Chapter 2

I grabbed Dad’s arm and tried to pull him toward the door.

Dad did not move.

“Ryan, what’s gotten into you today?”

He frowned at me.

“First, you wouldn’t let me leave. Now, you want to lock Yvonne out.

“What are you so afraid of?”

Dad’s voice cracked.

“Ryan, it hasn’t been easy raising you on my own all these years.

“Now that I’ve finally met a woman who cares about both of us, why are you so suspicious of her?

“Do you want me to spend the rest of my life alone?”

The clock in the living room kept ticking.

I quickly dragged over a little stool and climbed onto it. I reached for the lock.

“Dad, lock the door! We can talk after you lock it!”

“Stop it!”

Dad grabbed me and pulled me away from the door.

“Ryan, can’t you think about me for once?”

I could not break free. There was no time left.

I lowered my head and bit down hard on the skin between Dad’s thumb and index finger.

Dad cried out in pain and let go.

I used that second to rush back to the door and turn the lock.

My fingers had just touched the door when a hand suddenly slipped through the gap.

The fingers were slender, but the hand was deceptively strong.

In my past life, it was the same hand that had beaten Dad until his face was swollen and bruised.

The hand wedged itself between the door and the frame and stopped me from closing it.

The door flew open.

Yvonne stood in the doorway.

She wore a perfectly pressed skirt suit and carried a box of strawberry mousse.

“Ryan, here’s some strawberry mousse. I bought it just for you.”

Yvonne smiled warmly. She looked elegant and gentle.

She looked exactly like she had on their wedding day in my past life, as tears filled her eyes while she swore that she would never let Dad suffer.

I took a few steps back. “Get out!”

“Ryan, what’s gotten into you today?”

Yvonne stepped inside. She bent down, held the cake out to me, and opened the box.

“Didn’t you always love the cakes I bought for you?”

I grabbed the box and threw it hard onto the floor.

The strawberry mousse spilled out and landed in a messy heap of pink frosting.

“I don’t want it! Get out of my house!”

The living room fell silent for a moment.

Dad looked embarrassed. He quickly crouched down and used some tissues to wipe the frosting off the floor.

“Yvonne, don’t take it personally. He had a nightmare today.

“He dreamed that you hit him. He was terrified, so that’s why he’s acting like this.”

Yvonne froze for a few seconds. Then, she put that gentle smile back on her face.

“A nightmare? Kids are like that.

“They have such vivid imaginations. Just comfort him, and he’ll be fine.”

She bent down and reached out to touch my head.

I turned away.

Yvonne awkwardly pulled her hand back.

“Henry, why don’t you get changed into another suit?

“I’ll stay here and comfort Ryan. Then, we can go to the city hall and get married.”

Dad looked down at his pant leg.

There was a spot of frosting on his black dress pants.

“Ryan, I’m going to change my clothes. Be a good boy, okay?”

“Dad, don’t go…”

Yvonne crouched down and blocked my view of Dad.

“I’ll stay with you. Let your dad go change, okay?”

Dad’s footsteps slowly faded away.

I was left alone with Yvonne in the living room.

The smile on her face slowly disappeared.

Yvonne lowered her voice. Her gaze turned frigid.

“You little brat. You’ve been making trouble all morning. Are you doing this on purpose to ruin things for me?”

She stepped closer and cornered me between herself and the shoe cabinet.

“Try to stop me again. Go ahead. See what happens.”

She reached out with her right hand and grabbed the soft skin on the inside of my arm.

She squeezed and twisted it between her thumb and index finger. Pain shot through my arm, and it went numb.

I opened my mouth to scream, but she clamped a hand over my mouth.

“Your dad is getting married today. That’s not going to change.

“If you say another word, I’ll deal with you first. Then, I’ll deal with him. Do you understand?”

With that, she let go and immediately put on a fake smile. Then, she held out a piece of cake to me.

“Ryan, is it good?”

In my past life, I would have been too scared to say another word.

But I knew better.

I screamed at the top of my lungs.

“Dad, Ms. Zane hit me!”