My husband did not love me, and he certainly did not love our child.

On the day our son was born, he did not even glance at him. He merely tossed him into my arms.

Then, his first love came back from overseas.

That night, the ever-cold Henry had gotten drunk for the first time. He even smiled as he held our child in his arms.

Delighted, our son wrapped his little arms around my husband's neck and asked me in a soft voice, “Mommy, what’s wrong with Uncle?”

I crouched down, pulling him into my embrace. My eyes reddened as I explained, “Uncle's favorite person came back, so we shouldn’t bother him anymore. We’re going to find a new home.”

I took my son to his room to sleep. After that, I returned to the guest room to open my laptop and start drafting the divorce agreement.

This year marked the seventh year of my marriage to Henry.

It was also the seventh year of us living apart.

Now, I had finally decided to let go of him.

Knock knock.

I opened the door to see my seven-year-old son holding a toy airplane.

“Mommy, are we really going to move away?”

He looked at me, his eyes full of reluctance.

“But Uncle Parker hugged me tonight. Does that mean he likes me now?”

I froze for a moment, a little dazed.

Even after seven years of marriage, Henry never allowed our son to call him ‘Daddy’.

When our son was two, Henry took him to the supermarket. On the way, they ran into an acquaintance.

When our son accidentally called him ‘Daddy’, Henry put him down and made him walk home.

By the time they got home, our son had fallen countless times, and his knees and palms were scraped raw.

When our son was four, he begged Henry to take him to the amusement park for a long time.

However, once again, Henry let go of his hand at the park because our son casually called him ‘Daddy’.

That was how my four-year-old child got swallowed up by the huge crowd.

When they finally found him, our son was hiding in a bush, crying so hard he could barely breathe.

After that, our son started calling him ‘Uncle Parker’, and our family became a complete joke.

My nose tingled with pain at the thought of this. I could not help but pull my son into my arms.

“Lyle, Uncle Parker’s favourite person is coming back. We can’t stay in this house any longer.”

His eyes dimmed, but he hurriedly held up the airplane model in front of me.

“But Mommy, Uncle Parker gave me a gift tonight. If he didn’t like me, why would he give me a gift?”

His expression was so desperate. He was trying to prove that his father really loved him.

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

What was I supposed to say?

How could I say it?

Should I tell him that Henry was happy because his first love was coming back from overseas?

Should I tell him that he only got the airplane because of another woman’s influence?

I could not say anything.

I quietly swallowed my bitterness and heartache as usual, covering it up with a lie to protect my child.

I kissed my son on the forehead and wiped away a tear from the corner of my eye where he could not see.

A mother would keep up any illusion to protect her child, even when it hurt the most.

Holding back the urge to sob, I smiled and asked, “Lyle, if Mommy wanted to take you away from Uncle Parker, would you be okay with that?”

My son froze for a moment, then asked with a soft voice, “Can’t we stay?

“I haven’t even called him Daddy properly yet...”

I could not hold back the tears anymore and bit my lip.

“Lyle, Uncle Parker doesn’t want us to stay in his house anymore.

“Mommy will take you away, okay?”

My son pulled his hand back, holding the airplane model tightly. He was silent for a long time before he finally spoke.

“I want to give Uncle Parker three more chances. If... he really doesn’t love us, then we’ll leave him forever.”

Closing my eyes, I agreed to my son’s request.

“Alright.”

Henry, my son and I would give you another three chances.

After that, you will never have a place in our lives again.

…

It was Friday, the day Henry’s first love returned to the country.

They were college sweethearts and got engaged right after graduation.

Just a month before their wedding, Evelyn fell in love at first sight with a foreigner.

She abandoned Henry and went abroad in pursuit of her true love.

From that moment, their lives deviated, their paths never crossing again.

Henry was devastated for a long time.

That was when I became his assistant.

One night, after too many drinks, we conceived a child.

Just like that, I became his secret wife—the woman he barely acknowledged and the mother of a child he never wanted.

After printing out the divorce agreement I finalized yesterday, I started preparing my resignation letter.

Unlike my son, I had long grown used to Henry’s coldness. I was not foolish enough to keep waiting for a man like him to change.

Seven years was more than enough to shatter any naive, romantic illusions I once had.

“Serena, are you really resigning?”

A colleague caught a glimpse of my screen and asked in a hushed voice.

I smiled, already prepared with my excuse.

“Yeah. My son’s father is overseas. I’m planning to take him and move there so we can finally be together as a family.”

She nodded.

“That makes sense. Raising a kid alone here must be exhausting for you.

“Honestly, we all kind of assumed you were a single mom.”

I could not help but laugh when I heard that, but it was bitter.

I was not a single mother, yet I was treated worse than one.

