Chapter 4

We sat in silence until evening. When our bodies became sore from sitting too long, we finally prepared to head home.

Just then, my neighbor across the hall, Charlotte, hurried over.

“Alvin, hurry and get back to your place! Someone’s moving stuff in. There are a ton of people.”

I rushed back to find the door lock pried open and the front door wide.

The group that had left at noon had returned. Bags and boxes were piled all over the living room.

Sloane sat on the couch with Wallace. He held her hand while painting her nails.

Nearby, Wayne and Lily were playing with Aiden.

When Sloane saw me return, she spoke to me as if I were a housemaid. “I’m hungry. Go make me some pasta.”

I laughed in exasperation. “Sure. Give me a second.”

I turned and went into the kitchen.

I poured soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce, pepper powder, and everything else into a bowl. Then I carried it out.

In the living room, Sloane and Wayne were criticizing me.

Wayne said, “He has never done anything with his life. All he can do is cook, and he’s such a cheapskate. He never uses enough of anything.”

Sloane snorted disdainfully.

“That’s what happens when you’ve been broke and stingy your whole life. If my parents hadn’t been so stupid and arranged for me to marry him, he probably wouldn’t have felt the warmth of a woman in his whole life.”

Wayne snickered and did not argue.

I walked up with a blank expression and splashed the seasoned sauce directly onto Sloane’s face.

Sloane could not evade it in time. The spiciness stung her eyes so much that she could not open them.

She screamed in distress. “Alvin, have you lost your mind?!”

Wallace also became enraged. He reached out to grab me by the collar.

“You old fool! How shameless could you be? Picking on a woman? What kind of man does that?”

I had been holding back my anger for far too long. Back then, when Sloane ran off with him, I had not been there to confront him. How dare he be so disrespectful in my own home?!

Before his hand could touch me, I clenched my fist and punched him square in the face.

Wallace yelped in pain. He covered his nose and stumbled back a couple of steps. Blood seeped through his fingers.

“What about you? Do you think stealing another man’s wife isn’t shameful? Do you think barging into someone’s home isn’t shameful? I never even got to settle things with you, and here you are, walking right into my house.”

I beat Wallace until his face was bruised and swollen. In between, I slapped Sloane twice.

“Dad, what’s wrong with you?!” Wayne rushed over to pull me back.

“If you hit them again, I’m calling the cops!”

I sneered and shoved him away with the broom handle.

“I’m the one who should be calling the cops! I worked hard raising you all these years, and now you’re helping outsiders stop me? Today I’m teaching you ungrateful people a lesson!”

Just then, Aiden started crying loudly. He stood in the corner, clutching the hem of his shirt.

Sniffling, he cried out, “Grandpa, stop fighting! I’m scared. I want to go home.”

My hand froze mid-motion.

After all, Aiden was my grandson. I had watched him since birth and had even taken care of him for a while.

Perhaps I was just getting soft in my old age. I just could not bring myself to keep going when I saw him cry like that.

“Don’t cry, kid. It’s okay now.”

I set down the broom and walked over. I wanted to pat his head.

But Aiden shoved me hard.

I was caught off guard. I stumbled backward and crashed through the window. I fell straight down from the third floor.

My back slammed heavily against the concrete ground. Excruciating pain shot through me instantly. Blood slowly began seeping out from beneath me.

Aiden leaned out from the window. His face carried a malice and smugness that did not match his age.

He picked up a flowerpot and hurled it down at me with force.

“You ugly freak. How dare you bully my grandparents?! Go die!”

The flowerpot grazed my forehead and smashed against the ground. Shards flew everywhere.

That little brat spat and ran back inside without looking back.

In the end, a neighbor called the ambulance and had me taken to the hospital. That was how I narrowly survived.

The moment I woke up, I immediately listed the house for sale online.

This was the resettlement housing assigned to me by my work unit after I was wounded in the military and discharged.

Though it was old, the location was good. It was in a township and it was easy to get around.

I set a favorable price. Within two days, it was sold.

I hired a lawyer to help me go through the formalities. The money was quickly transferred into my account.

When the buyer came to inspect the property, Wayne was dumbfounded.