My heart sank at Danielle's words. I hadn't done a single thing, yet here I was, being ordered to apologize.

I sneered, "Apologize? For what? What exactly did I do wrong?"

Danielle flew into a rage. "You know damn well what you did! Making Vince upset is like slapping the face of this entire family! I don't care. Apologize now. Or else don't blame me for what happens next!"

Mom's voice filtered in from the background. "Dani, don't talk to Leon like that. He's your husband."

Then, she spoke into the phone. "Leon, don't take Dani's words to heart. And look, we just came out for a quick dinner. Don't read too much into it."

Hearing her voice only made the bitterness in my chest deepen.

"You don't need to explain," I said coldly. "After all, you guys are the real family here."

That completely set Mom off. She yelled into the receiver, "Leon! How can you say something like that? Just because we didn't bring you out for one dinner? Are you really making this big of a deal out of it? If you want to eat that badly, I'll send you 30 dollars. Knock yourself out!"

A second later, Venmo notified me of a 30-dollar deposit.

"There. The money's sent. Now drop it."

With that, Mom hung up.

I laughed out loud. If this was what family and love looked like, I was better off without them.

I called my friend Nathan Morris. "Can I still join that project you mentioned before?"

Nathan replied instantly, "Of course you can! Leon, you're finally joining my team! When can you get here? I'll book your flight right now."

Without hesitation, I replied, "Tomorrow. The sooner, the better."

When I hung up, a strange sense of peace washed over me.

Nathan had invited me to join his team multiple times, but I had always declined because it was too far from home. My only dream back then was to stay close to my family.

But now, I was done.

…

It was late into the night when the four of them returned.

They reeked of alcohol. The heavy scent filled the air the moment they walked in.

By then, I was already packing my things.

When Mom and Dad saw what I was doing, their expressions changed instantly. Mom rushed over, snatched the clothes from my hands, and threw them on the floor.

"Leon Booth, what do you think you're doing?" she demanded. "Trying to run away from home? Didn't I already send you the money? Why are you still making a scene?"

I quietly picked up my clothes and stared dead into her eyes. "Making a scene? Who's the one making a scene here? I saw the family group chat. Did any of you ever actually consider me part of this family?"

Mom's face went completely pale. "Leon, I can explain—"

I cut her off with a cold laugh. "Save it. I don't care for this home anymore anyway."

Dad finally spoke up from the side, but his words were dripping with blame. "It's just a group chat. What does that even prove? Leon, you're being way too petty."

I was petty?

Fine. Whatever. No matter what happened, they would always spin it to make me the villain.

I stopped responding and went back to packing.

Danielle stepped in to block me. "Leon, is this because you saw my text?"

Suddenly, Vincent burst into tears. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault. If I hadn't come into this home, I wouldn't have caused such a mess for everyone."

As he said that, he stepped forward and grabbed my arm. "Leon, please don't be mad at me. If anyone should leave, it's me. You belong in this family."

I yanked my arm away. "Stop acting! I'm not falling for it!"

I hadn't used much force, but Vincent stumbled backward and went crashing toward the sharp edge of the table.

Danielle caught him just in time. Shielding Vincent behind her, she shoved me hard.

Caught entirely off guard, I crashed heavily onto the floor. A sickening thud echoed from my knee, and the sharp pain brought tears to my eyes.

Yet there wasn't a trace of remorse on her face. Instead, she looked smug. "That's what you get for laying your hands on Vince! Consider it a lesson. Let's see if you ever dare to do it again!"

A flicker of concern crossed Mom's face. She started to step toward me to help me up, but Vincent's quiet sobbing immediately drew her attention away.

"Mom, Dad, maybe I really should just leave," he said. "All I do is make everyone miserable."

Mom completely forgot about me and wrapped her arms tightly around Vincent instead.

"Silly child, how could we ever let you leave? We're all you have now," Mom said.

Then she turned to face me, her eyes heavy with disappointment. "Leon, you went way too far this time! I am really disappointed in you."

Disappointed?

A bitter, hollow smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.

She wanted me to yield to Vincent on everything, and I did. She wanted me to be mature and understanding, and I did that too. So what exactly was she disappointed in?

Was it because I didn't let Vincent walk all over me and finally spoke up? Or was it because I refused to keep playing dumb after realizing they never saw me as family?

But Mom, as a human being, I had dignity too.

Dad stepped in to play the peacemaker. "Leon, your mom is truly furious this time. Just apologize to Vince, and we can all move past this."

Another apology!

From beginning to end, I was always the one who had to say sorry.

But not this time.

I raised my head defiantly and looked them straight in the eye, enunciating each word. "I am not apologizing."

To my surprise, Danielle kicked me square in the chest. "Let's see what breaks first—your stubborn pride or my foot!"

The metallic taste of blood instantly pooled in my mouth, and I coughed it up onto the floor.

But Danielle didn't care. She kept shouting insults. "Leon Booth, stop playing the victim! I'm telling you right now, if you don't apologize to Vince, I will beat an apology out of you!"

She raised her foot again.

Dad held her back. "Dani, stop. He's your husband!"

Danielle snapped back instantly. "That's exactly why he needs to be taught a lesson! He's so incredibly petty. It's embarrassing. I'm going to make sure he never forgets this."

Mom spoke up then. "Leon, don't blame us for taking Vince's side. Look at yourself now. What happened to the sensible man you used to be?"

With that, she took Vincent by the hand and led him into his room.

In my peripheral vision, I caught Vincent looking back at me, his face smug with triumph.

It was as if he were gloating, "See? You'll always lose to me. Everything you have—including your family—belongs to me now!"

Emboldened by Mom's words, Danielle turned back to me like a predator closing in on its prey.

Seeing that Mom had already checked out, Dad stopped trying to intervene and retreated to his bedroom.

Danielle cracked her knuckles. "Leon, I suggest you swallow your pride and apologize to Vince. Otherwise, I can't guarantee how hard these slaps are going to land. Don't end up taking a beating just to apologize in the end anyway."

It was the first time I had ever seen this side of her. She felt like a complete stranger.

While she was never particularly warm to me, she had never been malicious. But right now, she looked at me like I was some heinous criminal, as if she wanted to tear me apart piece by piece. Our marital issues had never been this deep.

Vincent's manipulation was masterful. First Mom, then Dad, and now Danielle. One by one, they were all willing to hurt me for his sake.

I let out a ragged laugh. "Even if you kill me today, I will never apologize."

Danielle's palms struck my face again and again. I didn't make a sound. Compared to the agonizing ache in my chest, the physical pain was nothing.

Finally, Dad came back out to stop her. "That's enough. We don't need a corpse on our hands."

Losing interest, Danielle finally stopped.

The entire house fell into a deafening silence. I lay there on the freezing floor, replaying the history of my life in my head.

After what felt like hours, the quiet murmurs of my parents drifted out from their bedroom.

"Do you think we went a bit too far tonight?"

"No. Leon brought this on himself. He needed to be taught a lesson. Worse comes to worst, I'll just cook his favorite meal tomorrow to make it up to him. You know how he is. He cares about family more than anything."

I smiled bitterly. So that was it. Because they knew I valued family, they thought they could trample all over my dignity.

Just then, my phone buzzed.

It was a text from Nathan with my flight details. It was an early morning departure.

Fighting through the throbbing pain, I forced myself up, grabbed my driver's license, and walked straight out the front door.

The moment the lock clicked shut behind me, an overwhelming wave of liberation washed over me.

I was going to file for divorce. I wanted nothing more to do with this family.