Putting a Price Tag on My Family

Wyatt's POV

My wife, Chelsea Fischer, stared at me incredulously and exclaimed, "Wyatt Hammond, are you really taking your anger out on Callie? She's just four years old! Cut it out already!"

When my daughter, Callista Hammond, heard my words, a flicker of shock crossed her face. Then, her cheeks flushed red, and she clung even tighter to Patrick Goldstein as she shouted at me, "Five million it is! I don't want you as my dad anyway!"

So it turned out that in her eyes, I—her father who got up two hours early every day to make her a nutritious breakfast and turned down promotions just to spend more time with her—was someone she utterly detested.

Patrick, Chelsea's childhood sweetheart, hurried to play the good guy and smooth things over. "Callie, remember what I taught you about being polite?"

Callista pouted defiantly. "Well, he isn't polite either! He kept calling Mom to bother her when she was with you the other day! You taught me to return tit for tat when dealing with nasty people too, Mr. Goldstein!"

Chelsea's expression changed suddenly. "Wyatt, what happened the other day was because Pat—"

I raised my hand and cut her off. "You spent our wedding anniversary with him, so you owe me for that too."

Chelsea stood frozen, as if she no longer recognized me.

After a long moment, she pulled a card from her bag and flung it onto the ground. "Even your own daughter hates you, Wyatt. You really should look for the reason in yourself."

She took Patrick by the arm and got into the car, its exhaust blasting me full in the face.

I simply crouched down silently and picked up the bank card from the ground. The sharp corners digging into my palm only strengthened my resolve.

After all, in my previous life, when Chelsea let Patrick take everything from me, I had kicked up a huge fuss. Yet not only did I fail to win back her love, but she also gave Patrick my mother's grave just so he could bury his dog.

In a fit of rage, I'd slapped Patrick and angrily filed for divorce from Chelsea. I thought doing so would make her realize her mistake. I never expected her to agree to it immediately just to get back at me.

She even hired a top divorce lawyer who found loopholes to strip me of everything and force me out with nothing.

A few days after the divorce, I suddenly had a heart attack. As I didn't have enough money to call an ambulance, I had to drag myself to the hospital.

Faced with the exorbitant medical bills, I lost all my pride and called Chelsea repeatedly.

She never answered my calls and instead had Patrick use her phone to send me a voice message. "Wyatt, you willingly gave Chelsea up and let me have her. There's no taking her back now."

While I was in desperate need of money to save my life, all I got in the end was photos of him flaunting his life.

In my final moments, I watched helplessly as Patrick wore my bathrobe, used the razor Chelsea had given me, and kissed my wife on the silk bedsheets I had washed clean.

Now that I had a second chance at life, if I wasn't going to get her love, the least I could do was get enough money to save myself. I just hadn't expected that Callista, the person I cared about the most in my previous life, would end up taking Patrick's side.

Before I even had time to grieve, my phone suddenly rang. It was a call from the doctor. "Mr. Hammond, we've found a matching heart for you. We can schedule the surgery for next month."

My knees almost buckled when I heard the good news. I had to brace myself against the wall to stay upright. I finally wouldn't have to die in despair in a hospital corridor in this life.

No sooner had I hung up than Chelsea sent me a message.

"Wyatt, I know my words were harsh on you earlier on. But remember that I promised you we'd have a proper wedding ceremony? Well, the designer just delivered the custom suit over. Won't you come home and try it on?"

I didn't reply to her message or reject her offer.

When Chelsea and I got married five years ago, her family had just gone bankrupt. I gave every penny I had to plug the holes in her family's finances, and we ended up so broke that we couldn't even afford a wedding.

Back then, to help her get back on her feet, I willingly stepped back and quietly supported her career. In return, she promised me that once she succeeded, she would give me a grand wedding that would make everyone envious.

I never would have guessed that after she really made it, Patrick would appear and steal her attention and our daughter's affection.

As for me, I had been left waiting for that wedding to this day.

When I got home and pushed open the door, I saw Chelsea and Callista crowded around Patrick, who was wearing the groom's suit, showering him with endless praise.