My eyes started to sting, but I quickly masked it with a practiced smile, unwilling to let anyone notice.

Just as I submitted my resignation, Henry walked in with Evelyn.

She walked ahead of him with a gentle smile on her face.

He followed behind her, his gaze clinging to her every move. He was unwilling to look away for even a second.

A colleague nudged me and whispered,

“Serena, do you see that? Our CEO is finally showing some emotion for once.”

I forced a smile, but it felt like a storm was raging inside.

All it had taken was waiting a decade for this stony man to show his soft side.

Still, Henry…

Even if I waited a lifetime, he would never look at me the way he was looking at her now.

As they passed by, I could not stop myself. I called out to him.

“Hen—”

Before I could even finish saying his name, he shot me a cold, warning glance.

“Miss Clarke, do you need something?”

His cold words carried an unspoken warning, a command for me to swallow my words.

A reminder to remember my place.

I lowered my gaze, forcing myself to hold back the tears welling in my eyes.

“Sorry, Mr. Parker.”

He gave a slight nod, then immediately looked away.

He kept his focus fixed on Evelyn as though she were his entire world.

He was my husband.

The father of my child.

However, he made no effort to hide his love for another woman in front of me.

It was ironic yet sobering.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it.

Initially, I had wanted to tell him I was resigning.

It seemed like there was no need to do so now.

He did not care about me, after all.

He did not care about my feelings or our child.

Certainly not about this marriage.

Back at my desk, my son called from his smartwatch.

“Mommy, there’s a meeting at school tonight, so we got out early today. Uncle Cooper brought me to you.”

I froze for a moment before instinctively getting up and walking outside.

That was when I saw Henry reaching out to gently fix Evelyn’s hair.

Not far away, my son stood at the elevator.

His backpack was slung over his tiny shoulders as he stared blankly at his father tenderly caring for a woman he had never met before.

Henry’s gentleness and patience.

My son and I had never seen it before.

I was about to take him away when Henry finally noticed him.

His body stiffened briefly, and he quickly withdrew his hand.

However, in the next moment, he straightened up and continued walking past our son, shielding Evelyn with quiet determination.

It was as though he did not even know the little boy standing there.

A sharp pain stabbed through my heart. I quickly took my son's hand and led him back to my desk.

Before I could say anything, his eyes turned red, and he asked in a soft voice, “Mommy, is that the person Uncle likes?”

At that moment, I lost all ability to speak. I could only nod, tears brimming in my eyes.

My son did not ask anything else. He silently pulled out his workbook and started writing.

However, his tears still fell, soaking into the pages.

I held him close. He was my whole world.

Henry, you had two chances left before my son and I walked away forever.

…

After packing up, I took my son home.

While we were on our way home, he suddenly asked, “Mommy, can Uncle Parker come to the meeting tonight?”

In our seven years of marriage, Henry had never attended a single one of his son’s school meetings.

I could not bear to say no when I looked into his hopeful eyes. I sent Henry a message.

[Our son has a school meeting tonight. Do you have time?]

As expected, there was no response.

My son lowered his head, clutching his backpack.

“He doesn’t want to come, does he?”

He forced a smile as though he was trying to convince himself. “It’s okay. Uncle Parker is busy. I understand.”

My heart felt like it was being crushed under a heavy weight when I heard those words.

Just as I was about to speak, my phone chimed.

It was Henry.

[I’m free. I’ll be there.]

Shock and joy surged through me. I immediately turned my screen to my son.

“Lyle, look! Daddy said he’s coming!”

He was stunned for a moment, but then his face lit up with pure excitement.

Seven years. This was the first time Henry had agreed to come to something with us.

With that promise, my son was happy for the entire trip home.

He told me how many times his teacher had praised him, how many awards he had won, and how he had scored high marks on his tests.

With bright eyes, he told me, “Mommy, I was elected class monitor this semester! The teacher said they’ll announce it at the meeting tonight!”

He hesitated and asked, “Mommy… If Daddy sees how well I’m doing in school, do you think he’ll like me more?”

I was startled for a moment before my heart started to ache even more. I prayed silently, hoping that Henry would not break his promise just this once.

I just wanted my son’s wish to come true before we left, even if it was nothing more than our own self-deception.

The clock ticked on, minute after minute.

The meeting was about to start.

Henry never showed up.

However, Evelyn did update her social media.

Henry was sitting beside an unfamiliar little boy, patiently guiding him as they built a Lego set together in the photo.

Her caption read: [Future #1 Dad!]

I turned toward the living room.

My seven-year-old son sat quietly on the couch, playing with his own Lego set.

The same toys. The same age. The same need for love.

However, his father was never here with him.

Sensing my gaze, my son looked up at me. His little hands tightened around his Lego pieces as he spoke cautiously.