Leaving the Dust to Settle

Around 1:00 am, I received a video from an unknown number.

In the video, a man and a woman were being intimate with each other. The drunken woman on the bed was none other than my wife, Vivian.

"You told me I was the only man that you'd ever loved, Vivian. Is that true?" the man in the video asked.

"Of course! I even named my daughter 'Desiree' because of my desire to be with you, Liam," Vivian replied.

I was at a loss for words. It felt like my love for her had become a joke.

After spending the entire night lying awake in bed, I made a huge decision.

When Vivian returned home with Desiree the next day, I handed her the divorce papers.

Initially, she looked shocked. Yet, her surprise soon turned into anger.

"All I did was spend a night outside, Zachary. Why are you being so dramatic?" she yelled.

"You're so petty, Dad," Desiree added. "No wonder Mom doesn't like you."

I forwarded the video to Vivian and said coldly, "You should be perfectly aware of what you've done. Since Desiree is watching, I'll do you a favor and save you the embarrassment."

Vivian checked her phone. When she glanced at what I'd just sent her, her expression instantly changed.

Furious, she barked, "Are you an idiot? This is clearly made by AI! I can't believe you don't trust me. This is an insult to both Liam's character and mine! Apologize to us right now!"

Glaring at me, Desiree shouted, "You're a horrible person, Dad! Don't pick on Mom and Liam!"

The way Desiree treated me broke my heart more than Vivian's affair did. I'd showered her with endless love and affection for years, but she still chose to side with her mother without any reason at all.

Since that was the case, it was probably better for me to let them have their way.

I picked up my suitcase and declared calmly, "You can have the house and full custody of our daughter. I'll make sure to pay you the child support on time. You can discuss everything else with my lawyer."

Vivian didn't ask me to stay, and the paperwork was processed relatively quickly.

On the day our divorce was finalized, she glanced at me with a look of disdain.

"Don't come crawling back to me in the future, Zachary," she spat.

She was certain that I couldn't live without her. She believed that I'd be the first to admit that I was wrong—just like how I'd done in the past.

But she was wrong. I'd been willing to accept her bad temper and her tantrums, but I couldn't forgive her for cheating on me.

After the divorce, I tasked my company's vice president with managing all of the business ventures in Cendria. Then, I went abroad to pursue more opportunities.

Andy was a homeless child. He met me when he was about to get beaten to death by a vagrant on the streets. I saved him and adopted him.

By chance, I learned that he was of mixed race. His mother was Cendrian, so I decided to bring him back to Cendria.

When I found out that he was attending the same school as Desiree, I was surprised. I'd never expected to see Vivian and Desiree again under such circumstances.

Andy had been keeping me company for the last two years. Because of him, I hadn't thought about Vivian or Desiree in a long time.

Their threats didn't faze me. I took Andy's hand and left.

…

After I finished work the next day, my thoughts drifted to what happened yesterday.

Because of me, Desiree was incredibly spoiled. Aside from matters pertaining to her education, I'd always given her everything she wanted.

I wasn't sure if she might be a bad influence on Andy. So, I debated whether I should transfer him to another school.

To my surprise, I suddenly received a call from Andy's teacher, Samantha Berkeley.

"Hello, Mr. Green. Andy has gotten into a fight. I'm afraid you're going to have to drop by the school," she said.

I froze. Andy had always been a well-behaved kid. Why would he get into a fight when he couldn't even watch people slice up fish?

I rushed to the school and saw two children wrestling each other. To be precise, the other kid had pinned Andy to the ground and was currently beating him up.

I was furious.

I yanked the other child off Andy and realized that he had multiple bruises on his face. He was also bleeding from the corner of his mouth.

"Why didn't you fight back?" I asked him. "Is this how I raised you?"

I continued, "I told you not to pick on others, but I never told you not to stand up for yourself. If someone attacks you, you should do whatever it takes to defend yourself. I have more than enough money to pay their medical bills!"

Biting his lip, Andy teared up.

"I'm sorry, Dad. She told me she's your biological daughter. She also said that you'd abandon me if I hit her back."