Leaving the Dust to Settle

My ex-wife, Vivian Johnston, stepped in front of me and blocked my path.With a menacing look on her face, she spat, "Do you seriously think you can get my attention just by adopting a random child off of the street? It's been several years, Zachary Green. I can't believe you still don't get what you did wrong. I'm so disappointed in you."My son, Andy Green, blinked at me and asked, "Who's this, Dad?" I rubbed his head and replied with a smile, "No one important."Then, I shifted my attention back toward the people standing before me. "Please step aside, Vivian," I said with a straight face.Vivian gritted her teeth and glared at me. My estranged daughter, Desiree Green, looked visibly angry as well."My patience is running thin. Apologize to Liam right now, and I'll consider getting back together with you."Desiree chimed in, "Who cares about him, Mom? A petty man like him has no right to be my dad!"I raised my eyebrow. Had I not made myself clear back then? I already t

Around 1:00 am, I received a video from an unknown number.In the video, a man and a woman were being intimate with each other. The drunken woman on the bed was none other than my wife, Vivian."You told me I was the only man that you'd ever loved, Vivian. Is that true?" the man in the video asked."Of course! I even named my daughter 'Desiree' because of my desire to be with you, Liam," Vivian replied.I was at a loss for words. It felt like my love for her had become a joke. After spending the entire night lying awake in bed, I made a huge decision. When Vivian returned home with Desiree the next day, I handed her the divorce papers.Initially, she looked shocked. Yet, her surprise soon turned into anger. "All I did was spend a night outside, Zachary. Why are you being so dramatic?" she yelled."You're so petty, Dad," Desiree added. "No wonder Mom doesn't like you."I forwarded the video to Vivian and said coldly, "You should be perfectly aware of what you've done. Since

When I opened the door, I found Samantha speaking to someone on the phone."Please come to the school immediately, Ms. Johnston. Desiree's father is giving her a beating! We couldn't dissuade him at all.""He's her biological father! It's not like he's going to injure her or anything. If she does end up with injuries, we'll be able to press him for monetary compensation," Vivian said in an exasperated manner.She continued, "She's just an insignificant kid. I'm really busy, so please don't call me over something so trivial!"Samantha had put the call on speaker, so Desiree heard every single word. After Vivian hung up on her, Samantha stomped her feet in frustration and barked, "How irresponsible! What kind of a mother is she? Her daughter's about to get beaten to death, yet she doesn't even want to drop by the school."Then, she turned around and realized that the door had been open the entire time. Her expression became awkward at that. Desiree's face drained of all color, a

Just as Desiree was about to pounce at me, Andy rushed in front of me and pushed her away."Stop picking on my dad!" he yelled at her."Thank you for protecting me, Andy. I think you just earned yourself a barbecue dinner," I said affectionately.Happily chatting amongst ourselves, Andy and I walked off, leaving Desiree behind. No one noticed that Desiree was no longer looking at us with seething anger. Instead, she was watching us leave with an envious expression on her face.…The following day was a weekend, so Andy and I decided to sleep in. All of a sudden, I was woken up by the sound of knocks on our bedroom door.I opened the door and found our nanny, Deborah Keller, and Desiree staring back at me."This child claims to be your daughter, Mr. Green," said Deborah.I nodded and asked her to leave. Desiree was pouting and had a pitiful expression on her face. Only then did I notice that she was wearing the same outfit as yesterday.She told me that Vivian had instructe

Desiree was left with a long scar across the side of her face. Girls her age were already conscious of their appearances. Her classmates stared at her with judgemental looks on their faces. Some of the children who liked to joke around even called her a freak.As a result, she gradually became more and more withdrawn, and her grades began to decline as well. She snuck glances at me every time I picked Andy up from school. Whenever our eyes met, she stared at me with a look of anticipation. Yet, I never called out to her. Three months later, Andy scored the highest marks in his class during his midterm exams. During the parent-teacher meeting, his teacher publicly praised him for his achievement. Then, he went up to the stage and read an essay titled "My Dad" to everyone at the meeting. In the essay, he described the details of our life together in a heartfelt manner. All of the other parents felt incredibly touched by his writing. They even applauded him after he finished re