I didn't expect Ava to suddenly lunge over and try to yank Daisy out of my arms. Daisy had just calmed down, but the scare made her whole body jolt. She squeezed her eyes shut and started wailing.

Ava didn't care at all and just kept yanking at her with brute force. She screamed, "Get down already! Your dad doesn't want you anymore. Why are you still clinging to him?"

I frowned at Ava and snapped, "What the hell is wrong with you, Ava? Can't you see Daisy is crying?"

She shot me a vicious glare. "I put my life on the line bringing Daisy into this world. Why should she stay with you?"

With that, she ignored Daisy's cries of pain and gave her another hard tug. Afraid that she would hurt Daisy, I had no choice but to loosen my grip.

Ava jabbed a finger hard against Daisy's forehead, scolding her nonstop. "Your dad doesn't want you anymore. Why are you still sticking to him like a leech?"

Hearing that, Daisy cried even harder, her body shaking as she sobbed. My heart ached at the sight, and I hurried to comfort her.

But before I could say anything, Neal cut in, "Enough of this, Jordan. Just focus on your life with Ava. Break things off with that other woman."

I turned my head in shock, staring at Neal in disbelief. He knew perfectly well I hadn't cheated, yet he still wanted to slander me. I knew exactly what he was up to, though.

The neighbors who were lapping up the drama gasped when they heard him.

"So he really did cheat. Men only behave if you nail them to the wall, huh?"

"No wonder he doesn't even want a wife this pretty. Some homewrecker out there has him completely bewitched."

Ava completely lost it. She started swinging at me, her slaps landing wherever they could. "I can't believe you actually cheated on me, Jordan! How could you do this to me? Who is that woman? Tell me who she is right now!"

Her angry shouts grated on my nerves, filling me with frustration. On normal days, my life was just the gym and home. I didn't go anywhere else. No one knew that better than Ava, yet the second Neal said a few loaded words, she believed him without hesitation.

In the past, I would've rushed to explain myself, terrified she would misunderstand. But now that I'd already decided to divorce her, I didn't care what she thought of me anymore.

When I stayed silent, Ava turned her anger on Daisy. "You're your daddy's little girl, aren't you? Go on, ask him about this other mother he got you!"

Daisy had already cried herself red in the face from being frightened, and she now started coughing hard. I quickly pulled her into my arms and patted her back gently to calm her down.

Ava still tried to grab at her, but I saw what she was planning and twisted away with Daisy in my arms. Neal stepped forward to block my path, siding with Ava as he tried to talk me down.

"Come on, man. Ava's the one who carried Daisy to term. If you're set on divorcing her, then get your side chick to give you another kid. Besides, you've always wanted a son, haven't you? Daisy's a girl."

I stared at him incredulously, catching the smug glint in his eyes. He had great acting skills—if I hadn't known him for over a decade, I might not have noticed what he was really thinking.

I didn't want to keep arguing with them, so I lowered my voice and gently asked Daisy, "Daisy, do you want to come with me?"

She threw her arms around my neck without hesitation, sobbing her heart out.

Ignoring Ava's nonstop cursing, I covered Daisy's ears and turned to leave. Behind us, Ava screeched, "Everyone says their daughters are total sweethearts, but mine has nothing but a jet-black heart!"

I didn't want to return to a so-called home that only made my stomach churn, so I took Daisy to the break room at my gym. She'd cried herself to sleep, but her body was still shaking with involuntary sobs.

My chest ached as I looked at her. My resolve to divorce Ava only hardened. I immediately contacted a lawyer, had a divorce agreement drafted, and sent it to Ava.

To my surprise, I only saw one gray tick after the message was sent, when there usually were two. It seemed she'd blocked me. With no other options, I printed the divorce papers, signed them, and hired a courier to deliver them to her.

One minute after the delivery was marked complete, I got a text message full of insults from Ava.

"I can't believe you're serious about this nonsense, Jordan. Are you really abandoning me and Daisy for that homewrecker? Fine. Just you wait!"

I ignored her. No matter how she slandered me, this marriage was over for me.

…

I was still asleep when a frantic pounding on the door jolted me awake. Thinking that a gym member had come early to work out, I rushed to open the door.

Unexpectedly, the person standing outside was my mother-in-law, Yvette Moore. She glared at me furiously.

I called out in confusion, "Mom?"

She spat on the floor and shot back, "Don't you dare call me that! You cheat on my daughter and then have the nerve to cause trouble for her? You want a divorce? Fine, but you walk away with nothing, and Daisy stays with Ava!"

I rejected her without hesitation, "No way."

I could accept leaving with nothing, but I would never give up custody of Daisy.

Yvette shot me a vicious glare and barked, "What do you mean, no way? You'll turn into a horrible father once you get a new wife. Do you want Daisy to grow up suffering with you?"

I frowned and tried to reassure her. "I won't ever get married again."

She rolled her eyes. "Talk is cheap. You think your mistress will just agree to that?"

