Ten Years His Cover—Now I'm Free

In my tenth year of marriage, my old childhood friend, Joshua Sears, posts a photo on social media.

Both Joshua and my wife, Sabrina Lawson, are hugging his son, Andy Sears, and my daughter, Tiana Jenkins, in it.

The four of them look very close to each other. The caption accompanying the post says, "Blessed to have the perfect son and daughter."

I leave a comment below the post, saying, "Looking good together."

A few seconds later, the post is deleted.

The next morning, Sabrina rushes home and yells at me. "Ashton Jenkins! Joshua was finally feeling better for once. Why did you have to trigger him again?"

Tiana shoves me hard and snaps in an accusatory tone, "It's all your fault that Andy's crying now!"

I take out a copy of the divorce agreement and slam it down before them.

"Yes, it's all my fault. That's why I'm stepping out of the picture now. Then, the four of you can form the wholesome family you've always wanted."

I'd only just printed out the divorce agreement about half an hour ago. But before that, I'd spent the entire night sitting on the living room couch.

The dozen or so dishes I'd slaved over for hours sat untouched on the dining room table. Even the Ultradude cake I'd made earlier had melted into a puddle of goo.

It had been my daughter, Tiana Jenkins' birthday yesterday. My wife, Sabrina Lawson, had given me specific instructions to make preparations for the birthday celebration because she was coming home with Tiana.

However, I'd waited at home for hours in vain. In the end, the only message I'd received in a roundabout way was that Instagram story of the four of them that Joshua Sears had posted.

The irony.

Sabrina had never thought that I would ever bring up divorce. She frowned and tore the agreement in half. Her face was full of disdain as she said, "Ashton Jenkins, what game are you playing this time? I just took Tiana to meet Joshua and his son, and I forgot to tell you about it. That's all!"

Then, her gaze flitted over to the untouched dishes on the table, and a hint of unease appeared in her eyes.

She softened her tone and said, "Alright, fine. It was my fault for forgetting to tell you about last night. I'll be more careful next time. I'll clean up here. Go and rest for a bit. I'll take you and Tiana out for some dessert later on."

Sabrina had always been like this. She would always hit me with the stick before handing me the carrot.

Each time, she always knew that she'd gone overboard, but she would still refuse to apologize and would simply try to soften the blow for me so I would feel less bad about it.

If I didn't respond the way she wanted me to, then she would stop talking to me altogether until I admitted defeat in the end.

In the past, I'd always been the one who would reach out and apologize first. But this time, I brought out another copy of the divorce agreement and threw it down onto the coffee table.

"I made a dozen copies. Go ahead and tear however many of them you want."

Sabrina was so mad that she flung a plate to the floor.

She then glared at me impatiently and said, "Let's just get it straight. You're just jealous that Tiana likes Joshua more than you. But don't you dare forget, Ashton, that you're the one who owes him everything! Tiana and I are only looking after him because we're trying to pay him back for your sins!"

My sins? I had no sins!

Joshua and I used to be close buddies. Once, he'd invited me out into the hills when we were in our third year of college. When we'd finally made our way back home, it had already been dark out, and Joshua had insisted on taking a shortcut. He'd told me that a friend was waiting for him there.

So, we'd parted ways.

However, when I'd woken up after that, Sabrina had rushed into my room and grabbed me harshly by the collar, demanding to know why I'd pushed Joshua into the hands of the thugs while I'd escaped. She'd also demanded to know why I hadn't even bothered filing a police report.

I hadn't even regained my senses and had no idea what was going on.

Eventually, I'd found out that Joshua had run into a bunch of thugs while taking the shortcut, and he'd gotten beaten up so badly that both of his legs had been broken.

He'd told them that the thugs had been after me and that he'd wanted to fight them off with me. But apparently, I'd shoved him right into the group of thugs before running off on my own.

Obviously, he'd been lying.

I'd tried defending myself, but nobody had believed me. Also, the surveillance cameras hadn't been working at that time, so I'd ended up being framed like this for years.

Ever since that incident, it felt as though I'd become a sinner in everybody's eyes.

Mom and Dad, who'd always been very protective of their reputation, screamed at me for being such a heartless person. Meanwhile, Sabrina had called me a cold-blooded reptile.

And then, under the guise of compensation, they'd given Joshua all the love and attention that should have been mine.

They'd even taken my daughter away from me, saying that I was a horrible bastard who didn't deserve to raise a kid like her.

That was the main reason why my relationship with Tiana was literally non-existent.

Yet, I loved her very much and kept trying to find ways to mend our relationship.

I looked at Tiana, who was also looking back at me. Her eyes were cold and full of disgust, as if I were her biggest enemy.

"You ruined Mommy's and Joshua's lives! If it weren't for you, Joshua would have been my daddy!"

I shuddered. My heart felt like it was being torn to pieces.

"Who told you that?"

Tiana frowned. "Isn't that the truth?"

I looked at Sabrina. Even at this point, I still hoped that she would have an explanation for all this.

However, she just avoided my gaze and said, "Tiana always thought that if that incident hadn't happened, I would've married Joshua instead."

Had this been in the past, I would've asked her why she wasn't explaining herself.

After all, I was the one who'd grown up with her, and I was the one who'd introduced Joshua to her as my friend. I was the one who'd been her actual boyfriend…

But now, I simply couldn't care less.

I didn't care what Tiana thought of me anymore either. After all, very soon, she wouldn't have anything to do with me.

I grabbed my suitcase and headed out the door.

"I'll see you at the courthouse when you've made up your mind."