Brenda didn't get mad as I expected her to, though. She just hung up without another word.

In that instant, the five years we'd shared together came crumbling down. I laughed self-deprecatingly at the thought of the marriage I'd tried so hard to keep together. It was now the most fragile thing in the world, shattering upon impact as glass would.

Since she had given up on our marriage, I didn't see any need to go easy on her. My first step would be to take back the house that belonged to me.

The moment I entered the house, I saw woven bags filled with plastic bottles stacked by the shoe cabinet. Cardboard boxes also littered the ground.

I knew my mother-in-law, Linda Beech, loved picking up trash. She would collect anything that was worth something, and the new house I'd bought had turned into her store room for trash.

The more I saw, the angrier I got. I kicked the bags aside, and toys fell out.

"Why did you touch my stuff? Do your eyes grow on the back of your head, or have you gone blind?" Linda screeched, as obnoxious as always.

She never missed the chance to grab even the smallest benefit. Before Brenda and I had gotten married, Linda had greedily demanded I pay 500 thousand dollars in wedding gifts, along with providing property and a car. She even insisted that I pay for them in full and put them under her name.

It was a shame that I'd been so blinded by Brenda's sweet-talk at the time to practise any logical thinking. I'd agreed to all of Linda's demands without hesitation.

Fortunately, I'd had the foresight to protect myself. Despite transferring the house to Linda's name, I'd had everything legally notarized as mine. If I wanted to take it back, no one would be able to keep it from me.

"Why did you take Timmy's toys? Who allowed you to do that?" I couldn't believe she'd turned a lovely home into a junkyard.

Linda flew off the handle when she heard my displeased tone. "They're just a few toys—they wouldn't even fetch anything at the junkyard! And how dare you lose your temper at me? I knew Brenda's spoiled you. I should never have let her marry you!"

"You think your daughter would listen to you when she's nothing but a cheater who sides with outsiders? She doesn't even want her own kid! Timmy is in a coma, yet she wants nothing more than to be with her lover! I was blind to have married her!" I said.

With that, I turned to head to my room to get the property deed and notarization documents.

Linda stood in my way, her spit landing on my face as she screeched, "This is my house now! Get the hell out of here!"

I flung her aside at the thought of her and Brenda's horrible behavior. I wanted to charge straight to the bedroom.

Just then, Brenda came in and saw me push Linda away. She ran over to me and slapped me hard across the face.

She snapped, "How could you hit my mother, Harry? Are you a rabid dog or something? How dare you come here and stir up trouble?"

"You have time to visit your mother, but you don't have time to be with your son? Do you know Timmy's still in the hospital, Brenda?" I snarled while pointing at her.

She snorted. "It's just an allergic reaction, isn't it? It's not like he hasn't been given medical attention. All children fall sick. Why is he more fragile than others? He's a boy, too. Josie doesn't fall sick at all. He only has himself to blame for being weak!"

She was Timmy's mother, yet she could say such callous words about him. She didn't care about him or pity him at all.

"Is that all you can say now that our son is in a coma?" I couldn't even bring myself to say that he would never stand before me again when he'd been so active just the day before.

Brenda snorted again. "Don't think you can fool me. I won't believe your lies. Josie already told me that she just wanted to give Timmy a pretty flower. Who would've known that an allergy that hasn't acted up in years would suddenly relapse at that moment? It's not like she did it on purpose!"

I suddenly realized that Cameron was probably the one who'd orchestrated this whole thing.

I didn't waste my breath arguing with them and sneaked the documents I needed out of the house while Brenda and Linda were distracted. I hurried back to the hospital with them.

My heart settled back in my chest as I looked at Timmy, who was still unconscious. A nurse came to adjust his IV, and she told me about the things I needed to pay attention to.

She said there was a chance of coma patients regaining consciousness, but it would take their family's care and support for that to happen. She asked about Timmy's mother.

I hardened my heart and told her his mother was dead. Rather than tell everyone that Timmy had a mother who didn't care about him at all, I would prefer it if they all thought she was dead.

It would be Timmy's birthday in a few days. In the past, I would take him to the amusement park before we headed home to have cake and blow out the candles after making birthday wishes. Each time, Timmy would ask why Brenda wasn't with us yet.

I would check my phone repeatedly. There would be no information on the flights she claimed to be on, yet she would tell me that she'd just landed.

I knew about all the lies, and they hurt like hell. However, I had no choice but to hide the pain and comfort Timmy.

I was brought back to reality at the thought of this year being Timmy's fifth birthday. Even if Brenda and I were going to divorce, I knew Timmy would still want her to be with him.

Ultimately, I decided to seek her out again, hoping that she would grant Timmy's wish this once.

As I stepped out of the elevator, I heard party poppers and saw the ribbons from streamers strewn across the floor. The door was open, and things seemed lively inside. There were many people—they seemed to be celebrating something.

Had they already started celebrating Timmy's birthday? I inched closer to the apartment, feeling doubtful.

Linda stood by the door, so she was the first to see me. Her expression darkened, and she snarled, "What are you doing here?"

Brenda turned to look at me. "Who said you could be here? You're not welcome!" she said with a snort.

It turned out they were celebrating Josie. She wore a pretty pink dress, and a gold medal hung from her neck. There was a huge poster on the wall that wrote, "Congratulations to Josie for being first in her year!"

There were also flowers everywhere in the apartment. I recognized them—they were the ones that had caused Timmy's allergic reaction.

The sight of all of these things cut deep.

Just then, my phone rang with a call from the doctor. He anxiously told me that Timmy's condition had worsened and that family was needed to sign some documents.

I turned around and glared at Brenda, saying, "Timmy's condition has become worse, and I'm going to the hospital now. I'll ask you one more time—are you coming with me or not?"

Before she could say anything, Cameron approached her and said, "Brenda, maybe you should go see what's happening, since Harry made the situation sound so dire. What if he's telling the truth?"

"That's impossible, Dad! Timmy is known for being a liar at kindergarten, and nobody likes him! His dad must be just like him!" Josie pouted and ran to Brenda in her pink shoes, clinging to her arm. "I don't want you to go anywhere, Brenda. I want you to be with me! Timmy is a liar, so we can't believe him!"

Their words were like ice, making my blood run cold.

I held myself back as I looked at Brenda again. All she did was lift Josie into her arms and kiss her cheek affectionately. Then, she said, "You see how things are. I can't go anywhere. You've always been the one to raise Timmy. He likes you more, so I'll just stay here. I need to be with Josie."

After that, everyone else pushed and shoved as they chased me out. They acted like I was nothing.

I slumped against the door and slowly slid to the floor, burying my face in my hands.

I secretly swore to make them pay for everything they'd done.