Chapter 3

Everyone looked at me as if I were their enemy.

Henry was crying uncontrollably in Howard’s arms. He was pointing at me and shouting, “I hate him! Make him leave!”

Tiffany pointed toward the door and said, “Get out.”

Before I could even react, I was forcibly shoved out by Howard.

The door slammed shut. From inside the room behind me, I could hear them cursing at me.

It was drizzling outside.

I reached into my pants pocket and realized I had left my car keys inside the room.

I turned around and pounded on the door several times. Someone inside yelled through the door, “What are you coming back for with that shameless face? Do you want to scare Henry to death?!”

“Give me my car keys!” I shouted.

Tiffany’s voice came through. “Henry will get stressed out when he sees you. We can’t open the door. Figure out a way to get home on your own.”

I dropped my hand. My chest felt tight, and my whole body slowly soaked through with dampness.

I stood in the rain for nearly an hour before I finally hailed a cab.

As soon as I got in the car, I received a message from a college classmate.

[Brendon, are you still going to pick up your father-in-law’s next round of medication?]

Ever since his heart surgery, Dan had seemed to be in the pink of health. However, his health was constantly in danger.

The doctor prescribed an imported medication that he needed to take over the long-term without interruption. It was hard to find in the country.

So, I had asked a classmate to help me secure a reliable source.

The medicine was outrageously expensive. It was nearly $4,000 per box, but no one has ever brought up the payment. I have always covered it myself.

Since he was no longer my father-in-law, I obviously did not have to continue paying.

I replied, [I won’t be paying for it anymore.]

He replied quickly.

[What’s going on? Isn’t the medicine working?]

[We broke up.]

My classmate was silent for quite a while, then finally replied.

[It’s really surprising that you two broke up. After all, you were genuinely good to her.]

[I still remember back in college when you helped Tiffany with her projects and wrote her thesis. You were so exhausted you didn’t even have time to eat. You did that all just so she could graduate on time.]

[I never thought that after graduation, the two of you wouldn’t end up together.]

I replied, [It’s all in the past.]

I closed my eyes and slept the whole way home in the car.

When I got home, I added the WhatsApp contact my professor had sent me.

Her username was simple. It was just her name, Claire Hope.

I hesitated for a moment. Then, I sent her a message.

[I’m going to be very candid with you. I just went through a breakup, and it didn’t end very well.]

She replied quickly.

[I know. You had a fiancee before, right?]

I was about to send another message. I realized it might be hard to explain clearly over text, so I just called her instead.

In one go, I told her the whole story about Tiffany and myself.

She said, “I only need the right person to marry. What happened to you wasn’t your fault. Since you’ve decided to part ways, I don’t see any problems.

“Let’s go get our marriage certificate in three days.”

I was slightly taken aback.

It was the day Tiffany and I had planned to get our marriage license.

She had a child with someone else. I was about to marry someone else too.

“Okay.”

After ending the call, I was just about to send Tiffany a message to officially break up with her.

I was halfway through typing it when the door opened.

As soon as Tiffany walked in, she pointed her finger at me and accused me.

“Brendon, you were deliberately being rude and caused trouble today. You gave my dad a heart attack!

“You single-handedly ruined what was supposed to be a happy family dinner!

“You scared Henry so much that he still feels insecure and hasn’t stopped crying.

“To make it up to Henry and help him feel more secure, you don’t need to go to the marriage registration in three days. Howard and I will go instead.

“That way, no one will ever call Henry an illegitimate child again. He’ll be able to grow up healthy and confident too.

“Henry’s crippling anxiety is all your fault, so Howard and I are going to register our marriage as an atonement for you. You can’t object to that.”

I thought about how I was supposed to go register our marriage in three days as well.

I nodded. “Works for me.”