flashback

"When I married you, I asked you to love and cherish me. To protect me from all harm. Arrogan! Are you worth of me? Of me saving you? For her? She said she saved you, said the bracelet is hers and you like a clown believed it! I carried your child, I helped you get—" Her heartbreaking words hung in the air as she knelt before him, tears cascading down her cheeks and staining her face. The man's expression twisted in anger. "Shut up!" he bellowed, leaning in closer, his sneer voice dripping with disdain. 

 "You think you can be compared to her? She is my saviour. You couldn't even remember when I asked you. I chased you in school, relentlessly pursuing you! Even when I caught you with other men, I believed you!" Au Arrogan felt disgusted as he looked down at the woman on her knees with the small child. Clutching their small child. He adamantly refused to acknowledge the child as his own, convinced that she had betrayed him with that young master, someone he had seen her with on numerous occasions. "Storyia! You claim to be a Confessions, but you are unworthy! Confessions never had a mixed-race child, not even the old woman you harmed! You are unworthy of my love and my trust. Sign the papers I've asked you to countless times, and yet you have stubbornly refused. Sign them." He hurled the papers at the trembling woman, who was desperately holding the child close to her. Her fragile form and pleading eyes , filled with desperation and sorrow, did nothing to sway his hardened heart as he turned away from her, determined to meet his beloved.

A metallic taste lingered heavily in Au Arrogan's mouth, an unsettling reminder of his current turmoil; his throat itched with an uncomfortable sensation, and deep within his chest, his heart ached with regret and sorrow. He struggled to fully comprehend how he could have so resolutely abandoned his wife, leaving her behind without a second thought or glance. Was this painful realization the reason she seemed to reject him at every chance, every opportunity? And their child, their daughter, how could h—

He wanted to roar in pain but knew it would only upset him more and worry her.

The fishy taste in his throat burgeoned once again, but Au Arrogan steeled himself in a resolute manner and pressed on.

Another memory rose suddenly, bombarding him who had barely had himself under control.

"Our daughter is dying. I can't afford to save her. Please help me this once, I beg you please save her!" The woman was thin, dirty, and reeked of neglect. 

The world had endured two major natural disasters, leaving hundreds of millions suffering, including a child from a woman he despised, whom he would never acknowledge. As he tried to walk past, she reached out to him, but he dodged to the side face riddled with undisguised disgust. At that moment, another woman approached, her swollen belly unmistakable. She wore a simple yet elegant outfit, unadorned and clean, emphasizing her naturally stunning facial features that were completely bare of any makeup. This presented a sharp contrast to the dishevelled woman kneeling nearby, whose appearance was far from pristine. The filthy woman's gaze was fixated on the newcomer, her eyes locked with an intense focus that revealed both curious and desperation. As she studied the newcomer, the sight caused the kneeling woman to become momentarily frozen in place. Her eyes widened with a mix of emotions as she took in the scene before her, the flicker of hope in her expression beginning to waver, before turning into disbelief.

"Honey, why are you here still? Help the beggar, the world is hard." 

"No need, come you must get in so the child is not affected."

"Honey, you are so good to me." 

"I will always be good to you."

The man and woman walked side by side, their footsteps echoing softly against the pavement, completely unaware of the turmoil brewing just behind them. The woman, lost in a haze of despair that clouded her mind, was oblivious to the faint, desperate cry of the small child trailing behind her. Her thoughts were consumed by her worries, drowning out the sounds of the world around her.

Without warning, the woman suddenly turned, her heart racing as she stumbled forward, panic gripping her. "Yi-Yi, don't come closer!" she shouted, her voice laced with urgency and fear.

"Mama," the child cried weakly, the sound barely escaping her lips. The woman's heart sank, filled with an overwhelming fear that propelled her forward in a frantic rush. But time was not on her side. A speeding vehicle approached swiftly from the left, its tires screeching against the asphalt, unable to halt in time to prevent the impending disaster. In a horrifying instant, the vehicle struck the small child, and the impact was devastating. The force of the collision sent the child flying through the air, her anguished cry piercing the sudden silence of the moment, a haunting sound that echoed in the air. However, that cry was abruptly silenced by the sickening thud of another crash, leaving a chilling stillness in its wake.

The man, startled by the noise, felt a surge of instinctual dread and wanted to turn around, to understand what had just happened. But the woman beside him, sensing his hesitation, tightly grasped his hand, "Honey, my stomach feels uncomfortable,She whispered with a pained expression, with an urgency that belied the horror unfolding just behind them.The man dismissed the noise, while the woman glanced back with a half-smile as they pressed on.

Unaware of the tragedy that had just unfolded, they continued, the weight of the moment heavy in the surrounding air. 

Seeing the future, Au Arrogan rushed to the bathroom and coughed up a mouthful of blood onto the floor. That bitch knew, but that version of him was such a fool! He looked up at the ceiling. Au Arrogan coughed up blood and fainted. Memories overwhelmed him until he suddenly awoke a few hours later, feeling refreshed, though his heart ached.