she wouldn't divorce me: she wanted both worlds.

She wanted the stability of a home and the excitement of her old flame. It was so incredibly selfish.

She could crush the people who loved her like trash and not feel a thing. Maybe this was all a mistake from the very beginning.

My parents wanted me to find a kind, supportive wife because of my health. But when Quinn met my parents, she was openly hostile.

She picked at the food my mother spent hours cooking. She even told my mom, "If I have to eat your cooking after I get married, I'll starve."

My father brought out his most expensive tea to welcome her. She used that tea to water the plants right in front of him.

The hot tea killed the plant and broke my father's heart. When I tried to talk to her, she just screamed at me.

"Daughters-in-law and in-laws are natural enemies. If you take their side, you don't love me!" I had already slept with her after a night of drinking, so I felt I had to take responsibility.

My parents cried and told me I was a disobedient son. They said they would never forgive me for choosing her.

I was too confident and chose a path I couldn't return from. Now, I had lost everything.

Looking at my daughter curled up on the bed, my heart felt like it was being shredded. Now that I was a parent, I finally understood my parents' pain.

I never got to apologize to them. Their warning came true: I died without ever being forgiven.

Chloe's fever was getting worse. She gripped my arm as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

"Daddy, why doesn't Mommy care about us? Does she hate us?" I couldn't answer her, even if I were alive.

I wanted to tell her it wasn't her fault. Quinn was heartless only because she didn't love me.

Chloe was a product of our union, but not a product of love. To Quinn, she was an accident, but to me, she was my whole world.

Quinn loved Xavier, so she loved his son as if he were her own. She'd rather be a stepmother to a stranger's kid than look at Chloe.

She didn't hate children; she just hated the one she had with me. Chloe was so weak she curled into a tiny ball, clutching her stomach.

Even so, she stubbornly stayed by my side. The afternoon sun beat down on her, and sweat broke out on her forehead.

She held my cold hand, her tears falling fast. "Daddy, I'm so hungry. It hurts."

The fever made her delirious. She stumbled to the sink and turned on the cold water, drenching herself.

The shock of the cold made her whole body shake. I watched in horror, knowing her immune system was already weak.

A simple fever could be fatal if not treated, and now she was using ice-cold water to drop her temperature. I couldn't bear the thought of her dying right there.

Her energy was fading fast. She staggered into the kitchen and grabbed some raw greens off the table.

I had bought those greens three days ago and forgotten to put them in the fridge. They were yellowed and wilting.

My picky little girl didn't even complain. She brought the raw, bitter leaves to the sofa and forced herself to swallow them.

She looked like she was in pain, but her little face was full of determination. "Look, Daddy. I can take care of myself. I'm waiting for you to wake up."

My heart felt like it was being poked with a thousand needles. Those greens weren't fit to eat, but she was eating them just to stay alive.

What did Chloe do to deserve this? She was just a victim of a broken marriage.

I had hoped Quinn was just acting out when she said she wouldn't come home. But even when work hours ended, she was nowhere to be seen.

Just as I was losing all hope, the phone on the table rang. The caller ID said Quinn.

Chloe was so happy to see her mom calling. She answered quickly, her voice full of hope.

But a man's voice answered. It was Xavier, calling from Quinn's phone.

He laughed mockingly when he heard Chloe's voice. "Hey kid, I'm not your mommy. Your mommy is busy cooking dinner for my son. She doesn't want you anymore."

Chloe started wailing. "You're a liar! Mommy doesn't even know how to cook! She wouldn't leave me!"

Xavier sounded annoyed by her crying. "Stop blubbering. Once I marry your mom, you'll never set foot in my house!"

He hung up and sent a video clip. In a warm, lit kitchen, Quinn was wearing an apron, looking like a perfect housewife.

She was skillfully chopping vegetables and stir-frying. A few delicious-looking dishes were placed on the table.

She carefully tied a bib on Rhett and served Xavier his rice. She looked so content serving them, far from the woman who refused to touch a frying pan at home.

I realized Xavier made the call just to declare war on me. If he really married Quinn, I couldn't imagine how they would treat Chloe.

A wave of terror washed over me. I was a failure as a father for bringing a child into this world to suffer.

I drifted back to Quinn's side. I wanted to scream at her. How could she ignore her daughter's dying pleas?

She was playing maid for another man while her own child was at death's door. But the scene at Xavier's wasn't as happy as before.

Quinn was leaning against the balcony railing, looking stressed. She was rubbing her temples.

A blue toy car was sitting in a flowerpot. I remembered Chloe had a pink one just like it.

Chloe loved that toy because it was the first thing Quinn ever gave her. She bragged about it to everyone at school.

It turned out that even this "love" was just a surplus item. Quinn looked distracted. She tried to hide the toy car behind a pot, but it fell and smashed on the floor.

Xavier walked out and tossed the broken pieces into the trash without a thought. Quinn's eyes dimmed for a moment before he pulled her into a hug.

His presence seemed to soothe her. He whispered, "What's on your mind? We're going on vacation tomorrow, aren't you excited?"

Quinn pulled away slightly. "Xavier, maybe we should skip it. I haven't been home in a while."