I am Percival Ashford, and I lived a very happy life in my later years.
I had a wife who loved me, and a thoughtful scientist son.
The only regret was that I never got to see Percy marry and have children before I passed away.
It seems like Percy plans to spend his life with his experiments.
Thankfully, Percy had a Samoyed to keep him company.
Looking at it this way, he wasn't entirely alone.
Although I've always wondered why his dog lived for so long.
But since Kierra never asked, I just accepted it as normal.
Kierra, my first love and my wife.
I spoiled her for a lifetime, but she'll never know how long I loved her.
The first time I met her was when I was a child, thrown out of my home.
I was covered in wounds, starving and cold.
I collapsed next to a trash can, thinking of my father who once pampered me. After he found out I wasn't his biological son, he started drinking heavily. When drunk, he would beat me and curse my mother who had run off when my DNA was exposed.
I was heartbroken. I didn't understand why a warm home had turned into this overnight. I didn't know why my father treated me so harshly, or why my mother didn't take me with her when she left.
All I knew was that my room had been moved from the best bedroom in the house to a cramped and filthy storage room. I was no longer allowed to eat at the table, and chores like laundry, cooking, and cleaning became my daily responsibilities. Whenever my father was upset, he would hit me, and he never took me to the amusement park or celebrated my birthday like he used to.
I could hear the sounds of people passing by on the street, while the pain in my back from being beaten pulsed in waves.
My consciousness blurred, and I even thought in extreme terms: If I died, would my father be happy and celebrate with a big feast, relieved that he finally rid himself of me, this burden with no blood relation?
I was so tired. A seven-year-old child, with no place to go except that so-called home.
I couldn't live anymore. I didn't want to live.
A noise came from the trash can, and I barely gathered enough awareness to notice it.
A little girl, with a dirty face and ragged clothes, was rummaging through the trash can.
Every time she found a plastic bottle, she would happily put it into the sack by her side.
"Huh? Bro, why are you lying here?" She noticed me.
I was too weak to move.
Everything before me blurred, and just before I passed out, I heard her shout in surprise.
I woke up again in her home.
Her small courtyard was right next to the trash can.
"Honey, did your parents abuse you?" the elderly woman asked me.
I looked at the little girl beside her.
"My name is Kierra Tarrant, and this is my grandmother," she said cheerfully.
"Grandma brought you in. Big Brother, you have so many wounds. Are your parents bad people?"
I pursed my lips, unsure of what to say.
From then on, I stayed in their little courtyard. It was one of the few happy times I had.
Later, my father came to find me. He apologized and promised never to hit me again.
I went back with him.
But not long after I left the little courtyard, Kierra and her grandmother had disappeared. I had no idea where they went.
My father had truly changed back into a good father.
The days I didn't see him had made him age a lot in such a short time.
When he saw me, his eyes filled with tears. "Percival, you are my real son."
When we got home, he had me move back into my old room.
He worked tirelessly selling breakfast so I could attend school.
It wasn't until my first year of middle school that he passed away from stomach cancer.
He left me what little inheritance he had, and a two-bedroom apartment.
I can't describe the feeling in my heart. I hated the two years he mistreated me.
But, he raised me for so long...
I handled my father's funeral alone.
But I didn't expect that the mother who had abandoned me would return on the day of the funeral.
She came back with a man in his thirties or forties, saying, "Percival, this is your real father."
My mother and that man took over the house with authority.
At that moment, I just felt disgusted.
That woman asked me to hand over my father's bankbook.
Heh~ Why should I give it to her?
I took all the money my father earned and, one night, left home and this city.
Later, I worked part-time and was admitted to the best university in the country.
On the first day of freshman year, I met Kierra again.
She was still as kind and beautiful as ever.
But it seemed she didn't remember me.
That's fine. As long as I remember, that's enough.
After struggling in society for so many years, my heart had grown dark.
So, I pretended to be gentle and approached her, pursuing her.
Kierra Tarrant soon developed feelings for me.
We were together by the time we were freshmen.
In our second year, I started a business and established my own company.
Kierra moved out and started living with me.
After graduation, we got married. She opened a dessert shop.
The second year after marriage, we had a son, named Percy Ashford.
Everything went smoothly, and it made me incredibly happy.
But I never expected that when Percy was two, at the stage where he should start speaking, he wouldn't utter a word.
This worried Kierra immensely.
I looked into my son's indifferent eyes and felt like I was looking at myself before I met Kierra.
Kierra asked me to take Percy overseas for an examination, and I panicked.
I feared that if Kierra found out about my dark side, she would leave me.
Kierra got motion sickness on the flight, and Percy was diagnosed with mild antisocial personality disorder.
I told Percy not to tell Kierra. He agreed.
To prevent Percy from giving himself away, I taught him some ways to cover it up before we returned home.
When Kierra asked me, I lied, saying that Percy had mild autism and a cold personality. She didn't suspect anything.
I felt a slight relief.
But the good times didn't last. I never expected Kierra to find my five-year-old diagnosis report hidden in my study.
She was furious and wanted to leave.
I wanted to explain. I wanted to tell her that was the "me" from six years ago.
I wanted to tell her that I had already been healed by her.
I wanted to tell her that I hadn't had any extreme thoughts in a long time.
I wanted to say I would never hurt her or Percy.
But I couldn't say it. I knew that the one thing she hated most was being lied to.
I didn't know what to do. My mind was in a daze, and I kept pleading with her not to leave.
Fortunately, Kierra didn't leave in the end.
She became even more patient with Percy and more caring towards me, even handing over her dessert shop to the deputy manager, just to be a landlord.
Our family of three traveled together, visiting many beautiful places.
Kierra, compared to her shy self in the past, now loved expressing her love out loud.
I was so happy, so content.
Every day, I loved her more.
Kierra discovered Percy's talent for research.
I never expected the quiet Percy to eventually become a household name and a nationally recognized scientist.
Time really passed too quickly.
Before I could spend enough time with Kierra, we had already grown old.
On the day Kierra closed her eyes in my arms, I called Percy over with the phone.
I too should go. Kierra, wait for me.
In the next life, we'll be together again.
