Все главы After I Died, My Daughter Dialed His Number: Глава 1 - Глава 10

"I’ve seen so many photos of him in the cookie jar where Mom kept the divorce papers. Mom collected a lot of photos of him. There are at least ten of him holding a trophy on the podium. There are also wedding photos, one of him crouching down to tie Mom’s shoes, and even one where he's kissing her on the cheek."I regretted it. I should have thrown them all away right after the divorce. But at the time, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.Emma looked at Russel with hopeful eyes. "Is he my dad?"Russel, not wanting to lie to her, answered truthfully, "Yes."Emma’s face lit up with a smile. "The kids at preschool used to make fun of me for not having a mom or dad. But now I have a dad! Ha ha."Suddenly, her smile faltered, and her lips drooped. "Uncle Russel, does that mean Dad doesn’t want me or Mom anymore?"Russel gently patted her head and assured her that her dad would not abandon her.Seeing how much Emma craved a father’s love broke my heart. I wanted to reach out,

I held my head, overwhelmed by the splitting pain. My vision was blurred with tears. Stop. Please, stop. Every word made my mind automatically replay the painful memories between us, each one more unbearable than the last. My heart ached with every beat. Russel was right. Someone like Xander really would not feel guilt. Back then, Xander was a professional snooker player, hailed as a "genius snooker prodigy," dominating the spotlight. I was just a snooker referee, simply put, the kind responsible for repositioning the cue ball after a shot.Seven years ago, during a match, while I was bending over to adjust the ball, a foreign player behind me started making suggestive movements toward my butt. It was workplace harassment, out in the open for everyone to see. The audience was shocked. I was humiliated and furious, but being naturally timid and just a low-level referee, I did not dare say anything.But Xander stepped in. He punched the guy in the face on the

Five years ago, Xander lost the championship final and missed out on the title. But then the media exposed him for match-fixing, and he was banned for two years.The evidence used against him was a recording of me speaking. At the time, I had just found out I was pregnant. That night, as we lay in bed, Xander held me from behind.I was planning to tell him about the pregnancy after he cleared up the rumors about him and Haley. But he refused, and we had a heated argument. "I really have nothing going on with her! Why don’t you believe me?" "If there's really nothing going on between you two, then prove it by losing the final tomorrow. Don’t win the championship.""So that's what it'll take for you to trust me, huh?"With that, Xander got out of bed and stormed off. I felt devastated but did not dare cry, afraid it might affect the baby. In the end, I could not hold back. I buried my head in the blankets and sobbed. I was just so overwhelmed with sadness. It

Xander and I no longer had any ties, and spying on someone else’s private life did not feel right. So, I quietly left. I returned to Emma’s side. From the beginning, all I wanted to do was protect her.But a few days later, Xander said he wanted to take Emma away. I knew it. With Xander’s personality, there was no way he would let his own child live apart from him. But I was scared. I was afraid Haley would not treat her well. Before I died, I came across something online. "Fathers don’t actually feel much for their children. They only love them because they love the mother, extending that love to the child."But Xander did not love me, so could he really love Anan?I was frantic with worry.……I had no other choice, so I entered his dream. He, who had always been so concerned about his appearance, was now unshaven and scruffy, which was strange to see. "Amber, you’ve been gone for so long, and you’ve never come to visit me in my dreams. How could you be so

After Haley’s father passed away, Xander held a press conference. He asked the reporters to respect the deceased and stop spreading false rumors about him and Haley. He finally cleared things up, but not at the time when I most needed it.After days of fruitless efforts, Xander, with his relentless determination, decided to change his approach. This time, he did not bring anything. He arrived fifteen minutes early and asked the teacher to call Emma out of class."Come home with Daddy," he said. Emma pouted. "I don’t want you to be my dad. You were mean to Mommy. You’re a bad guy, and I already told her at her grave not to like you anymore." Xander crouched down and spoke patiently. "I was wrong. I misunderstood your mom. I’m sorry. But do you really want to stay with Uncle Russel forever? What will happen when he gets married?"That was a question I had always avoided. I had not seen Russel with any women over the years, but maybe that was just me being selfish.E