In the fifth year after migrating to a new country, my wife, Nyra Sinclair, brings her first love, Jacob Griffin, and his daughter, Zoe Griffin, home with her.

"Jacob and Zoe are new to this country, so they shall be staying with us for the time being."

I get into a huge fight over this matter with Nyra.

On my birthday, Nyra hands me a divorce agreement. She urges, "Hurry up and sign it. Jacob needs a green card. We'll have to go through a fake divorce first."

With a frown on my face, I try to pry for more details from Nyra, only to get accused that I don't have any sympathy for Jacob at all.

A short while later, I see Jacob's latest post on Instagram.

"Nyra is getting a divorce for my and Zoe's sake! We finally have a place to call home!"

I just leave a like there quietly. After leaving my signature on the divorce agreement, I lodge a request to my company so that I can fly back to my home country, Myrthia.

My manager, Matteo Webster, was surprised when he received my application.

"Tyler, you worked so hard to come here before. Why are you thinking about going back to Myrthia now?"

I forced a bitter smile and looked down. "My parents are there. It's better if I go back."

Just then, my wife, Nyra Sinclair, pushed the door open and walked in. She frowned as soon as she heard that. "Who's going back?"

I didn't answer her. I chatted with Matteo for a bit before hanging up.

When I turned around, Nyra was staring at me. "Who did you say is going back?"

I replied vaguely, "A coworker's applying to transfer back to Myrthia."

Nyra smirked, clearly mocking me. "I thought you were the one applying to go back. But then again, you worked so hard to be with me. There's no way you'd leave now."

As she said that, she reached out and wrapped her arm around my waist. "Honey, once Jacob gets his green card, we should have a baby."

Nyra always played this carrot-and-stick game. But this time, I wasn't buying it.

I pushed her away and said coldly, "We'll talk about that later."

Nyra froze for a moment, then softened her voice. "You're not arguing with me this time? That's kinda weird. I thought we'd be at each other's throats over this."

Hearing her choice of words, I couldn't help but feel a sharp wave of irony.

A husband and wife, tearing into each other over some outsider.

I chuckled. "I'm tired of arguing."

At my words, Nyra started grumbling about how I used to pick fights with her over her first love, Jacob Griffin.

She claimed I was inconsiderate and that every time I fought with her, I left her heartbroken.

She was always like that—pushing every boundary. If I gave her an inch, she'd take a mile.

For years, I had been the one giving in.

Nyra said she wanted to move abroad, so I left my parents and asked the company for a transfer.

She said she wasn't ready for kids, so I stood up to my parents and took the heat, telling them it was my choice not to have them.

But in the end, all my efforts didn't matter as much as one word from Jacob.

I stood up and looked at her. "I won't argue with you anymore."

Nyra met my gaze with a smug smile. "That's good to hear. Jacob and I are just friends. Don't get jealous. If—"

I cut her off, finishing her sentence. "If I ever had anything with him, I wouldn't be married to you."

I had heard that line too many times before.

Nyra nodded, satisfied. "As long as you get that."

I said calmly, "I should have a long time ago."

I should've known that in her heart, I didn't even compare to a finger on Jacob's hand.

Just then, a childish voice came from outside the door. "Mom… Mom, come play house with me. Dad's so dumb!"

Nyra stood up and answered instinctively.

Just as she was about to leave the room, she turned back to me and said, "I'm going to play with Zoe for a bit. She's a little girl. Jacob—"

I cut her off. "No need to explain. I trust you."

Nyra froze for a moment, then said, "I'm glad that you trust me."

With that, she walked out the door.

Jacob's daughter, Zoe Griffin, had been calling Nyra "Mom" from the day she moved in.

I had voiced my frustration about it before.

Nyra pointed at me and snapped, "Tyler Sloane, how can you be so heartless? Zoe is just a kid. It's already sad enough that she doesn't have a mother."

Every time I heard Zoe call her "Mom", it used to sting. But this time, I felt nothing.

I touched my chest and smiled brightly. It turned out that deciding not to love her could keep me from getting hurt.

Outside, laughter and playful shouts carried through the air.

Zoe called out "Mom" every now and then, and Nyra's voice softened in reply.

As I listened to the noise, I thought about what to do next.

After a while, my phone rang. It was Mom.

She asked if I'd had any cake and blown out the candles.

Upon hearing that, I realized I hadn't eaten a thing all day.

Before hanging up, Mom nervously asked when I'd be coming home.

