There Dad went again with his "remember your place" nonsense. It was like a curse that had haunted me since I was a child. I'd heard my adoptive father, Hamish Johnson, say it, then Dad.

Exhausted, I hung my head and gave up on this argument that led nowhere.

I stared at the network of lines running across my palm.

I remembered a fortune teller reading my palm when I was young. He had claimed that I'd have a poor relationship with my family, and that my blessings in this lifetime would be few and far between.

I had been too young to understand what the fortune teller meant, but Hamish had chuckled in agreement. "Yes, Damian doesn't have much luck in this life."

The first part of my life seemed to echo the fortune reading, but I never believed such things.

Later on, I'd married Yvonne, and we had Anna. I was even more convinced that I was blessed and the fortune reading was false.

It wasn't until that day that I understood that some things couldn't be forced.

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I forced them back. I was a man, and I couldn't show weakness to these folks. With a deep breath, I grinned and said, "Since you're all so worried about my stealing the family fortune, I may as well cut ties with the Chapmans!"

Yvonne and Dad went still at this, and they gaped at me in disbelief.

Only Calvin seemed thrilled by my suggestion, if the gleam in his eyes was any indication.

"What did you say?" Dad was the first to snap out of his daze, rage coloring his tone. "You want to cut ties with us? I… I demand you say that again, Damian!"

Calvin immediately gripped Dad's arm and hurriedly said, "Calm down, Dad. He must have wanted to do this for some time now. He may be adopted, but our family's been generous to him. We gave him food and shelter, but he isn't thankful at all! He's an ingrate!"

Whatever sentiment Dad had for me disappeared at Calvin's persuasion. When he looked at me again, it was with disappointment. "Alright, then. Cut ties with us, for all I care! I hope you won't regret it!"

A bitter smile curved my lips. Why would I regret leaving this family behind?

Yvonne suddenly broke her silence, taking a honeyed tone as she placated me, "Come on, Damian, don't be so impulsive. Dad was only speaking out of anger. We're all family here. Why hold a grudge against us and resort to extremities?"

I barked a humorless laugh. "Don't act like a saint now, Yvonne. You're making it sound like you didn't lash out at me just moments ago."

Yvonne's expression hardened. She seethed, "You don't know what you're getting yourself into! I was trying to help you, and that's how you thank me?"

"Mom, Uncle Damian, stop fighting," Anna said meekly as she tugged on Yvonne's shirt. She craned her neck back and asked, "Does this mean Uncle Damian won't be staying with us anymore? And I get to stay with you and Dad forever?"

By "Dad", Anna was referring to Calvin.

Yvonne didn't answer and only shot me a long, hard look.

Calvin, on the other hand, crouched and pecked Anna's forehead. He said softly, "Of course, Anna. From now on, it'll just be the three of us. No more outsiders."

He even gave me a provocative look to make a point.

My heart wrenched when I saw Anna cheer. This was the daughter I'd risked my life to protect!

Yvonne scowled when she realized that I wasn't fighting to keep them. She bit out icily, "It looks like you do need to calm down and think about this, Damian! Don't bother coming home or seeing your daughter for the next few days. You can come home when you've thought this through!"

I snorted. "Sorry, Yvonne, what are you talking about? Anna isn't my daughter, right? Didn't you say I was her uncle?"

Yvonne's face turned red, her words forming a lump in her throat. In the end, she leveled a vicious look at me, then led everyone else out of the hospital room.

In the silence of the room, my gaze fell on the piece of candy next to my pillow. Yvonne must have left it there while I was still out cold.

Perhaps my sweet tooth was a result of my bitter past. I never quite outgrew sweets.

The soft rustling of the candy wrapper between my fingers brought back old memories. I'd grown up starved for love and believed it was hard to be loved. I didn't even know how to love someone.

As such, I was initially terrified when Yvonne pursued me romantically. However, she was patient with me. She ultimately brought down my walls and thawed my frozen heart with her warmth and thoughtful gestures.

