The Mother I Left Behind

It was my uncle, Cole, who had shown up. He quickly sized up the situation inside the room.

The veins on his neck bulged in an instant. Even the veins on his forehead were showing.

He charged right in and punched Robb square in the face.

Then, he hastily took off his suit jacket to cover me.

After that, he turned back to Robb and pinned him to the ground before unleashing a flurry of punches on him.

“You scumbag! You call yourself a man? She’s your daughter!

“I’m going to kill you right here. Don’t test me!”

Robb was beaten mercilessly. The only thing he could do was cover his head while begging for mercy.

“Stop! Stop! It’s a misunderstanding! It’s all a misunderstanding!”

Cole stopped at last. He pulled him up by the collar to interrogate him.

“What were you trying to do to your daughter?”

Robb spat out a mouthful of blood before scrambling for an explanation, “I wasn’t trying to do anything. I was just trying to scare her!”

Cole turned to me with a pained expression in his eyes.

“Isabel, you can tell your uncle the truth. Did he try to strip you?”

I shook my head and told him, “He didn’t do anything. I was the one who tied myself up for fun.”

“What?”

Cole looked at me in disbelief.

“He must have tied you up…”

I cut him off sharply, “I've told you I asked for it!”

He tilted his head and seemed even more baffled than before.

“Isabel, does he have some dirt on you somehow?

“You can tell me. I’m your uncle, and I promise you I will have your back no matter what!

“I’ll even put my life on the line and take him out right here!”

I shook my head and insisted again, “No.”

Robb got up from the ground. He wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled gloatingly.

“Listen to your niece, she said it herself!”

Cole glared at him, “Consider yourself lucky. I’ll make sure you get what’s coming later!”

Then, he squatted low in front of me and held me firmly by the shoulders, “They’re trying to save your mother’s life in the hospital now. You have to come with me to see her!”

I forcefully shrugged off his hand and cried out, “I’m not coming with you!

“Even if she dies, I won't see her!”

Cole’s brows were furrowed tightly. He was frozen with shock.

That was the moment he decided he was done bickering with me. Without a word, he carried me over his shoulder and strutted outside.

I squirmed fiercely, but it was no use.

“Let me go! I said I'm not going!”

Then, he forcibly shoved me into the car and sped towards the hospital where my mother was.

“Your mother is suffering from blood loss. They’re trying to resuscitate her now.

“The doctor says the knife was only a centimeter away from her heart.

“She was still murmuring your name moments before she lost consciousness. She was so worried you would be scared by what happened.”

His voice was choked up with tears by this point. I noticed he had an iron grip on the steering wheel.

The radio was playing a live talk show where viewers could call the station.

Soon, a caller called in. She sounded completely hysterical.

“What is that Isabel girl thinking? Her mother shielded her from a knife, and she didn't even bother to glance at her mother before leaving! How could she be so heartless?”

The host agreed, “That’s right, we’re trying to make sense of it too. How much bitterness must she feel toward a mother who has shown her nothing but profound love?”

That was right, my mother loved me more than anything else.

Her love was to the point of being unconditional.

I remember an episode when I made a remark about how ugly the school’s meal card looked.

She proceeded to deposit a hundred thousand dollars into the meal card and made it the best-looking meal card in the entire school.

I stared at the scenery rushing past outside the window. Without warning, I reached for the handle and pulled.

Then, I jumped out of the car while my uncle screamed in the background.