My Alleged Husband

Chapter 1581: Chapter 1375: Respite

What do memories count for after we’ve parted with each other, when I can’t even bear to blame you, does this amount to a kind of cowardice?

Love itself is unrelated to right or wrong.

Zhang Zhentian heard his own son say those words, and she was lost for a long time, he couldn’t believe his father’s body could be so frail. How could just a few words provoke him into a heart attack, and how could he possibly end up with late-stage lung cancer? He didn’t believe the world could be so unfair. In fact, he hadn’t been at home all these years, but he knew how much his father missed him. Because of this, he couldn’t return to his father; he couldn’t let his father be disappointed again and again, ultimately leading to despair.

What he wants now isn’t much, he just hopes the heavens could give him another chance, so his father could live safely and peacefully, free from illness and affliction, keeping a smile on his face. That would be enough for him as a son, but are the heavens truly fair?

People say you reap what you sow, that the world is about cause and effect, but is that truly the case? How you treat your father, eventually the consequences will come upon yourself, isn’t that so? After doing so many things to wrong his biological father, what’s the point in hypocritically wishing him well today? Isn’t it against your conscience to say so?

Zhang Zhentian’s heart is truly filled with regret. He single-mindedly pursued his own loves, forgetting how to accompany his father, for his father to be healthy and happy. He never fulfilled the responsibilities of a son, nor those a father should bear. It is only now he realizes that all of this was so trivial in his eyes, after doing so many wrongs, why does his father continue to love him so deeply?

In his mind, he recalls again and again the time from when he had lived at home to when he left. Every image flashes quickly through his mind. The deepest in his memory is his father doing everything for him, even at the cost of his life. At that time, his heart was numb. He didn’t know what it meant, nor that it stemmed from a father’s love for his child. He always thought it was what he deserved, never realizing that one day it could all vanish, disappear from this world, with no chance to experience it again in his lifetime. He never thought about it, nor feared losing it all!

Until today, his son came and spoke such heartfelt words to him, he realized he indeed had fears. He used to fear nothing, but now he did. He feared one day his father would leave him, a pain he couldn’t endure. Even though he had barely contacted his biological father over the years, that bond of blood couldn’t be forgotten. He knew his past mistakes couldn’t be undone by anyone else. Only by learning to take responsibility for these could everything return to the original point, as if nothing ever happened.

She struggled for a long time, never believing her father would contract such a terminal disease. In her heart, her father was invincible, achieving the greatest in business, commanding respect from all. But now, why must the heavens mock him so, afflicting him with such an illness and torturing him with pain? Was it because in his youth he shone too brightly and drew envious eyes? Yet every step he took was built by his own hands; he built his company from scratch. Now the heavens cruelly strip him of his life, how can he endure such a blow? The once proud father, now gray-haired and wrinkled, is someone he cruelly turned down time and again, rejecting invitations to return home, wounding him with harsh words, letting him suffer in the hospital. And I, the son, never once stepped into the hospital to see him.

How could she ever have imagined that her own heart had become so cruel, ignoring even the life or death of her biological father? It was never like this before. When did he become this way? Even he didn’t know. He always thought the world was changing, but not himself. Yet upon turning back, he found that nothing in the world had changed, it was he who had changed, becoming numb, no longer valuing family. Since letting go of family ties, what right does he have to talk about it now?

He pondered for a while, wanting to ask his wife if they should go back to see his father...

”Didn’t I tell you not to call unless necessary? From now on, we’re strangers and won’t contact each other, okay? Why did you suddenly call today? Have you forgotten every word I said?”

”Xia Jing, right now I’m truly lost. My son came and told me my father has late-stage lung cancer. I’m really on the verge of collapse; I can’t accept this fact. Even though my father and I had many disagreements, he is still my biological father. How could my heart not be moved? I want to go back and see him. I hope you’ll come with me, okay? For my father’s sake, the thing he desires most is harmony within our family. He is old now and can’t bear any more blows. I know you wouldn’t make such a sacrifice for me, but I hope you’ll do it for my father’s health. Please make this concession and return to the hospital with me to see him, give him some comfort, so he may actively cooperate with the treatment, right? I believe with our company, he can quickly recover and leave the hospital. No matter what, my father has always treated you better than me, his own son. So, on account of past relationships, please extend your hand and help me, help my poor, sick father!”

No matter what excuse or reason you come up with, I’ll absorb them all entirely, if this is indeed my own indulgence, so be it. Then I deserve to endure all the pain alone.