In my past life, I was in a car accident. I tightly protected my wife and child, but I was seriously injured myself.

　　As I was on the brink of death due to my severe injuries, my wife revealed a cruel truth to me.

　　The son I had risked my life to protect was not my biological child.

　　She had long been having an affair with my good friend, and this car accident was actually orchestrated by them.

　　When I opened my eyes again, my son threw his homework on the ground and shouted loudly.

　　"I don't want you to be my dad, I want Thomas to be my dad."

　　"Alright, then let Thomas be your dad."

　　When I opened my eyes again, I was helping my son with his homework.

　　He looked impatient, scribbling randomly in his notebook, obviously trying to defy me.

　　I looked at the child in front of me, feeling a myriad of emotions.

　　Back then, my wife Sophie gave birth prematurely, and this child was born after much hardship.

　　I loved and cared for him deeply, but it turned out I had been raising someone else's child for over ten years.

　　Byron was writing curse words in his notebook. I frowned. I was busy with work, and Sophie was the one who usually took care of him.

　　How had she been raising him? He swore constantly.

　　"Byron, is this your attitude towards studying?!"

　　Facing his nonchalant and dismissive attitude, I couldn't help but reprimand him.

　　Unexpectedly, Byron reacted like a firecracker, exploding at the slightest provocation.

　　As soon as I finished speaking, he threw his homework book at me and shouted loudly.

　　"You're so annoying! I don't want to study! I want to play video games!!"

　　After saying this, he picked up the game console next to him without even looking at me, showing no fear of me at all.

　　This child had been spoiled since he was little, always getting whatever he wanted.

　　Every time I suggested not to spoil him too much, Sophie would bring up the premature birth experience.

　　But ever since I found out he wasn't my child, I no longer indulged them.

　　I snatched the game console from him, and he immediately got anxious, jumping up to snatch it back.

　　"You idiot, give me back my game console!! You worthless thing, if you make me die, I won't let you get away with it!!"

　　I couldn't believe these words were coming from a twelve-year-old, directed at his own parent.

　　This game console was a birthday gift from my so-called good friend Thomas, and Byron cherished it greatly.

　　I curled my lips into a smile and continued to ask.

　　"Is this how you talk to your dad?!"

　　Instead of being afraid, he got even angrier.

　　"Give it back! You idiot!!"

　　He was truly incorrigible and needed a lesson.

　　I smashed the game console right in front of him, shattering it into pieces.

　　Byron's eyes widened in disbelief that I would actually do such a thing.

　　After a few seconds of stunned silence, he started wailing and cursing at me.

　　"Go to hell! You idiot!! I don't want you to be my dad!! I want Thomas to be my dad!! Get lost!!"

　　He picked up the homework book from the floor and tore it into pieces.

　　He almost flipped the table over. As if that wasn't enough, he started throwing everything off the table, nearly flipping the table over.

　　I watched him rage without any expression on my face, until he was exhausted from crying and cursing, sitting on the floor panting heavily.

　　But those eyes still glared at me, filled with confusion and hatred.

　　In the past, whenever he cried, I would find ways to comfort him, agreeing to all his demands.

　　Now, I stood there, indifferent, as calm as an outsider.

　　The situation remained deadlocked until the front door clicked open.

　　It was my wife, Sophie, returning from grocery shopping.

　　As soon as she entered and saw the mess, she frowned immediately.

　　Byron shot out like a cannonball, throwing himself into her arms and crying his heart out.

　　It was as if he had suffered a tremendous grievance.

　　While sobbing, he complained to Sophie, saying I was a terrible person who deliberately broke his toy.

　　Sophie didn't even ask for the reason and directly scolded me.

　　"What's wrong with you?! I just stepped out for a while, and this is how you take care of the child?!"

　　Seeing her face again felt like yesterday. She stood coldly in front of me, mocking me for raising someone else's child for more than ten years.

　　I regained my composure, showing no emotion on my face, and responded.

　　"It's because you've spoiled him too much. He refuses to do his homework, swears constantly, and has no respect for his elders. If I don't discipline him, he's going to be out of control."

　　Sophie pointed at me and cursed after hearing this.

　　"Oh, so what if I dote on him? He's my child whom I went through so much hardship to give birth to! What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Do you know how much I suffered during my pregnancy? No matter what, isn't he your son too?!"

　　I looked at my wife in front of me, lying without a trace of guilt. If she hadn't admitted it on my deathbed in the past life, I would have been kept in the dark for my whole life.

　　Such great acting skill. It's a pity she's not an actress.

　　I didn't want to argue or have a conflict with her.

　　"That's no excuse for spoiling him. You're just harming him like this."