Throughout my five years abroad, I'd gone back only a handful of times.

At first, my work wasn't stable. Later, Nyra said the back-and-forth was too much trouble.

Just as I stepped out of my room, Zoe suddenly hurled a toy at me. "Bad guy! Why are you in my house? Are you trying to steal my mom again?"

Before I could say anything, Jacob bent down to apologize. "Sorry, Tyler. Zoe's just a kid. Don't mind her."

Standing beside him, Nyra said seriously, "This isn't a big deal. No need to apologize. Besides, Zoe only acts like this because he scared her before."

As she said that, she stood protectively in front of Jacob and Zoe. "Tyler, you're not seriously going to get mad at a five-year-old, are you? If you do, I'd be embarrassed for you."

I didn't say a word, and somehow all the blame fell on me. "Continue with what you were doing. I'm just grabbing something."

After saying that, I opened the fridge and noticed the cake I had made was gone.

I glanced at the living room, only to find a cake on the table, completely mangled.

Noticing my gaze, Nyra said with total indifference, "That cake was yours? Zoe said it didn't taste good, so she left it there. If you want, I can buy you another one."

I tossed my homemade cake into the trash and said flatly, "There's no need."

Then, I opened the door to leave.

After a few steps, Nyra chased after me and grabbed my arm. "Tyler, where are you going?"

I looked at her, puzzled.

This was the first time Nyra left Jacob behind to come after me.

"Why did you follow me out?" I asked.

Nyra seemed taken aback by the question.

Before, I'd be thrilled if she chased after me. No matter what she'd done, I'd forgive her.

Nyra's expression faltered. She didn't expect me to be so cold. "Y-You left without saying anything, so I came out to check."

I replied casually, "Oh, I just stepped out to grab something to eat."

At that moment, Jacob showed up with Zoe. "Tyler, Zoe said she wants to go for a barbecue. If you don't mind, come along. Consider it my way of making it up to you."

"I don't like—"

Before I could finish, Nyra jumped in and agreed for me.

Then, she told me to go start the car.

Since I'd already decided to leave, I didn't want to argue with her, so I went along and headed to the garage.

When I pulled the car out, Nyra naturally slid into the backseat with Jacob and Zoe.

Only after the engine was running did she realize the situation and nervously explain, "Zoe's still little and pretty attached to me. That's why—"

Seeing the picture-perfect family of three in the rearview mirror, I cut Nyra off impatiently. "It's better if you sit together. The front passenger seat is dangerous."

Nyra looked stunned by my words because it was something she had said to me before.

When we'd argued about the front passenger seat, she had snapped, "What's the point in fighting over the front passenger seat? It's not safe anyway."

For the rest of the drive, I felt like an outsider watching them laugh and joke back there.

…

At the barbecue restaurant, the three of them went inside first.

When I parked and came in, I saw only three place settings on the table.

Nyra looked at me awkwardly and was about to wave over the waiter for another setting.

Suddenly, Zoe burst out crying, "I don't want to eat with that strange man! Dad says he's going to steal my mom! I don't want to—"

Jacob quickly covered her mouth and gave me an apologetic look. "Tyler, kids say the darndest things. Don't take it personally."

Nyra held Zoe close, soothing her gently. Her eyes on me seemed to say I was the one causing trouble.

I chuckled softly and said to Zoe, "Kiddo, your mom will always be your mom. I'm not going to steal her."

Nyra's gaze shifted sharply at my words.

Before she could say anything, I turned and took a seat at a table in the corner. I ate my barbecue alone.

The laughter not far away floated in my ears but didn't bother me at all.

On my way home after dinner, I got a call from Nyra. "Tyler, where are you? We're done eating. Wait for us in the parking lot."

Listening to her tone like it was the most natural thing, I wondered just how pathetic I must be in her eyes.

After being treated like that, why would I go back with them?

"I'm already outside the house," I replied calmly.

That set Nyra off immediately. "What do you mean? We went out together! Why'd you leave ahead of us?"

I stayed calm. "Weren't you going to watch a movie?"

That stopped Nyra's next words dead in their tracks.

Before leaving the restaurant, I'd seen Jacob's Instagram post. "Zoe finally got to go to the movie with Mom and Dad like she always wanted."

The photo was a happy selfie of the three of them.

A friend commented, "You two are finally together! Congrats!"

Jacob replied with a shy emoji.

After a few seconds of silence, Nyra stiffened and said, "We could go watch the movie together. Didn't you say I never went with you before?"