Chapter 2

"Daddy!" Giselle's voice snapped me out of my train of thought. Stuffing the divorce agreement into my hands, she urged me to sign it. "Mommy works her butt off every day."

She started ticking off on her fingers. "She has to pay for my private kindergarten, my art classes, and... my medicine and my summer camps. She's lost so much weight from working so hard. Please agree to the divorce and stop making Mommy's life miserable, Daddy!"

Giselle sure was considerate.

I stared at the agreement with its childish handwriting for what felt like an eternity. Then, I looked up and asked, "Oh, she paid for all that? Are you sure about that?"

Giselle froze.

I smiled and lowered my head, looking straight into her eyes. "Giselle, every single cent you're spending right now belongs to me."

Her expression stiffened for a split second before she sighed. "Daddy, why are you still lying? You have fewer clothes in your closet than the security guard! Every time we go out, I have to ride on the back of your moped, and I get so cold that my nose starts running.

"Plus, your phone is so laggy I can't even play games on it. You're dirt poor. How could you possibly have money to spend on me?"

She hesitated for a moment before stealing a glance at my face. "Daddy, even when you took me out for dinner today, you chose the cheapest cheese fondue place. Cal, on the other hand, always takes me out to fine-dining restaurants!"

My heart felt as though it had been crushed in a fist, and a sharp pain shot through me. In a heartbeat, my vision blurred.

I unlocked my phone and was about to pull up the bills from all these years to show Giselle when Cora walked in and scooped her up in her arms. "There are only five seconds left until your thirty minutes are up. I'll be taking Giselle home now before you fill her head with your outdated values and bad habits."

I was so furious I chuckled. "I'm outdated? I'm the one with bad habits? Cora, I am a PhD graduate from Burnwell University—"

"What about now?" she asked indifferently. "Aside from revolving your entire life around Giselle, do you even have a career? Can't you be independent and self-reliant like Callum?"

Giselle made a face in her arms. "Daddy, the only reason I skip kindergarten is because I'm lazy. Are you unemployed because you're lazy too?"

Biting my lip, my heart ached until I could barely breathe as I demanded, "Cora, do you even have a conscience? What the hell do all my years of devotion mean to you?"

Cora frowned and retorted, "It's not like I forced you."

I went rigid before letting out a bitter chuckle. How convenient.

Back then, she had curled up in my arms, tears streaming down her face as she pleaded, "My ambition has always been my dream, Galen. I can't give it up. I also want to break the prejudice people have against women. Won't you take good care of Giselle in my stead?"

At the time, I was a rising star in the tech industry, holding a higher position and greater achievements than Cora. Everyone said I had the potential to become the youngest CEO in the country.

However, after spending two weeks working nonstop on a business trip, the first thing I received upon my return was the notice that Giselle had been admitted to the ICU. She had been so tiny, curled up all alone inside the incubator, without the strength to cry.

My mother-in-law, Clara Green, had rushed up and slapped me across the face. "Have you lost your mind at work? My granddaughter has myocarditis and severe allergies. How could you just leave her with a nanny?"

Cora had chimed in, "We can't both be workaholics, Galen. Giselle likes you more. Why don't you give up on your career and take care of her?"