Chapter 2

In the thundering sounds of fireworks, Kimmy threw away the forgiveness coupon in her hand and tossed the remaining two coupons into the trash can.

"I never want to forgive Uncle Alex again," she said this and ran back to her room.

When I went to her room, she had already curled up on her little bed and fallen asleep. Her cheeks were streaked with tears, and she clutched a photo of our family at the amusement park tightly in her arms.

Kimmy treasured this photo and would take it out to look at from time to time. It was the only picture we had of our family of three at an amusement park.

After Alexander bought the entire amusement park as a birthday gift for Pearl because she said she liked it, Kimmy never mentioned wanting to go to an amusement park again. I put the photo away for her, wiped the tears from her face, and let her rest.

The next morning, I contacted a divorce lawyer and asked her to help me draft a divorce agreement. However, after I finished the phone call, Kimmy peeked her head out from behind the door. I waved her over, and she immediately walked in and hugged my legs.

Fighting back the bitterness in my heart, I asked her, "Sweetheart, if Mom divorces Uncle Alex, would you rather stay with Uncle Alex or come with Mom?"

Kimmy's arms around me stiffened. She lowered her head, her voice carrying tears and reluctance.

"Do we really have to leave? Mom, Uncle Alex promised that once I turn seven, he'll let me call him Dad.

"Can we wait a little longer? Can we give him one more chance?"

Kimmy's words made my chest tighten, and I almost started crying.

During our years of marriage, Alexander had refused to make our relationship public to avoid Charlotte's misunderstanding. But even worse, our daughter wasn't allowed to call him Dad from the day she was born.

I remembered one time when Kimmy gathered the courage to call him Dad. He flew into a rage right there and made her kneel at the front door, forcing her to shout "Uncle Alex" three thousand times until her voice was nearly gone.

Since then, whether at home or outside, Kimmy never dared call him Dad again, only Uncle Alex.

After saying this, she picked up the forgiveness coupons she had thrown in the trash yesterday and said, "Mom, look, there's still one coupon left. Let's give him one more chance."

Kimmy's eyes, red and swollen from crying, were full of determination. I ruffled her hair and sighed, agreeing to her request.

Alexander hadn't come home since that day.

Kimmy brought me an invitation, her eyes hopeful as she said, "Mom, the teacher said both parents need to attend the parent-teacher conference at school. Can you and Uncle Alex come together? I promised my classmates they could meet my dad."

I held the invitation with some doubt. Looking at the expectation in Kimmy's eyes, I couldn't bear to disappoint her.

But I wasn't sure if Alexander would actually go. After all, in our five years of marriage, he had never attended any of Kimmy's parent-teacher conferences.

Before promising Kimmy, I called Alexander to confirm. However, a young voice answered the phone.

"Hello, are you looking for Daddy Alexander? He's taking a shower and will be out soon."

My nails dug into my palm to keep from lashing out. I coldly hung up the phone.

Just as I was about to tell Kimmy that Alexander couldn't make it, he called back. "Isabella, Pearl's young and can't tell the difference between Uncle Alex and Daddy, so she called me the wrong thing.

"Just don't misunderstand. Kimmy's my only precious daughter."

He sounded rather pathetic trying to explain himself in such a panic, but I no longer wanted to pursue these matters.