　　Unexpectedly, Sophie exploded upon hearing this. She ran into the kitchen and started smashing things madly.

　　Pots, pans, and dishes shattered with loud crashes, and fragments littered the floor.

　　She not only broke things but also kept cursing incessantly.

　　"You ungrateful bastard! I must have been blind to marry you! Is this how you talk to me now?!"

　　I inwardly mocked her.

　　This habit of smashing things at the drop of a hat is truly inherited.

　　Children easily mimic adults.

　　Sophie often lost her temper, smashing things whenever she got angry, and I was always the one to clean up afterward.

　　I met Sophie through a matchmaker, introduced to me by my good friend Thomas.

　　My family was pushing for marriage, and I had a good impression of Sophie. After some time together, we felt compatible and got engaged.

　　After marriage, I did my best to be a good husband, never letting her down materially.

　　I would report everything, even avoiding getting drunk during social events to prevent doing anything disloyal to my family.

　　Little did I know, I had fallen into their trap from the start. I could only blame myself for being too foolish and trusting.

　　Noticing my unusual behavior today, Sophie hesitated for a moment but still continued to lash out verbally.

　　"Marlon, you've really grown bold now, haven't you?! Why can't you learn from Thomas? He's so much better than you!"

　　Mentioning Thomas instantly ignited my fury.

　　In my past life, every time Sophie argued with me, she would mention Thomas, praising him while belittling me to the point of worthlessness.

　　"Why can't you be more like Thomas?"

　　"Look at how romantic Thomas is. You're just like a block of wood."

　　"If you were even one-tenth as good as Thomas, our ancestors would be burning incense in gratitude."

　　I interrupted her, letting out a cold laugh.

　　"Since Thomas is so great, why don't you just go with him? Besides, Byron said he doesn't want me as a dad and wants Thomas to be his dad instead."

　　Without waiting for a response, I grabbed my car keys and walked out the door.

　　Sophie didn't try to stop me. Instead, she shouted after me.

　　"Fine, if you leave, don't ever come back!!"

　　Downstairs, I took a deep breath of air.

　　The cold wind chilled my face, dissipating some of the anger in my heart.

　　I sighed, feeling glad to be alive, and resolved not to let them off this time.

　　I didn't go back that night. Instead, I drove to a nearby hotel and booked a room.

　　All night, Sophie didn't call me once.

　　Staring at my phone screen, I mocked myself inwardly.

　　Whenever we had conflicts in the past, I always accommodated her, trying to please Sophie.

　　I would consider everything from her perspective, but she never regarded me as important.

　　Because I was always the one who compromised first. But this time, I didn't want to compromise.

　　I wanted a divorce.

　　However, before that, I needed to get evidence of her affair with Thomas.

　　On my way back, I detoured to buy a mini surveillance camera to install at home.

　　Driving back, as soon as I opened the door, I heard laughter from inside.

　　Sophie and the child were having breakfast, the mess from last night still there.

　　She hadn't cleaned up at all, waiting for me to return.

　　Seeing me enter, Sophie's face showed a smug expression, as if she had me under control.

　　"Oh, who do we have here? Weren't you so bold, not coming home all night? What are you doing back now? Hurry up and clean up the mess on the floor!!"

　　Her tone was bossy and condescending.

　　Byron, seeing me, didn't greet me but glared and continued eating his breakfast.

　　There were only two servings on the table, none for me.

　　I said nothing, turned around, and went to the bedroom.

　　Then I took out a suitcase and packed a few sets of clothes.

　　When I came out with the suitcase, Sophie glared at me and demanded.

　　"Marlon, what do you think you're doing?! Do you want to be shameless?!"

　　Not wanting to confront her without the evidence, I explained.

　　"There's an issue at the company. I need to go on a business trip for a while. Take care of the child during this time."

　　As soon as Byron heard this, his eyes lit up, and he jumped up, cheering.

　　"Great! The idiot wont be home. Mom, I want to invite Uncle Thomas over to play with me!!"

　　Right after he said that, a trace of happiness flashed across Sophie's face, though she tried to hide it, feigning a gentle rebuke to the child.

　　Claiming to go on a business trip, I returned to the hotel.

　　As soon as I arrived, I took out my phone, and the scene was displayed in full view.

　　No sooner had I left than Sophie called Thomas over.

　　Thomas was there, hugging my wife and child, laughing with satisfaction.

　　I smirked coldly, thinking to myself.

　　"Laugh while you can, for your happy days are numbered."

　　On the screen, after Thomas and Sophie put the child to sleep, they got intimate in our former marital bedroom.

　　They embraced and kissed passionately, eventually falling onto the bed together.

　　The camera captured every moment in real-time.