I Risked Everything, But You Only Wanted to Escape Unharmed

"I just played the role of Tommy's father for a bit. What's the big deal?"

I clenched my fists, a cold glint flashed in my eyes, and my face turned into a mask of contempt and sarcasm.

I thought to myself, "You remember to give fatherly love to Tommy, but have you ever thought about your own daughter, Katie?

"Since the day Katie was born, you have been emotionally absent from every important moment in her life."

A wave of anger shot up from my feet to the top of my head.

Just as I was about to confront Daniel, a young boy's voice came from the other end. "Dad, I want to ride the roller coaster."

In an instant, Daniel's voice softened and he agreed.

It was amazing how he could change tone so fast.

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" That's what he said before he hung up.

I stared at the phone with wide, angry eyes after the call ended.

Ashamed?

Yes, I really should be ashamed.

What was I thinking when I fell for someone like him?

Just then, a pair of warm little hands held mine.

"Mom, it's okay if Dad doesn't come back! I have the best mom in the whole world, and that's enough!"

Tears started flowing uncontrollably down my face.

Katie was right. Lots of children do just fine with a single parent.

Sometimes, just having a mom is enough.

Katie wrapped her tiny arms around my neck and said, "Mommy, don't cry! Katie loves you the most!"

Her little grown-up tone made me burst into laughter.

Looking at Katie's innocent face, I fell into a deep memory.

When Katie was first born, Daniel disliked her.

He was upset that Katie was a girl. He always wanted a son.

Even my mother-in-law never gave Katie a second look, always glaring at her, blaming her for being a girl.

And to top it off, she often tried to stop me from buying my daughter gifts.

In her words, "It's not worth it to spend money on a girl."

I used to think that, over time, they would become less misogynistic.

I worked hard to raise Katie.

I wanted to prove that if Katie was raised well, she could be just as good as any boy.

But I was constantly stopped by Daniel and my mother-in-law.

I wanted to sign Katie up for piano lessons, but Daniel complained. "What's the point of learning that? It's not like it'll put food on the table."

I wanted to sign her up for dance classes, but Daniel snapped. "You're spending all this money on her, and one day she'll just be someone else's wife!"

Yet Daniel was more than willing to spend all his savings on Jessica's son.

Soccer club, violin lessons, chess lessons...

Whatever Tommy wanted to learn, Daniel happily agreed.

Once, I accidentally found these receipts and angrily confronted Daniel, but he felt completely justified.

"I earn the money, I'll spend it on whoever I want. I'm your husband, not your slave!"

For Katie's sake, for the sake of a complete family, I swallowed my pride and put up with it.

I just wanted him to give Katie a little bit of fatherly love.

Now I see how wrong I was.

I no longer expected him to change ever. Divorce immediately crossed my mind.

Lost in thought, I looked at Katie's puzzled little face and softly asked, "Katie, would you be sad if Mom and Dad separated?"