On the day of our son, Rocco Vance's birthday, my wife Reyna Berry left us stranded by the roadside as she rushed off to the airport to pick up her first love, who was returning from abroad.

Little did I know that on the way, we encountered a mentally unstable person wielding a knife who tried to harm me.

My son died protecting me from that knife. I desperately called my wife at the hospital again and again, begging her to come see our son one last time.

But her first love Alfredo Pearson answered the phone instead, mocking me.

"She just finished up and went to take a shower. If you have anything to say, I'll pass it on."

In the end, my son died in my arms.

And I left the divorce agreement on my wife's desk.

***

As I held my son's lifeless body, I felt like my entire world had collapsed.

He was just a kid, never having experienced the wonders of the world, and now he left the world forever.

Just that morning, he had been bouncing around excitedly, looking forward to his birthday party later that night. And now...

I placed his body in the drawer at the funeral home numbly, and as the door shut...

I caught one last glimpse of his pale face, and a single tear rolled down my cheek.

The woman who should have been by my side, comforting me and seeing our son off on his final journey...

She was instead lying in another man's bed, talking about how much she had missed him over the years.

Why was she so ruthless to ignore dozens of phone calls?

For years, I had swallowed my pride for the sake of our child and the family.

I knew what she had been doing behind my back, but I put up with it just so our son could have a home.

I even washed her clothes, reeking of another man's scent, in silence.

I was so meek, and she knew it. She knew I couldn't bear to leave her.

So she just took what I did for granted.

My feelings didn't matter to her, but what about our child?

She left Rocco alone at school halfway through a parent-teacher meeting just because Alfredo wanted ice cream.

She yelled at Rocco when he accidentally stumbled upon a photo of the two of them together.

Even on Rocco's birthday, her so-called gift was nothing more than a five-dollar pen from the convenience store downstairs.

We had fought about this countless times, but she always responded with the same words.

"You should be grateful I even married you! Don't think you have any say in my business!"

Every time I saw the disappointment in Rocco's eyes, my heart broke a little more.

Especially when he hesitated before asking...

"Dad, does Mom not like me? Did I do something wrong? I'll be good from now on, I promise. I won't make you upset anymore. Can Mom stop hating me?"

Reyna, how could you be so heartless?

The marriage that I had endured for the sake of our child was finally coming to an end, but the price I had to pay was my son's life.

Thinking of Rocco's innocent face, I couldn't hold back my tears any longer.

The divorce papers were quickly drawn up, and I was just waiting for her signature.

Seeing me sitting on the couch in silence with a dark expression, my friend sighed.

"Dayton, I know you're in pain, but you need to pull yourself together and handle what's next. Reyna doesn't even care about her child. You need to divorce her as soon as possible before things get worse."

I never wanted to have any contact with this woman again for the rest of my life, but I had no choice. I forced myself to make the call, swallowing my disgust.

As expected, the first few calls went unanswered.

It wasn't until the fifth call that she finally picked up, her voice annoyed.

"Dayton, can you stop being so unreasonable? Don't you know I'm in the middle of a meeting? Can't you wait until it's over?"

A meeting?

I raised an eyebrow at the video the private investigator had just sent me of her walking into a hotel with Alfredo. I couldn't help but laugh.

Sure enough, faint sounds of intimate kissing came through the phone.

It seemed as if they were purposely letting me hear it, flaunting it in my face.

My friend's face turned red with anger, and he reached for the phone, ready to curse her out.

But I stopped him, shaking my head. At this point, I didn't want to argue with them anymore.

I just wanted my freedom. I wanted to live on in place of my son.

There was silence on the phone as if she was confused by my lack of response.

But in the next moment, my hoarse voice sounded.

"Reyna, I want a divorce."

The house felt eerily quiet without Rocco.

Looking at the scattered toys around my feet, I wished more than anything that I could hear him call out just one more time.

"Dad."

But it was over. My son would never open his eyes again.

As I sat there, holding one of his toys, tears streaming down my face, I suddenly heard the sharp click of the front door opening.

The sound was echoing through the living room.

Reyna stormed in, tossing her bag onto the couch with an irritated huff, scanning the room for any sign of Rocco.

With obvious impatience, she snapped at me.

"Where's your son? Where the hell is he? His tutor called me several times today, asking where he was. He's gotten so bold, skipping class like that! Doesn't he realize he only came in second on the last test?"

Her barrage of insults hammered into my head.

Even as an adult, hearing those words stung deeply. How much worse must it have been for Rocco, who was only an elementary school kid?

When I didn't respond, her anger flared even more.

She pointed a finger at me, shouting.

"I'm talking to you! Are you deaf or something? I don't get you, Dayton! You have a good life, but it's like you've had enough of it. Why do you keep stirring up trouble every day, picking on Alfredo? What's your problem?!"

