Two years after I return to Cendria, I unexpectedly run into my daughter, whom my ex-wife had taken with her when she left me.

"Do you regret everything you've done?" she asks, her voice dripping with arrogance. "If you apologize to my new dad, Liam, I'll try to convince Mom to forgive you."

Before I can respond, an adorable little boy throws himself into my arms.

"School's finally over, Dad. I missed you so much!" he exclaims.

I take his hand and turn to leave.

My ex-daughter is furious. "If you walk away from me now, I'll disown you!" she yells after us in frustration.

I remain unbothered. She's free to do whatever she pleases. After all, none of it matters to me anymore.

My ex-wife, Vivian Johnston, stepped in front of me and blocked my path.

With a menacing look on her face, she spat, "Do you seriously think you can get my attention just by adopting a random child off of the street? It's been several years, Zachary Green. I can't believe you still don't get what you did wrong. I'm so disappointed in you."

My son, Andy Green, blinked at me and asked, "Who's this, Dad?"

I rubbed his head and replied with a smile, "No one important."

Then, I shifted my attention back toward the people standing before me.

"Please step aside, Vivian," I said with a straight face.

Vivian gritted her teeth and glared at me. My estranged daughter, Desiree Green, looked visibly angry as well.

"My patience is running thin. Apologize to Liam right now, and I'll consider getting back together with you."

Desiree chimed in, "Who cares about him, Mom? A petty man like him has no right to be my dad!"

I raised my eyebrow. Had I not made myself clear back then?

I already told them I was better off without an unfaithful wife and an ungrateful daughter. So what made them think that I'd come crawling back to them the minute they asked me to?

Vivian and I had known each other for 23 years and had been married for five. I never imagined things would end up like this between us.

We were both from the countryside. We were neighbors and were practically inseparable until we headed off to college.

Growing up, neither of us had our parents around. My parents were divorced, and my father rarely came home. Meanwhile, Vivian's parents preferred sons, so they rarely paid her any attention.

After we graduated from high school, her parents refused to pay for her tuition fees. So, I dropped out of college and got a job to fund her studies.

When we were at our lowest, we shared a single meal and split a bottle of water between the two of us.

I'd always thought that we'd naturally end up together—until she met Liam Larkin.

Vivian met him when she was in college. I didn't want to put her in a difficult position, so I decided to stop pursuing her romantically altogether.

To both of our dismay, he cheated on her with the dean's daughter. The pair even left the country together after that.

At that time, Vivian was pregnant with Liam's baby.

In spite of everything that had happened, I still took care of her. However, she was depressed throughout the pregnancy and eventually lost the baby.

Later on, Liam got married overseas and sent her a message.

"I hope you'll be able to have a fresh start too, Viv."

After she received the message, she sobbed and asked me, "I know you've always had a crush on me, Zach. Do you want to get married?"

I wasn't sure if she was doing it out of spite or if she was genuinely trying to start a new life.

But she was wrong. I wasn't just having a crush on her—I loved her. She was the first person I'd ever loved, and I couldn't turn her down.

We got married soon after that, but she didn't want to be intimate with me. I knew that she wasn't over Liam, so I never pressured her into doing anything she didn't want to do. On top of that, we also slept in separate rooms.

One day, Vivian got drunk and decided to sleep with me. As a result, she ended up becoming pregnant with my child.

She gave birth to a baby girl, whom she named Desiree Green.

I was overjoyed by the birth of our daughter. During Vivian's postpartum recovery, I personally prepared her meals and even gave her massages. I also looked after Desiree at night so Vivian could sleep without being disturbed.

After her postpartum recovery, Vivian looked visibly refreshed. I, on the other hand, looked extremely worn out and exhausted.

Everyone in our neighborhood envied her for having such a loving husband.

By that time, my business had started to gain traction. I didn't want Vivian to tire herself out from work, so I asked her to be a stay-at-home wife.

Since we had a housekeeper, Vivian didn't need to do any household chores. She was free to spend her free time however she liked.

