Chapter 3

3.

Ignoring their furious glares, I turned around and slammed the door behind me.

In the past, they were always the ones using running away from home as leverage.

This time, I was the one walking out.

A crisp breeze brushed across my gray hair. For the first time in my life, I decided to indulge myself.

I ordered top-shelf whiskey and checked into a luxury five-star hotel, falling into a deep, uninterrupted sleep on the king-sized bed.

In my dreams, I returned to the darkest night of my existence.

The wailing child, the splattered blood, the unreachable wife, and my own absolute helplessness.

When the hospital handed me the final payment warning for the eighth time, the despair was so overwhelming that I wanted to jump off the roof.

Later, heavy bandages were wrapped around my severed fingers.

My child woke up, I lost my factory job, and I barely clung to life.

Wendy, who claimed she had gone out to borrow money, finally returned empty-handed.

She put on a face full of tearful guilt, claiming the rural reception was bad, her parents were broke, and she had begged on her knees without getting a single dime.

"Honey, as long as our family is together, we can always make more money," she had whispered.

I never blamed her.

I even felt guilty, cursing myself for being incapable of giving them an effortless life.

I never imagined that my wife, who acted like a helpless vine relying entirely on me, had a steady income of three thousand dollars every month.

She hid it flawlessly. She refused to spend a single dime to save our dying daughter, yet willingly handed every penny over to support her old flame.

What a cruel irony.

Thirty years had passed, and even our daughter had forgotten her gratitude.

I was the only fool still trapped in the nightmare of that fateful night.

My phone rang, breaking the silence. I swiped to answer.

My mother-in-law's voice drifted through the speaker.

"Caleb, every couple hits rough patches. Wendy just lost her temper and said things she did not mean. I apologize on her behalf."

"Try to let it go. Life is easier when you do not look too closely. As long as the family stays intact, pride and dignity do not matter."

A bitter pang shot through my chest. Forcing my voice to stay steady, I asked quietly, "You knew all along that Wendy never cut ties with Harrison, did you not?"

A sharp gasp came from the other end, followed by rapid, panicked breathing.

A dry laugh escaped my lips. I truly could not comprehend why my genuine devotion had only earned me betrayal.

"When you were on your deathbed, I paid sixty thousand dollars out of my own pocket to save your life. From that day on, you treated me like your own son and always took my side during arguments."

"I honestly thought you were the one source of genuine warmth I had in that family. I never expected you were her accomplice all along."

I hung up the call. My ancient phone finally gave out and died completely.

I reached into my wallet. Inside were the small amounts of spending money I had saved over the years, along with the three hundred dollars Wendy had carelessly tossed at me.

I walked out of the hotel and headed straight to the mall, buying the newest flagship smartphone.

I should have bought one years ago. But on my birthday a few years back, Maya had suddenly promised to get me a new one.

"Dad, you are so embarrassing. Who still uses a flip phone these days?" she had said. "Next time, I will buy you a smartphone."

I waited for that next time year after year.

I made excuses for her, thinking she was too busy or that new phones were simply too expensive.

Now, I was done making excuses for anyone.

It was just twelve hundred dollars.

It turned out that all the suffering I endured was worth less than a gadget.