New Year New Life

Vivian looked at the divorce agreement, then at my pale face.

Suddenly, her tone softened as she said, "You know I never really wanted a divorce. No matter how good Jason is, he'll never be Nancy's real father. I just wanted you to know your place."

My place?

From the day I married Vivian and moved into her family's home, I had become an unpaid babysitter everyone could order around.

Vivian's mother, Agnes, hated me from the bottom of her heart and often humiliated me in front of outsiders to the point that she would ignore me.

But I endured it all for Vivian's Sake.

And how did she repay me?

On New Year's Eve six years ago, I had closed my eyes for ten seconds to make a wish. Just as my heart was filled with optimism, Vivian suddenly admitted she had cheated on me.

"Jason is spending New Year's Day alone and I feel bad about it, so I've decided not to hide it from you anymore. I'm going over later to keep him company."

I couldn't accept it. One was the person I loved most, while the other was the childhood friend I trusted most. How could they have cheated on me behind my back?

I went to confront Jason in my fury, but I got into a serious car accident on the way instead. While I was in the emergency room, the doctors kept warning my family I might not make it, but Vivian never came.

After I got better, I demanded a divorce and custody of Nancy so we could leave together.

But… No one cared.

Instead, Agnes only looked at me with scorn.

"You're just a man who rushed to marry into our family. What makes you think you can fight us for custody of Nancy? If you're a smart man, you'll take the money and scram!"

Only then did I understand that after all these years, I had never had a place in this family.

That was why Vivian's words only made me want to laugh.

Did she expect me to go back and take it all again in silence?

I refuse.

I really didn't want to get involved with them anymore, so I pointed to the wife's signature line on the agreement and raised my voice. "Enough talk and just sign it already."

Vivian's face darkened, and she quickly signed her name.

"Don't regret this," she said.

Regret?

I looked at Nancy and saw the indifference on her face. It was the same coldness she had inherited from Vivian. Even the disgust in her eyes was the same.

Everything was so obvious now. There was nothing to regret.

I put away the divorce agreement and turned to Nancy. "No one will ruin your New Year's Day celebration anymore. I won't bother you anymore, either."

No one knew how I had gotten through those six New Year's Days. While everyone else was preparing to spend the New Year's Day holiday with their families, I sat there holding a cold lawsuit filing and reading through it page by page.

The fear of losing tormented me until I could not sleep at night. Only when I held my daughter's photo could I sleep for a while.

I couldn't see Nancy at all during normal days because of Agnes's interference. I only saw her once a year, in court on New Year's Eve.

I tried my best not to look too pathetic in front of my daughter because I wanted to keep the image of a good father in her heart. But now…

Nancy had chosen another man as her father. There was no need for me to keep playing pretend anymore.

Nancy frowned. She didn't answer me and turned to Vivian instead.

"Since Dad isn't going to bother us anymore, let's go find Jason. He's still waiting at home for us to prepare dinner together."

When I heard that, I almost laughed.

Back when I celebrated New Year's Day with the rest of the Sanders family, I had to prepare dinner all on my own. No one helped me. Agnes wouldn't let anyone help me, either.

I had hoped for Vivian, my wife, to give me a hand. Still, she always had an excuse. Either she was busy, or she was too tired that day.

I always carried Nancy on my back while she cried nonstop as I prepared dinner. Even after I finished preparing dinner for the family, Agnes always found something wrong with them.

Through all that, Vivian had never once spoken up for me.

Looking back now, Vivian had never truly loved or cared about me. Even the daughter I had given my all to raise since her birth was starting to become just like her mother.

Nancy grabbed Vivian's hand and wanted to leave, as if I were someone she hated.

Nancy hadn't always been like this. Before she turned three, she would always hold me so tightly that if I was out of sight for even a moment, she would cry and look for me.

Everyone said I would never get divorced.

But now, it seemed there was nothing that was perpetual.

I got a divorce.

Nancy stopped depending on me, too.