Chapter 1

It was the day before our eighth wedding anniversary.

My wife's male best friend posted an update on social media.

"We're pregnant! Hoping for a sweet little princess!"

Attached was a photo of a happy family of three.

I zoomed in on the picture.

He had his arms wrapped around my five-year-old son and my wife, who had just found out she was one month pregnant.

I sneered and left a comment underneath.

"Congratulations. If it's not a girl, you two can always keep trying!"

A second later, the post was deleted.

The next day, my wife stormed home and lashed out at me.

"He just wanted to be the baby's godfather! Why do you have to be so damn petty?"

My son glared at me with pure disgust.

"It's all your fault! Daddy Holden was crying when he deleted that photo! You're just a useless loser who lives off Mommy's money!"

I pulled out the divorce agreement and smiled calmly.

"My bad. Once the baby is born, you three can take another family portrait."

1.

When they got back, I was staring blankly at my phone.

On the screen was the final draft of the divorce agreement sent by my lawyer.

A few large suitcases lay at my feet, taking up half the living room.

Kendra frowned the moment she saw the luggage.

"What's this? Are you running away from home?"

Before I could speak, Rory clapped his hands and cheered.

"Yay! The loser is finally leaving!"

He ran to the dining table and glanced disdainfully at the dinner I had spent hours preparing the night before.

"Bland junk again. Daddy Holden cooks way better than you!"

Looking at their identical sneers, an overwhelming exhaustion washed over me.

Both of them suffered from a hereditary heart condition that required a strict diet.

Every day, I cooked according to strict medical instructions, keeping everything low-sodium and low-oil out of fear that any mistake would trigger their illness.

Yet, my son preferred the greasy, salty fast food Holden ordered for him.

I took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

"Let's get a divorce, Kendra."

Kendra scoffed.

"Holden already deleted the post, and you're still throwing a tantrum? Do you want the baby in my belly to grow up without a father?"

She raised her chin, her eyes dripping with contempt.

"Garrett, if Holden and I were ever going to happen, do you really think you'd ever have had a chance?"

They were childhood sweethearts. Holden had only returned from studying abroad two years ago.

Since then, they had acted like inseparable best friends, showing zero restraint even in front of me.

At dinner, they fed each other as if I wasn't there, and I swallowed my pride.

Kendra had claimed it was just harmless intimacy between close friends and told me not to overthink it.

On business trips, they shared a single hotel room and slept in the same bed.

When I confronted her, she blamed me for being narrow-minded, claiming Holden had simply gotten drunk and needed someone to look after him.

Time and time again, my tolerance was met with deeper betrayal.

My voice remained steady.

"I'm done, Kendra. Let's get a divorce."

Kendra crossed her arms, looking at me provocatively.

"Divorce? Have you really thought this through? You haven't worked in years. What decent company would ever hire you now?"

I looked straight into her eyes without a hint of hesitation.

"I've thought it through. I don't want anything except Rory."

"I don't want to be with a loser like you! I want Mommy!"

Rory tilted his head up, glaring at me.

He ran over to my suitcase and kicked it hard.

"Get out! Take your trash and get the hell out!"

A sharp pain pierced my chest, making it hard to breathe.

I crouched down, trying to meet Rory at eye level.

"Rory, have you forgotten how Daddy took care of you every single day? Don't you want Daddy anymore?"

Rory turned his face away and hid behind Kendra.

"I don't want you! Get lost! I want Daddy Holden to be my real dad!"

I was the one who had raised him day in and day out.

When he was an infant, he practically lived in the hospital.

When the doctors issued critical condition notices, I stayed by his bedside for nights on end without sleeping.

I nursed him from a frail, sickly baby into a healthy, active boy, yet he felt no closeness to me at all.

Perhaps because Kendra's blood ran through his veins, he had adored Holden from the very first moment they met.

He called him Daddy Holden with more sweetness than he had ever shown me.

I let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"Fine. I don't want anything."

"I'll have the divorce papers sent to you. Make sure you sign them."

Without another word, I grabbed my suitcases and walked toward the door.