"That's why I'm telling you now that I won't interfere in your affairs anymore. Let's get a divorce, Stacy," I said.

Just then, Tammy piped up and said, "You're both divorcing, I'm not going with Daddy."

I looked at her and smiled slightly, a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

"Have I ever said that I'd want custody of you? I wouldn't want you even if you chose to come with me."

"That's enough!" Stacy exclaimed sternly in my face. "Stop throwing a fuss like this, Allen Gilbert! My patience has its limit too."

Then, she turned and went back into her study.

I sat quietly in place, waiting for my emotions to settle before calmly applying the topical medication to my flared-up skin.

Tammy glanced at the horrible red rash on my skin and expressed her disgust. "Eww."

Then, she walked right past me coldly.

I looked at her figure going up the stairs and felt the irony.

So, this was the wife I'd loved dearly, and the daughter I'd raised lovingly, for years.

Early the next morning, I left the villa and returned to my parents' home instead. They were still living in my childhood home.

I remembered how I'd brought Tammy home with me once to meet her grandparents. She circled their house and said in a cold voice, "You're lucky that Mommy even fell in love with someone as poor as you."

I just assumed that she'd been too young to know right from wrong back then and speaking her mind without a filter. But now that I thought of it, I realized that she had already changed a long time ago under Stacy's influence.

After all, she was still in love with her first love and often spoke ill of me. So, Tammy eventually began treating me with the same contempt her mother treated me with and thought that I was a failure of a man.

I stood at the door to my parents' home, raising and dropping my hand a few times as I hesitated to knock on their door.

It was Thanksgiving yesterday, and when Mom called me to check in on me, I lied to her, saying that I was celebrating with Stacy and Tammy at home.

"Allen?"

A familiar voice sounded from behind me. I looked back and saw Dad behind me with bags of groceries in his hands.

He was a little stunned at first when he saw me. However, he quickly broke into a surprised grin and exclaimed, "Why'd you come back all of a sudden? You never told us you were going to drop by to visit!

"And what are you doing here, still standing at the door? Hurry up and go in!"

He then opened the door and pulled me into the house.

The long-forgotten warmth enveloped me once again, and I could feel it warming up my frozen heart.

Mom walked up to me with a smile.

"Your dad was just complaining to me yesterday that he hadn't seen you in a long while. It's good that you're back now, though. We can make it up for yesterday's Thanksgiving!

"You used to always love your dad's meatloaf. You haven't had it in a while, right? I'm sure your dad would be more than happy to make it today!"

Of course, I remembered. Dad even once made his signature meatloaf for Tammy back then.

It was a well-loved dish that I had always loved and been extremely proud of. However, Tammy had just taken a small bite of it before making a disgusted face and saying that it was tasteless and she hated it.

I told her then that it was rude to criticize food that was lovingly made for her. She reluctantly apologized after that, but she also rarely ever came back to visit Mom and Dad anymore. In fact, she often dismissed the idea of having family dinners with them after that incident.

…

I stayed at my parents' place for a few days before finally returning to the villa where Stacy and I lived.

However, I noticed that we had a guest as soon as I pushed open the door.

Stacy's first love, Devin Fisher, was sitting with Tammy at the table, focusing intently on the game of chess between them.

Meanwhile, Stacy was holding a mug of coffee while standing next to them with a smile on her face.

They looked so warm and picture perfect, like they were the ones who were a true family of three, while I was just the extra that didn't make sense in their narrative.

My appearance shattered the beautiful moment between them.

The smiles on their faces disappeared at once, and I could feel the tension in the air rising.

Stacy was the first one to break the silence. She scoffed coldly. "I thought you weren't coming back anymore."

Tammy also glared coldly at me.

Devin, on the other hand, looked a little awkward and uneasy. He began explaining himself.

"Hey, Allen. I'm just here for a game of chess with Tammy…"

I inhaled deeply and forced myself to stay calm. Then, I smiled gently at Devin and said, "It's fine. You can come over anytime you want next time."

Then, I hesitated briefly before looking at Stacy, asking in a calm voice, "Have you thought about the divorce? What do you say?"

Stacy's expression darkened as she glared at me.

A long while later, she spoke in a loaded tone. "Are you sure you want the divorce?"

I asked her in return. "Are you sure you want Mr. Fisher here to continue standing awkwardly between us instead of giving him a proper title?"

At that, Devin's face paled at once, and the sarcastic grin on Stacy's face also faded away.

I maintained a calm gaze with her, knowing that she would finally agree to the divorce this time.

I already knew how much Devin meant to her. They were childhood best friends after all, and after dating for two years, Devin suddenly ran into some family issues and left to study abroad, completely vanishing from the face of the earth thereafter.

Stacy spent a long time searching for him but to no avail, so she eventually gave up.

After that, I appeared in her life, and things had gone very smoothly between us, from the moment we started dating until we got married.

One day, I discovered that she'd been secretly hiding photos of Devin in her purse. I angrily questioned her about it, but she hit me with a merciless and sarcastic answer back then.

"If it weren't because of the fact that you sort of resembled him, did you really think that I'd even fall in love with you?

"Let me tell you, Allen Gilbert, that if Devin were around, you wouldn't even have the chance to get close and speak with me."

As it turned out, I had only been living in the shadows of her first love. It was such a hilarious yet pathetic reckoning for me.

A short while later, Devin suddenly returned to the city we lived in.

Ever since then, Stacy began treating me worse and colder than before as she began visiting Devin more often instead.

I used to think that I could silently put up with everything for Tammy's sake, pretending that I knew nothing of their little affair because I didn't want Tammy to grow up in a broken family.

However, I eventually realized that I'd been too naive all along.

Tammy never cared about me as her dad at all. She accepted Devin pretty quickly and easily in her life, and she obviously respected him a lot more than she did me.

Devin had a wealthy upbringing after all, and he'd also returned from studying overseas, which was a big plus point in Stacy's eyes as she was very partial toward him. He was also very loving and gentle with Tammy too, never being too strict with her.

On top of that, out of everyone in this family, only Stacy could satisfy Tammy's vanity. So, Tammy naturally aligned herself with whoever Stacy preferred.

I had originally only thought of coming home to pack up my things today. After all, divorce was a huge decision, and I knew that Stacy wouldn't easily agree to my request to protect her public reputation.

However, Devin's presence today just made my job a lot easier.

Stacy went silent for a long while.

I continued triggering her by stressing, "Why are you hesitating? Are you saying that he doesn't deserve to be your husband after all? Or are you trying to say that you actually love me more than you love him?"

Devin lowered his head even more when he heard what I said, looking extremely upset.

When Tammy noticed that, she hurriedly comforted him and said, "Don't be sad, Devin."

She then turned and glared at me.

"Mommy! Just divorce him since he likes suffering on his own that much! You can go ahead and make his wish come true. He's going to regret it later on!"

I couldn't believe that my own daughter would say such things about me.

Stacy remained silent for a while. Finally, she nodded and said, "Fine. I'll agree to the divorce."

She then added resentfully after that, "Don't you dare come back crawling to me, begging for us to get back together when you regret your decision later, Allen Gilbert!"

I shook my head lightly and said determinedly, "That will never happen."

Stacy signed the agreement frustratedly, crumpled up the document, and flung it harshly at me.