By now, several gym members had already gathered at the entrance, but Yvette stood in their way, blocking them from coming in.

"Jordan Statham cheated on my daughter, but he's using her yoga classes as an excuse to divorce her. Are you sure you have the guts to work out in a place with such a heartless owner? Who knows when he'll just take the money and run?" she announced loudly. "Or is one of you his little side piece?"

Her accusing gaze swept over the crowd, as if she were determined to drag some imaginary mistress into the light.

The members' expressions shifted. The woman, especially, looked disgusted.

"I didn't do anything! Give me a refund right now. I'm not supporting some cheating jerk's business!" one woman cried.

That set off a tidal wave. Everyone started chiming in, demanding refunds.

Yvette fanned the flames. "Exactly. Get your money back. Let's see how he buys luxury goods for his mistress when he's broke!"

I stared at her incredulously. I hadn't even cheated, so how was I buying another woman luxury goods?

But the gym members only got more worked up when they heard that.

"Oh, my God! So, he's been using my money to keep his mistress? That's disgusting."

"Hurry up and give me my money back, or I'm hauling your equipment out!"

Once someone said that, everyone suddenly seemed eager to act. Yvette seized the moment and egged them on. "Do it. Take it all! Move everything out!"

With her backing them up, they ignored me completely, brushing past my attempts to stop them as they carried my gym equipment away piece by piece.

Yvette watched my confusion and helplessness with obvious satisfaction, a smug smile tugging at her lips. "Serves you right. This is what you get for breaking my daughter's heart!"

I glared at her, vision going red at the edges. My voice trembled as I demanded, "You keep saying I betrayed Ava. What proof do you have?"

She refused to answer me, turning instead to every passerby she saw, repeating the story that I'd cheated. Only after the gym had been stripped almost bare did she finally look pleased enough to leave.

I was on the verge of a breakdown when I suddenly saw Ava posting in my gym members' group, asking if anyone wanted to do yoga with her.

"Working out is so boring. All you ever see are those cold machines. Anyone wanna do yoga with me instead? The poses feel so much better."

Neal replied almost instantly, "I'm in!"

I just felt sick to my stomach, reading the subtext in Ava's messages. I was about to disband the group chat when another message from her popped up.

"Spots are full for today. If you still want to do yoga, we'll do it next time. Don't worry. Everyone will get a turn!"

I couldn't stand it anymore. Without hesitation, I disbanded the group chat. The next second, my phone rang.

"Who do you think you are, disbanding the group chat like that? You're so eager to be my ex-husband, yet you still get jealous? Listen up—if you want me back, you'll have to kneel and kiss my feet thrice before I'll consider forgiving you!" Ava spat.

I let out a cold laugh. "Only gods deserve to have their feet kissed. Meanwhile, you're about as divine as a worm."

I hung up on her, ignoring her screaming. Then, looking at the wrecked, empty gym, I called the police without a shadow of a doubt.

The officers took notes of everything and finally arrested Yvette. The moment Ava heard, she rushed over to the gym. She showed up in sweat-soaked yoga attire, her cheeks flushed as she breathed hard.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Jordan? Why did you call the cops on my mom? You're the one sneaking around doing shameless things. Can't she, as my parent, say a word about it?" she screeched.

Daisy poked her head out and timidly said, "Mommy…"

But Ava snapped, "I don't have a traitor for a daughter!"

I pulled Daisy behind me and shielded her, staring coldly at Ava. "If you're mad, take it out on me. Don't scare Daisy."

At some point, Neal had arrived, too. He stepped in front of Ava protectively, putting himself between us. He was drenched in sweat as well, like he'd just finished an intense workout.

He said, "Jordan, you can't treat Ava like this. She's been a stay-at-home mom for five years for your sake. Now that she's finally found something she likes, you're trying to crush it before it really blossoms."

I didn't want to waste any more time on them, so I turned around and walked back into the gym. Unexpectedly, Ava pulled up her yoga social media account and started a live stream, shoving the camera right in my face.

She cried, "Take a good look at this heartless jerk, everyone! He cheated on me with some shameless homewrecker, then called the cops on my mom when she tried to stand up for me.

"Is there any justice in this world? If you ever see him out with another woman, you have to tell me. I'll catch them in the act myself!"

Neal pretended to look conflicted as he glanced over at me. Then, he chimed in, "Jordan, we may be buddies, but you're genuinely in the wrong this time. At least tone it down with your mistress. Don't let the online community run into you two."

At first, the people in the live stream were only there to ogle Ava's body and weren't even listening to what she was saying. But after what Neal said, they took it as fact that I'd cheated.

Comments started flooding in, attacking me nonstop.

"Play with someone's feelings, and it'll come back to bite you one day!"

"He looks like a decent guy, but he's trash on the inside."

"Cheaters deserve to have their whole family wiped out. They don't deserve to live!"

My gaze landed on that last comment. I let out a mocking laugh as I looked straight at Ava. "See that comment, Ava? According to them, your whole family's going to drop dead."