Staring at the woman I had loved for so many years, I suddenly couldn't hold back my laughter.

She came home maybe once every ten days or so, and whenever she did, it was to defend her first love.

She didn't even bother to ask about her missing son.

Still staring at Rocco's toys, I finally told her what I had been holding back.

"He's dead. Rocco is dead. The day you left us, he was killed by a mentally ill man..."

I couldn't bear to finish.

I had thought that telling her this would make her feel something, that it would move her in some way.

But all she did was freeze for a moment before laughing.

"Dayton, do you think I'll be fooled by you? Do you really expect me to fall for your little tricks? You're just trying to get me to let up on his extra classes. How pathetic do you have to be to make up a lie like that?"

How could such a mother even exist?!

She was just a mother who couldn't care less about her child.

Suddenly, I stood up from the couch. Reyna flinched, startled, and instinctively took a step back.

"What are you doing? Are you going to hit me now?!"

I didn't respond but just shoved the divorce papers I had prepared into her hands.

Something felt stuck in my throat, making it hard to speak. My voice came out rough and strained as I said.

"Reyna, I'm giving you what you want. You can be with Alfredo now. Let's get a divorce."

The atmosphere in the room froze instantly.

Reyna stared at me in disbelief, her eyes darting between me and the divorce papers.

Her hands trembled as she took them, and just when I thought she was going to sign...

She suddenly flew into a rage. She tore the papers into shreds, throwing them on the floor.

And then she stomped on them furiously.

After several seconds, she looked up at me, her eyes bloodshot, and spat out.

"Dayton, you begged me to marry you! You groveled on your knees for years, and I took pity on you! If it weren't for that, do you think I would have ever agreed? Now you want to divorce me? No way!"

With that, she slammed the door behind her as she stormed out, not sparing me another glance.

Watching her crazed behavior, I suddenly felt a strange sense of confusion.

Hadn't she always said that marrying me was the biggest humiliation of her life?

So why didn't she want to leave me now?

If she signed the papers, she could be with Alfredo openly and without shame.

So why was she so angry?

For the first time, I realized I couldn't understand her at all.

At the largest restaurant in the city, I sat next to my friend, unable to utter a single word.

The room was filled with friends who had rushed in from out of town after hearing the news, but no one knew what to say to comfort me.

They exchanged glances, starting to speak but then stopping, the awkward tension hanging thick in the air.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the hallway outside.

"Reyna, I didn't expect someone as young as you to achieve so much already. Keep up the good work, and who knows, maybe my position will be yours one day."

The next moment, Reyna's familiar and hypocritical voice filled the room.

"Mr. Floyd, you flatter me! It's all thanks to your excellent guidance."

The tone of her voice sounded so different.

It was usually so cold and distant toward me and everyone else, now dripping with a sickening level of sycophancy.

I recalled all the times she had boasted about how she looked down on people who sucked up to their superiors.

Then I shook my head speechlessly.

I didn't want to see her, but just then, a friend who had arrived late called me, asking me to meet him at the entrance.

So, with no other choice, I left the private room and walked toward where Reyna was standing.

I was dressed in a casual suit.

As soon as she saw me, her face went pale.

She immediately assumed I had come specifically to humiliate her in front of her boss.

But she didn't even notice that the chairman smiled warmly at me when he saw me approach.

The moment I walked past her, Reyna yanked me aside, gripping my arm tightly.

"What are you doing here? You can throw tantrums at home all you want, but right now, this is my work time. I'm about to get promoted, and if you mess this up, I swear we're done!"

She acted like I was some threat to her career, with no trace of the affection that should have been between us as husband and wife.

Instinctively, I tried to shake her off.

But her grip was surprisingly strong, and I couldn't break free.

"Who told you I came here for you? You're so self-centered. Am I not allowed to have my own business?"

Hearing this, she seemed to find it hilarious, as if I had told the funniest joke in the world.

She was about to mock me when the chairman's voice came from behind us.

"Reyna, what are you and your husband whispering about over there? You two look so sweet."

Embarrassed by his teasing, Reyna shook me off and denied it instantly.

"No, no! He's just a friend, not my husband. I… I'm not married yet."

She spoke with such certainty, and the others around her nodded in understanding.

"That makes sense now. I remember last time, it wasn't him who came to pick up Reyna after work."

"I've seen her husband before. They're so sweet together, even after all these years."

They continued their lively chatter, completely oblivious to how the chairman's expression grew darker with each passing second.

Finally, he turned to me with a questioning look.

"Dayton, you two aren't… married?"

Reyna looked startled, surprised that the chairman even knew my name, but before she could say anything, I simply shook my head.

Then I took a step back.

"Mr. Floyd, I don't know her."