I thought we'd lead a quiet life together for the rest of our lives. Yet, everything changed when Liam returned to Cendria.

Vivian eventually grew more and more preoccupied. I trusted her and believed that she'd be able to maintain proper boundaries with other men. So, I didn't dwell on the matter.

However, she changed.

One day, Desiree developed a high fever. When her teacher couldn't get in contact with Vivian, the school had no choice but to contact me instead.

While at the hospital, I called Vivian numerous times, but she never answered the phone.

Around midnight, she finally showed up at the hospital. She said nonchalantly, "An old friend from college just returned to the country. We were catching up over dinner, and my phone ran out of battery halfway through the meal."

Then, she added, "Kids get sick all the time. Stop making a big fuss out of nothing!"

Suppressing my anger, I tried to reason with her. "Your daughter needs you more than ever right now. You should be paying more attention to her."

Frowning, she replied, "Am I not allowed to have friends of the opposite gender? Stop being so petty, Zachary."

She justified her behavior and spoke as if I was accusing her of something that wasn't true.

I kept convincing myself to trust her. Yet one day, I caught an employee watching a live stream at work, and I realized that Desiree's kindergarten was hosting a parent-child activity.

The live stream showed Liam and Vivian holding Desiree's hands. Meanwhile, Desiree—my biological daughter—was sweetly addressing Liam as her dad.

If Liam was her dad, what did that make me?

The glass in my hands slipped, shattering loudly as it hit the ground.

I suppressed the aching feeling in my heart and drove to the kindergarten. By the time I got there, the event had just ended.

I watched as Vivian, Liam, and Desiree left the building with bright smiles on their faces.

Trying to maintain my composure, I said, "You must've had a long day, Desiree. I'm here to pick you up."

To my surprise, Desiree instantly hid behind Liam. With a look of contempt, she snapped, "I don't want to leave with you! You're an uncultured person. I want Liam to be my dad instead!"

I froze for a brief moment. Then, I recalled how strangely she'd been behaving recently.

As of late, she'd been constantly refusing to attend her enrichment classes. She would yell, "You're so useless, Dad! How can you force me to do things that you aren't even capable of doing yourself?"

Initially, I assumed that she was simply throwing a tantrum because she was having trouble with her studies. So, I didn't think much of it.

In hindsight, I should've known better.

I'd showered Desiree with endless love and affection as she was growing up, so I felt incredibly heartbroken.

"Are you actually refusing to go home with me?" I asked.

I wasn't sure if I sounded too cold, but Desiree was so taken aback by my response that she burst into tears.

"I don't want you anymore! You ruined Mom's relationship with Liam. I could've had a college professor as my dad if it wasn't for you! If that were the case, I would've probably been a lot smarter than I am now!" she shouted.

I raised my head and looked at Vivian. "Do you feel the same way too?"

She'd kept herself in good shape, so it barely looked like she'd aged over the years.

If no one had told Desiree about what had happened back then, she wouldn't have made those comments.

I practically raised Desiree all by myself. Before she enrolled in kindergarten, I even worked from home so I could look after her.

In contrast, Vivian spent the majority of her time on leisure activities. She didn't care for our daughter at all.

Despite everything I'd done for Desiree, it seemed like she'd always listened to Vivian more than me. Since she was a girl, perhaps she just naturally felt closer to her mother.

Vivian was the last person who could accuse me of being unrefined or uncultured. Back then, my grades had definitely been enough to get me into a better college.

Vivian avoided my gaze and yelled, "Can you not argue with me in front of the kindergarten? It's so embarrassing."

Then, she turned toward Liam and continued in a gentle tone, "Thank you for spending so much time with Desiree for the last few days. Please let me buy you dinner tonight."

Liam nodded. Then, he turned toward me and declared, "Don't worry, Mr. Green. I'll make sure to take good care of your wife and daughter."

With that, the three of them walked past me and left.

Later that night, I sat on the living room couch and waited for Vivian and Desiree to return home. But to my dismay, they never did.

Around 1:00 am, I received a video from an unknown number.

