I realized then that my one-sided infatuation, this humiliating love I clung to, had to come to an end.
After the doctor left, I wiped the tears from my face, picked up my phone, and made an international call.
"Sir, I've made up my mind. I want to go abroad and study with you."
"Are you sure, Miss Dawson? It's a tough road. You might not come back for ten, maybe even twenty years."
I placed a hand on my abdomen, where life had once been, and let a few more tears fall. "I'm sure. There's no one left here that I care about."
Right then, my phone buzzed with a text from Caleb:
'There's a dinner party tonight at 8 for Nina. It's all men, so it's not safe for her. You go to her place.'
For the first time in my life, I didn't reply.
Half an hour later, my phone rang.
It was Caleb.
His voice on the other end was cold and full of menace. "Lily, you're really testing my patience, aren't you? How dare you ignore my message?"
I was too weak to fight. "Caleb, I'm not feeling well. I can't go."
He let out a dark, sinister laugh that sent shivers down my spine. "Not coming? Fine. Then forget about getting your mother's ashes! Should I scatter them in a dung pit or dump them in a filthy sewer?"