I’d heard that if his child were still alive, he would’ve been a gentle, loving father. But fate wasn’t kind – his child died in a car accident at the age of six.
His wife couldn’t handle the grief and left him. He’s remained alone ever since, never remarrying, never having more children.
Dr. Harding often told me that if his child had lived, they’d be around my age now.
So, when I was first diagnosed, he was the only one who relentlessly urged me to get hospitalized and undergo surgery.
I told him I couldn’t afford it.
He got upset, even offering to cover the costs himself.
But Dr. Harding was just an ordinary man. No matter how much money he had, it would never be enough to fight a disease like mine.
I declined his offer.
That was until Jim Marshall approached me, and I agreed to his proposition.
All I had to do was play a role, and I’d get 3 million dollars out of it – enough to cover everything.
It’s what they owed me, after all.
When Emma was alive, I could at least take on part-time jobs at school to earn some extra cash.