The Wrong Marriage, I Gave Up

"Sherry, I want a divorce!" I said.

After I was adopted from the orphanage by Grandpa Eric and brought into the Alba Family, Sherry became the most cherished person in my heart.

We went to school together, played together and grew up together. Everyone said I was the most loyal 'simp' behind Sherry. But I didn't care. As long as I saw her happy, I was willing to be anything.

When we were in college, I saw her with Colin Powell. I also watched as Colin dumped her and went abroad.

We met when we were five, got married when we were twenty-five, had our daughter, Tania, when I was thirty and now I'm thirty-five. We had been entangled with each other for thirty years.

For thirty years, I had put her first in everything and treated her with more dignity than a princess.

I thought that sincerity could be exchanged for sincerity, that one day her heart would open up to me and we would have a happy ending. But, I was wrong.

In the emotional gamble, I lost completely. I never truly entered her heart. To her, I was just a fallback, a compromise. After we got married, Sherry never worked, but she was always busy. Busy with beauty treatments, busy with playing cards, busy attending socialite events ...

Except for the year she gave birth to Tania, she calmed down a little. After Tania was born, she barely fulfilled any of her motherly duties.

Tania never had breast milk because Sherry needed to do physical therapy and maintain her figure. From her birth until now, I was the one who raised Tania. Sherry only played with her occasionally when she felt like it.

This time, I couldn't avoid a business trip and Sherry had promised me that she would take good care of Tania, that she would take her out to celebrate Children's Day.

But she cruelly abandoned her daughter to meet Colin. How lonely and desperate must Tania have been when she died! I held Tania's cold little hand and wept bitterly.

My sweet daughter, Tania. She was so nice, so obedient and so sensible. How could she have died?

If she were still alive, seeing me so sad and in pain, she would definitely hug me tightly and say, "Daddy, don't be sad. Tania will always be with you."

I cried, "Tania, I'm sorry. Daddy came home late. Wake up ... Daddy will take you away from this place."

She must not have liked it here. I wanted to take her away. I packed up all our things, holding Tania's ashes and moved back to the first house where she was born.

Day and night, I stayed by Tania's ashes, repeatedly tormenting myself by watching the surveillance footage of what happened before her accident.

***

After I left for the business trip, Tania was happy at first, probably because she could spend time alone with Sherry. She ran back to her little room, took out her cherished candies and excitedly brought them to Sherry.

Sherry was focused on her phone and didn't even glance at her. Tania carefully pushed her hand forward, accidentally blocking the phone screen.

Sherry frowned, impatiently pushing her little hand away and the candies scattered on the floor.

Tania stood nearby, unconsciously biting her fingers, unsure of what she had done wrong to upset her mother.

She timidly stepped aside. Seeing that Sherry still didn't look at her, she lowered her head in disappointment and sat in the corner, curling up and trying to make herself as invisible as possible.

After a while, Tania seemed to get a bit thirsty. She kept glancing at Sherry and, after hesitating, slowly walked over to her.

"Mom, I'm thirsty. Can you help me get some water?" she asked.

Sherry was video calling someone, her face full of delight and waved her hand dismissively and said, "Go get some water yourself."

Since Tania was little, I taught her not to touch hot water by herself because it would burn her. On the surveillance footage, I saw Tania running to the bathroom, turning on the faucet and taking a few sips of cold water before obediently curling up in the corner again.

It was noon in a blink of an eye and Sherry still had no intention of cooking.

Her soft voice said, "Mommy, I'm hungry ..."

Sherry replied coldly, "I know, I'll order takeout."

Tania sighed with relief and finally showed a bit of a smile. The takeout arrived, but it was all spicy crawfish, spicy burrito and iced cappuccino, things Sherry liked.

Tania took a bite, gasping for air as her tongue burned, "Mommy, it's too spicy ..."

Her mom scolded her harshly, "Just eat it! Why do you have so many complaints? It won't kill you. Eat it or don't eat it at all!"

Tania, with tears in her eyes, lowered her head and forced down two more bites, "Mommy's right, it's really good!"

That evening, after finishing work, I video-called Tania and asked her how her day had gone. What did she say?

"Dad, I had a great time with Mom. She gave me candy, played games with me and even cooked for me. Mom says she'll take me out to play tomorrow to celebrate Children's Day. Dad, when will you come back? Tania misses you ..."

After a long day of meetings, I believed her words. I thought Sherry's motherly instincts had kicked in, so I didn't check the surveillance footage.

Later that night, when they went to bed, Sherry slept with Tania, but halfway through the night, she took the whole blanket for herself.

Tania woke up in the middle of the night, tugging at the blanket, but couldn't pull it back, so she curled up into a ball.

The next morning, Tania woke up clutching her stomach, looking unwell, she probably caught a cold the night before. Tania said, "Mommy, my tummy hurts."

Sherry, who was doing her makeup, didn't even raise her head and casually said, "Just lie down and rest, sleep it off. Mom has to go run some errands. Be good and wait for me at home."

Tania gazed at Sherry with admiration and hope, saying, "Mommy, will you come back to spend Children's Day with me?"

"Yes! I'll be back before it gets dark!" Sherry hurried out, she was talking to Colin on the phone as she closed the door.

On the surveillance footage, Tania slept for a while before waking up and clutching her stomach, curling up on the bed and groaning, "Mommy, my tummy hurts so much ..."

She was in so much pain that she couldn't straighten her back. She crawled to the door, but it had been locked from the outside by Sherry. For an entire day, my daughter Tania was sick, without food or water.

As the sky outside grew darker, she repeatedly went to the window, looking and hoping. Sherry still hadn't returned and Tania, afraid she wasn't looking far enough, brought a stool and leaned half of her body out of the window.

Then the accident happened. After a day without food and with her stomach aching, Tania lost her footing, her body unbalanced and she fell headfirst.

My poor Tania, my sensible Tania. And just like that, she was gone.

I trembled as I shut off the video, unable to watch the final moment and pounded my head in agony. If, if I had taken her with me on my business trip like I usually did, would this tragedy have happened?

In a daze, I missed a step while going downstairs and fainted from the fall. A kind neighbor took me to the hospital.

The doctor said I had been too stressed, hadn't eaten for days and my blood sugar was dangerously low. They advised me to stay in the hospital for two days for observation.

On the third day, I was discharged and went home. I saw two pairs of shoes at the door. One pair of men's leather shoes and one pair of women's high heels.