Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I spoke in a calm, steady tone into the phone.

"Coach, I am terribly sorry, but our family is facing some financial difficulties. Lana will not be able to continue her training with you."

"Thank you so much for your guidance over this time. If she still wants to take lessons in the future, please reach out to her father for the tuition."

The coach let out a heavy sigh, expressing regret, but did not try to persuade me further.

She knew very well how brutal this industry was; without strong financial backing, it was impossible to survive.

After hanging up, I canceled all of Lana's other prep and tutoring classes as well.

Since she had no desire to learn, she might as well stop completely.

Over the years, I had spent a fortune on her education.

Aside from high-end modeling classes, I had enrolled her in various academic tutoring programs. That way, even if she missed out on early admissions, she could still take the regular path to a good university.

I had planned everything meticulously, yet she accused me of forcing her into things she hated, claiming I robbed her of a happy youth.

Lana inherited my height and features, which gave her countless advantages in life. However, her twisted values and toxic personality were identical to her father, Patrick.

Patrick only held an associate degree, and we met through a blind date.

I married him back then because he seemed grounded, passionate, and hardworking. He had already become a department manager at a young age and possessed some financial stability.

Only after Lana was born did I realize that all his virtues were an act.

He never lifted a finger around the house, went out drinking and clubbing every single night, and frequently stayed out until dawn.

Worse, I discovered that the head of his company was a distant relative, the business operated in legal gray areas, and his manager title was nothing more than an empty sinecure.

For the sake of giving my daughter a complete home, I endured it repeatedly.

Even when I found out he was cheating on me and buying cars and luxury apartments for his mistress, I still did not file for divorce.

That all changed when Lana turned eight. One night, in a foul mood after heavy drinking, Patrick grabbed a kitchen knife and slashed my head wide open.

I was rushed to the emergency room that night, surviving only after receiving eight stitches on my scalp.

After that incident, I demanded a divorce.

His entire family came to my door begging for reconciliation. When I pointed to the thick bandages on my head, Patrick boldly claimed in front of everyone that I had simply slipped and fallen, insisting he bore no responsibility for such an accident.

I remained firm on the divorce, demanding sole custody of Lana and eight hundred dollars a month in child support.

He refused flatly, stating that once we divorced, we were no longer his family, and he would not pay a single cent.

His hypocrisy was nauseating.

Before the divorce, the total amount he spent on me and our daughter combined did not even reach fifty dollars a month.

Meanwhile, he splurged thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, on his mistress every single month.

Now that we were parting ways, he used the excuse of us not being family to dodge child support entirely.

When I threatened to take him to court, he arrogantly warned me that if I sued, he would fight me for custody.

His reported income was higher than mine, and Lana preferred him over me. If it went to a judge, custody would likely be awarded to him.

Yet I knew that if Lana grew up under his roof, her life would be utterly ruined.

During all those years of co-parenting, he never once disciplined her, only offering empty praise and cheap bribes to win her favor.

I warned him countless times not to spoil her and to correct her behavior before she went astray, but he sneered back, "Discipline? What is the point? She is going to marry out eventually anyway. What does her future have to do with me?"

Even when I proposed enrolling Lana in modeling classes, he dismissed it with disgust: "Why spend so much on a girl? It is a total waste of money. If you insist on throwing cash away on useless hobbies, pay for it yourself. I won't give you a dime."

Those words chilled me to the bone.

Did getting married mean she ceased to be my daughter? Did her life mean nothing to him?

No matter how I reasoned with him, his mindset remained stubbornly backward.

To protect Lana's future, I chose not to drag out a legal battle. I swallowed my pride, walked away with zero assets, and worked multiple jobs to raise her on my own.

Lana held a deep grudge against me for that, blaming the divorce entirely on my shoulders.

She claimed I was ugly, controlling, and incapable of seeing others happy, insisting I drove away the father she loved most.

She constantly threw tantrums to pressure me into giving up custody so she could live with Patrick.

Whenever I refused, her hatred toward me deepened.

When I tried to explain the truth, she plugged her ears, accusing me of slandering her wonderful father.

Now, I will never worry about her future again.

Since she adores her father so much, she can go live with him.