They Regretted Locking Me Out on Christmas

We agreed we were going to spend Christmas together as a family of three. I briefly stepped out to grab my daughter’s Christmas gift, but quickly realized that I had forgotten my keys. However, when I came back, I was locked outside the villa.

I rang the doorbell countless times, but no one came to let me in.

Through the glass window, I saw my daughter happily smiling in the arms of my wife’s childhood friend who had returned from overseas.

“Uncle Jones, you smell so nice. Not like my dad. He’s always sweaty and smells so gross. I don’t even want to spend Christmas with him!”

My wife, Lily Quinn, looked at them indulgently and agreed.

“Your dad hasn’t seen much of the world. He really doesn’t know how to celebrate holidays properly.”

I froze in place as my fingers turned cold.

Yara turned and saw me outside the window. Her face was filled with disgust.

“What are you staring at? Why are you standing outside like some monster? You almost scared me to death! You’re not like Uncle Jones at all. He’s so elegant and well-mannered!”

However, ten years ago, I was a top sales director at a well-known multinational company.

Back then, I had the chance to be transferred to New York. Yet Lily unexpectedly got pregnant and suffered severe reactions. She was at constant risk of miscarriage.

I voluntarily gave up that opportunity to take care of her and our daughter.

Now, that sacrifice had somehow become undeniable proof of my uselessness.

I took a deep breath and threw the Christmas gift I had bought for my daughter into the trash.

Then I messaged someone saved in my contacts as “Apprentice”:

[Is that overseas position you mentioned a few days ago still available?]

The reply came almost instantly:

[Of course! Mr. Lane, as long as you’re willing to come back, you’ll always have a place waiting for you!]

When I saw the characters on the screen, I put my phone away and responded with just one word:

[Okay.]

Before I could even turn around, the villa door was suddenly flung open.

Yara rushed out like a gust of wind, tiptoeing as she peered into the trash can.

Inside was the limited-edition Elsa doll she had been talking about for half a year — the one I had searched all over the city to buy for her.

“Why did you throw away my present? That’s mine!”

Her face flushed bright red with anger, but when she saw the stains on the edge of the bin, she hesitated and did not dare to reach in.

Instead, she stomped her little shoes and burst into tears.

“You’re so stingy! Bad daddy!

“Uncle Jones gave me a Burberry dress the moment he arrived. What about you? You didn’t even open the door, and now you’re throwing away my gift. You did it on purpose!”

The dress she was wearing had sloppy stitching. It was clearly a knockoff.

However, I did not expose it. I just watched her quietly as she raged.

“Yara, is that any way to talk to your father?”

Carson stepped forward with a gentle smile.

“Melvin, don’t blame the child. I’m actually allergic to sweat, so Yara was just worried I’d feel uncomfortable.”

Lily came out right after him, frowning at me.

“Alright, Melvin. It’s Christmas. You bought an outdated toy, so don’t blame the child for not liking it.

“Yara just prefers trendy things. What’s wrong with that?”

If this had been before, I would have slammed the receipt on the table and told them how difficult it was to get that doll.

I would have exposed the fake dress.

I would have argued. I would have been furious.

However, I would not do that now.

“Uncle Jones, don’t mind him. He’s doing it on purpose. He just can’t stand seeing us happy!

“I wish I could change dads. Uncle Jones, you should be my dad instead!”

She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist.

That face which was so similar to mine, at least seventy percent in likeness, looked up at me with open defiance.

I still could not understand how the child I had raised with my own hands could harbor such hostility toward me.

However, I no longer wanted to understand.

If they wanted to be a family, then so be it.

I still had things in the house to pack, and my phone was almost out of battery.

I walked past Yara as she clung to Carson and stepped inside.

As we passed each other, the scent of cologne on Carson drifted into my nose.

It was the same brand Lily had bought just a few days earlier.

Back then, she said it was a gift for a client.

So that “client” was right here.

Nevermind. It did not matter anymore.

…

The next morning, I woke up early and made myself a bowl of noodles in the kitchen.

I had just put the noodles in the pot when Yara came out after washing up.

She wrinkled her nose and said in a muffled voice:

“Uncle Jones is taking me to English high tea to make up for Christmas!

“Don’t think that just because you made me breakfast, I’ll forgive you for throwing away my present.

“You’re the only one who likes such greasy stuff!”

I added an egg and did not even look at her.

“I wasn’t planning on making it for you anyway.”

Her expression froze for a split second. Then she grabbed Lily’s hand and said angrily,

“Mommy, I want Uncle Jones to be my dad for my English speech contest today!”