In the video, a man and a woman were being intimate with each other. The drunken woman on the bed was none other than my wife, Vivian.

"You told me I was the only man that you'd ever loved, Vivian. Is that true?" the man in the video asked.

"Of course! I even named my daughter 'Desiree' because of my desire to be with you, Liam," Vivian replied.

I was at a loss for words. It felt like my love for her had become a joke.

After spending the entire night lying awake in bed, I made a huge decision.

When Vivian returned home with Desiree the next day, I handed her the divorce papers.

Initially, she looked shocked. Yet, her surprise soon turned into anger.

"All I did was spend a night outside, Zachary. Why are you being so dramatic?" she yelled.

"You're so petty, Dad," Desiree added. "No wonder Mom doesn't like you."

I forwarded the video to Vivian and said coldly, "You should be perfectly aware of what you've done. Since Desiree is watching, I'll do you a favor and save you the embarrassment."

Vivian checked her phone. When she glanced at what I'd just sent her, her expression instantly changed.

Furious, she barked, "Are you an idiot? This is clearly made by AI! I can't believe you don't trust me. This is an insult to both Liam's character and mine! Apologize to us right now!"

Glaring at me, Desiree shouted, "You're a horrible person, Dad! Don't pick on Mom and Liam!"

The way Desiree treated me broke my heart more than Vivian's affair did. I'd showered her with endless love and affection for years, but she still chose to side with her mother without any reason at all.

Since that was the case, it was probably better for me to let them have their way.

I picked up my suitcase and declared calmly, "You can have the house and full custody of our daughter. I'll make sure to pay you the child support on time. You can discuss everything else with my lawyer."

Vivian didn't ask me to stay, and the paperwork was processed relatively quickly.

On the day our divorce was finalized, she glanced at me with a look of disdain.

"Don't come crawling back to me in the future, Zachary," she spat.

She was certain that I couldn't live without her. She believed that I'd be the first to admit that I was wrong—just like how I'd done in the past.

But she was wrong. I'd been willing to accept her bad temper and her tantrums, but I couldn't forgive her for cheating on me.

After the divorce, I tasked my company's vice president with managing all of the business ventures in Cendria. Then, I went abroad to pursue more opportunities.

Andy was a homeless child. He met me when he was about to get beaten to death by a vagrant on the streets. I saved him and adopted him.

By chance, I learned that he was of mixed race. His mother was Cendrian, so I decided to bring him back to Cendria.

When I found out that he was attending the same school as Desiree, I was surprised. I'd never expected to see Vivian and Desiree again under such circumstances.

Andy had been keeping me company for the last two years. Because of him, I hadn't thought about Vivian or Desiree in a long time.

Their threats didn't faze me. I took Andy's hand and left.

…

After I finished work the next day, my thoughts drifted to what happened yesterday.

Because of me, Desiree was incredibly spoiled. Aside from matters pertaining to her education, I'd always given her everything she wanted.

I wasn't sure if she might be a bad influence on Andy. So, I debated whether I should transfer him to another school.

To my surprise, I suddenly received a call from Andy's teacher, Samantha Berkeley.

"Hello, Mr. Green. Andy has gotten into a fight. I'm afraid you're going to have to drop by the school," she said.

I froze. Andy had always been a well-behaved kid. Why would he get into a fight when he couldn't even watch people slice up fish?

I rushed to the school and saw two children wrestling each other. To be precise, the other kid had pinned Andy to the ground and was currently beating him up.

I was furious.

I yanked the other child off Andy and realized that he had multiple bruises on his face. He was also bleeding from the corner of his mouth.

"Why didn't you fight back?" I asked him. "Is this how I raised you?"

I continued, "I told you not to pick on others, but I never told you not to stand up for yourself. If someone attacks you, you should do whatever it takes to defend yourself. I have more than enough money to pay their medical bills!"

Biting his lip, Andy teared up.

"I'm sorry, Dad. She told me she's your biological daughter. She also said that you'd abandon me if I hit her back."