She took many steps to get through to me and made me believe that someone in this world would love me. She gave me enough courage to finally take a step forward and meet her in the middle.

I thought I was taking my first step toward happiness, but that only lasted until my reunion with the Chapmans.

I wasn't magnanimous. The housekeeper had torn me away from my family over 20 years ago. Hamish did a lousy job raising me, too.

I'd always hated him. Naturally, I couldn't find any reason to like Calvin, who'd benefited from my suffering.

At the time, Yvonne had pointed out with apparent nonchalance, "Well, it's not like Calvin's the one at fault here. He didn't know any better, either."

I gave her the cold shoulder for two days because of this.

In the end, she came up to me and apologized, handing me a bag of candy. With that, our fight ended, and we moved on.

Looking back, that incident might have been the crack in our relationship. Our days went on as usual, but in retrospect, she and I had gone our separate ways since that fight.

I popped the candy in my mouth and let it dissolve on my tongue. It was sweet, but sickening.

Grabbing my phone, I dialed a number.

"Hey, if it isn't Damian! What's up? I thought you'd died in Yvonne's arms while in bed with her, honestly."

The man on the other end of the phone was Lucas Wilde, a close friend of mine. He was the only person in the university who had seen through all my pretenses and still wanted to be friends with me.

He moved abroad after we graduated, but we still kept in touch.

"Luke." My voice was hoarse. "I'm going to file for a divorce, then go abroad."

Lucas was quiet for a moment before asking, "Are you… serious about this, Damian? Have you finally come to your senses?"

"I have." I stared at the gray sky outside the window. "But I'll need your help, Luke."

"Help? Well, tell me the details! I've got your back no matter what!"

On the day I was discharged from the hospital, I told no one about it. I dragged my tired feet over to the front door of the house and opened it, only to hear the sound of laughter and lively chatter coming from the living room.

My breath hitched, and I froze.

The moon was shining overhead, its soft, silver light illuminating the four figures happily huddled in the living room. I was not part of the huddle, and I felt my heart go cold.

When they spotted me, their laughter ground to a halt, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

I quirked the corner of my lips and asked in a deliberately formal, distant tone, "May I know where my room is?"

Dad's expression stiffened. Calvin shot to his feet and hurried to point at the door at the furthest end of the staircase landing. "Damian, we've packed up your things and… left them in there."

The door led to a small, cramped storeroom.

In just a matter of days, the traces of my existence here had been wiped clean and stuffed into a remote, tiny corner of the house. Calvin's belongings, on the other hand, had proudly claimed space in the bedroom I once shared with Yvonne.

A self-deprecating laugh escaped me. "I thought you were all lying to me at first, but now that I've seen my room, I can at least be certain that I'm adopted."

"Damian…" Yvonne looked awkward as she stepped forward. "Why didn't you tell me you were discharged? I could've gone and picked you up."

I eyed her icily and sneered, "What, have my sister-in-law pick me up from the hospital? I couldn't trouble you with a chore like that."

Dad scowled at my words. "What's with the tone, Damian? Calvin was kind enough to pack up your things for you, but instead of thanking him, you're getting all sarcastic?"

Calvin's eyes turned red with tears, and he ducked behind Dad like a wounded child.

Seeing this, Anna snarled at me, "You meanie! Don't you dare pick on my dad! Get out of our house!"

At that moment, I couldn't help but laugh. My heart shattered, and I couldn't stop shaking.

Yvonne had stayed silent up until that moment. She fixed her depthless eyes on me and bit out, "You faked your memory loss, didn't you, Damian?"

I held her stare and suddenly chuckled. It was a dry, bitter sound.

Dad winced, but Calvin still stood tall and straight as if he were in the right.

Anna pieced things together after looking at the grown-ups' reactions. She then yelled at me ferociously, "I don't want you as my dad! You're not my dad! You should never have remembered anything and leave our house forever!"

"Be quiet, Anna!" Yvonne finally barked at the child. She noted my grim expression and tried to take my hand, but I avoided her. "Damian, Anna's only a kid. She didn't mean what she said. Don't take it personally."

