Chapter 5

Ian's POV

When I returned to the Erwins', I started packing my things. I never realized that after all these years, everything I owned amounted to just one suitcase.

I took off the necklace I'd been wearing and left it on the coffee table. The pendant was a tiny locket holding a family portrait we'd taken when Betty was three years old. I'd begged Celine for three whole days before she finally agreed to take the photo with us.

Just then, a news alert popped up on my phone.

It was an entertainment news story featuring photos of the three of them at the amusement park. They looked so intimate, like a real family. There was nothing left for me to hold on to.

Before leaving, I handed all my savings to the butler, David Wilson, and said, "This is for Betty."

David looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could, Anna suddenly pushed open the front door.

She froze for a moment when she saw the suitcase beside me. "Betty told me that you made a scene and insisted on divorcing Celine."

I was silent for a moment before shaking my head. "I didn't make a scene, and she and I are already divorced."

Anna flew into a rage and swept everything off the table.

"Ian Rutherford, how dare you? You useless coward! Who gave you the right to ask for a divorce? I'm telling you. You'd better leave this marriage with nothing! As for Betty, you'll never see her again!"

The day I married into the Erwin family, Anna had specifically told me that she wouldn't accept me.

Whenever Betty got even the slightest bump or Celine felt even a little unwell, she always blamed me for not taking proper care of them.

I'd always been Anna's punching bag, and I'd put up with all her insults and abuse for Betty's sake. But now that I didn't even want Betty anymore, there was no reason for me to keep putting up with any of it.

So when Anna swung her hand at me, I grabbed her wrist and shoved her away.

"From the moment Celine signed the papers, I stopped having anything to do with you or the Erwin family," I said.

Caught off guard, Anna lost her balance and fell to the floor.

Just then, Celine's voice came from the doorway. "Ian! Have you lost your mind? How dare you lay a hand on my mom?"

Pierre rushed in behind her, his eyes widening as he hurried over to help Anna up. "Ian, no matter how angry you are, you shouldn't take it out on Anna!"

Meanwhile, the household staff came running over and began whispering among themselves.

"I used to feel sorry for Mr. Rutherford, but now I think he was just playing the victim the whole time."

"Exactly. He's nothing like the weak, helpless man everyone talks about. I can't believe he even laid a hand on Mrs. Erwin."

Betty stepped in front of Anna and glared at me. "You're a bad dad! How could you bully Grandma? I never want to see you again! I want Pierre to be my dad!"

At only eight years old, she had no idea how deeply those words could cut. My heart had long been broken, yet hearing them still hurt.

I tried to explain, saying, "She was the one who tried to hit me. I only—"

"Ian." Celine cut me off. "You're saying my mom hit you? No one saw that. All we saw was you shoving her. Stop denying it. I let it go when you made a scene before, but now you've even laid a hand on my mom. Apologize to her now."

I was done apologizing to anyone. Ever since I married into the Erwin family, I'd been apologizing nonstop.

When Betty refused to go to school, I had to apologize to her teacher.

When Celine's clothes weren't ironed properly, I had to apologize to her.

Even when Anna embarrassed herself at a party, I was the one who had to apologize to the guests on her behalf.

"Celine, just let it go. I'm fine. There's no need to get worked up over this," Anna said. She always acted gracious in front of Celine but ordered me around behind her back.

I didn't want to stay in the house for another second. I turned to David and said, "Just throw out whatever's left in my room. I'm leaving."

Betty blocked my path. She looked at me with red eyes, but she wasn't trying to ask me to stay.

"You bullied Grandma and Pierre. You think you can just walk away like nothing happened? I'm going to punish you just like you used to punish me. I'll make you learn your lesson!"

I stared at Betty in disbelief. I never thought she hated me that much.

"David, lock him in the attic," Betty ordered the butler.

The attic was a dark, secluded room where the Erwins locked people away as punishment.

I'd locked Betty up there once when she tossed her fork at me just because there was nothing she liked on the table. I put her in there to teach her a lesson.

I never imagined that less than six months later, my own daughter would use the same punishment against me.

Celine and the others watched with blank expressions, silently giving Betty the green light. The household staff stepped forward and pinned me to the floor.

I struggled desperately as I watched Betty's face blur through my tears. "Betty, I'm your dad! How can you do this to me?"

She looked at me coldly, wearing the exact same expression as Celine. "You're not my dad anymore, not since you divorced Mom."

The daughter I'd raised was now standing with them, helping them hurt me.

That was the moment something inside me died for good.

The night I was locked in the attic, I took one last look out the window toward Betty's bedroom.

She used to love playing hide-and-seek with me in the house. Now she wanted Pierre as her dad instead. I would just give her what she wanted.

I made one last phone call, then set fire to the things stored in the attic. The flames quickly engulfed the entire room.

As I watched the flames, I let out a bitter laugh. "It's time for all of this to end."