As the Canary Contract Expired, I Left New York Carrying My Father’s Ashes Chapter 02
My eyes fell on the plain silver tie clip on his collar.
I had spent three sleepless nights last month making it by hand.
Caleb hated anything too flashy, so I had polished the simplest silver band I could make.
Inside, I had engraved a small ginkgo leaf.
It was the same kind of leaf that had fallen onto his shoulder when we first met in Central Park.
Now, there was an unevenly carved letter beside it.
A crooked “C.”
Caleb followed my gaze and looked down.
“Carol thought it was too plain. She scratched it with a letter opener.”
He touched the mark with his fingers.
There was even a faint smile on his lips.
“Don’t make that face. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to Tiffany and let you pick out a diamond one. It’ll be worth ten times more.”
He was always like this.
Whenever he ruined something I treasured, he used something more expensive to replace it.
As if money could erase every humiliation.
I didn’t touch the glass of water.
“The agreement ends today.”
Caleb froze.
“The three million dollars that was originally available on the card, I haven’t touched a single cent.”
“I finished drawing from the boxes too.”
I placed the slip of paper in front of him.
“The results were all [Free Escort Vouchers].”
“From now on, you don’t need to pay for my father’s medical treatment anymore.”
Caleb stared at me for several seconds.
Then he stood.
He grabbed my chin and forced me to look up at him.
“You’ve grown a backbone?”
His voice was still gentle.
But his fingers slowly tightened.
“You’re using your father’s life to play hard to get with me?”
“Nancy, don’t forget. Your father is still breathing because of my money.”
A week ago, the hospital’s overdue payment notice had been thrown directly into my face.
He had stood in the hallway and called the hospital director in front of me.
“She’s too stubborn. Starting today, stop the specialized medical caregiver assigned to her father.”
“And no matter whether the person inside lives or dies, don’t report anything to me.”
After hanging up, he had gently wiped the blood from the corner of my eye.
His voice had been as warm as it used to be.
“Nancy, all you need to do is apologize.”
“I don’t want to actually force you into a dead end.”
At that time, my father had already been taken off life support.
I had wanted to tell him.
But then Carol called.
She said the lights in her studio had gone out.
She was afraid of the dark.
Caleb hadn’t even waited for me to finish speaking before he turned and left.
And now, he still didn’t know.
“Caleb.”
I looked straight into his eyes.
“What if I really leave?”
The strength in his hand loosened slightly.
“You think you can?”
His expression remained calm.
“Every dock and every major pipeline across New York is under my control.”
“If you walk out that door, you won’t even be able to buy a bottle of IV fluid.”
“You’re my woman.”
“Your life, and your father’s life, belong to me.”
The door opened at that moment.
Carol stood there holding onto the frame, her face pale.
“Caleb, I feel dizzy.”
Caleb immediately released me.
He walked over and pulled her into his arms.
He took out a handkerchief from his suit pocket and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
It was the same handkerchief I had given him last year.
A tiny embroidered “N” sat in the corner.
Three years ago, I had fainted from low blood sugar at the hospital.
Caleb had rushed over to catch me.
His knee had slammed hard against the concrete floor.
Blood had soaked through his pants.
But he hadn’t cared.
He had only held me tightly.
“My Nancy can’t get hurt.”
“I’ll take care of your father’s illness.”
“You just need to be okay.”
Now, Carol leaned against his chest and whispered that maybe she was the one who had ruined our relationship.
Caleb rubbed her back.
Then he looked at me coldly.
“It has nothing to do with you.”
“She’s the one who doesn’t understand.”
I poured the warm water from the glass into the trash can.
Caleb’s brows immediately lowered.
He hated when I rejected something he offered.
Even something as simple as a glass of water.
In his eyes, it was a direct challenge to the Crawford family’s authority.
“Tomorrow at three in the afternoon, go to Carol’s gallery opening and serve drinks.”
He wrapped an arm around Carol and walked toward the door.
Before leaving, he paused.
But he didn’t turn around.
“Make her happy.”
“Then kneel down and apologize.”
“I’ll personally transfer your father’s dialysis payment into your account next month.”
“If you’re even one minute late, the hospital staff will stop your father’s nutrition support.”
“Nancy.”
“Don’t use your father’s life to test my limits.”
“Otherwise, I won’t mind showing you exactly how the Crawford family handles disobedience.”
The door closed.
Slowly, I opened my palm.
The cremation authorization papers for my father had been crushed into a wrinkled mess.
Next month.
My father didn’t have a next month.
And neither did I.