I pulled my hand back and snorted. "Only a kid? She's old enough to know right from wrong. Surely you don't expect me to brush off what she said just because she's a kid."

Sensing Yvonne's wavering stance, Calvin blanched and immediately pressed a hand to his forehead. He even staggered for show. "Yvonne, I… I'm feeling a little lightheaded…"

Calvin distracted Yvonne with his sudden dizzy spell. Glaring over her shoulder, she snapped at me, "Are you happy now?"

After that, the entire family made a fuss about getting Calvin to the hospital. Before they left, Gideon even turned around to snarl at me, "You're a walking jinx!"

I stood still until my legs grew numb, and only then did I head into the storeroom. Physically and mentally exhausted, I collapsed in the narrow bed and fell into a deep slumber.

I had no idea how long I'd been asleep, only that I was woken up by a rough dragging sensation. Yvonne looked feral with her bloodshot eyes as she yanked me out of bed.

"How could you be so cruel, Damian?" she growled without rhyme or reason before I snapped out of my grogginess. "You knew Calvin was severely allergic to peanuts, yet you gave him a peanut butter cake on purpose! You were trying to kill him out of sheer spite!"

I froze. Peanut butter cake? When did I ever give him that?

I sputtered incredulously. "Do I look stupid to you? Why would I use such obvious methods to hurt him, only to wait around for the rest of you to catch me?"

"Who else could have done it if not you? Your name and phone number are written clearly on the receipt from the confectionery!"

Yvonne tossed her phone at me and continued, "I'm so disappointed in you, Damian!"

Disappointed? I should be the one saying that! She'd unconditionally believe Calvin in any matter that concerned him and put the blame on me.

"Think what you want." I'd grown tired of arguing. "If you think I did it, call the police."

With that, I shoved her aside and left this disgusting home.

Lucas was belligerent when I told him about this and immediately barked on the other line, "For fuck's sake! Calvin set this whole thing up and played the victim! Is Yvonne an idiot? How could she have missed it?"

"She hasn't. Of course she hasn't missed it." I shook my head, feeling disheartened. "To her, Calvin is more important than the truth."

It wasn't long before Dad called me. "Damian, how could I have a son as wicked as you? What has Calvin ever done to you? Why did you try to hurt him?"

I listened to his tirade, waiting until he'd given up before I pointed out calmly, "You know, Dad, I did a DNA test the first year I was brought back to the Chapman family because I couldn't believe a father would treat his long-lost biological son with such apathy."

I heard Dad's breath hitch on the other end of the phone, but I continued, "As it turned out, we were father and son. But I couldn't find a reason to celebrate because I finally understood that blood wasn't thicker than water.

"Your unconditional love for Calvin over the last 20-something years had carved itself into your bones. As far as you're concerned, Calvin is your only son."

Dad seethed, though I heard the guilt in his voice as he said, "You're being ridiculous!"

"Am I?" I stopped pressing him and said calmly instead, "This is the last time I'll call you 'Dad'. From now on, Calvin is your only son, and I'll have nothing to do with you."

With that, I hung up.

I didn't feel sad, only unprecedented relief. It was like I'd been walking around with a huge weight on my shoulders and was finally able to put it down.

Lucas called after that, his voice full of excitement. "Damian, everything's set! The overseas studio has been registered, and I've already built the start-up team for you. They're the cream of the crop in the business!

"Also, your assets have been transferred. Just say the word, and we'll get ready to rumble!"

"Alright," I replied.

"But…" Lucas sounded worried. "Are you sure you're ready to leave it all behind? What you have back home and… Anna?"

Was I ready? I closed my eyes, the scene from the car crash the other day, and the three sneering faces in the hospital room playing in my head. None of them had hesitated to lie to me.

Yvonne used to say I was soft-hearted. I thought I'd be reluctant to leave them behind, too.

I chuckled, but my eyes were frosty. "I want to leave this life behind more than I want to keep it. Yvonne thinks she's got me under her thumb. I think it's about time I give her a huge parting gift!"