Chapter 3

Nathan's POV

Sophie and Yelena brought Damon back to our house.

As if renting an apartment for him all these years wasn't enough, they were now boldly bringing him to invade my home.

Noticing my indifferent gaze, Damon shrank his shoulders, putting on a terrified act.

Yelena immediately piped up. "Don't be scared, Damon! Mom and I are here. No one can kick you out!"

Sophie frowned at me. "Damon just went through a massive trauma. As a professor, you should know how to care for your students."

Care for him all the way into our bed?

I glanced at Yelena and swallowed the urge to say it out loud.

Instead, I spoke calmly. "He's 22 and graduating soon. I'm cutting off his sponsorship."

Between his tuition, tutoring fees, and the designer shoes and watches he had taken from me, I had spent well over 300,000 dollars on him. Wasting resources on an ingrate like this was a joke.

Damon snapped his head up, wide-eyed with disbelief. Tears welled up in his eyes instantly. "Professor Walsh, am I causing trouble for you? Maybe it's better if I just leave."

He made a show of turning toward the door.

Sophie caught him immediately and shrieked at me, "Nathan, what is wrong with you? It's not like our family is hurting for money! Besides, Damon is sick. How can you be so heartless?"

Yelena swung her fists at me wildly. "You're seriously evil! Get out! You don't run this house!"

I stood there, entirely numb. Watching the daughter I had raised for eight years attack me made my heart feel like it was breaking into dust.

"Yelena, stop it! That's your father!"

Sophie pulled Yelena back, then looked at me with a pained expression. "If you can't accept Damon's presence, maybe you should stay at a hotel for a few days. Come back when you've calmed down."

A bone-chilling silence settled over the room.

Everyone knew we built this life together.

Back then, the overnight shift allowance was less than 100 dollars, yet I stayed up through the night shift after shift. I eagerly took on the unruly classes other teachers refused, all just to build a home with her.

At that time, Sophie was heartbroken seeing me push myself so hard. She would sneakily turn off my alarms to make me stop. She even picked a massive fight with me once.

"Nathan, your health matters more than a house! What good is a home if you destroy your body?"

And now, she was throwing me out for the sake of her lover.

How wonderful.

Damon hid behind the two of them, crossing his arms and watching me with absolute leisure.

His gaze mocked me, seemingly saying, "So what if they're your wife and daughter? They're still standing in front of me, shielding me from the storm, you pathetic loser."

I let out a soft sneer. What he didn't know was that I bought this house in full before the marriage, and that my name was the only one on the deed. Once the divorce went through, they would be the ones kicked to the curb.

Still, I walked out anyway. The reason was simple. The only way the security cameras inside would catch the footage I needed was if I weren't there.

"Nathan, I've kept your mother on the best medical equipment available. Just do as I say, and she'll stay healthy," Sophie told me calmly as she followed me down the hall.

My body went rigid. I whipped around to face her.

This monster!

I slapped her across the face with a sharp crack.

Damon screamed and lunged forward to hit me, but Sophie, remarkably unfazed, held him back and just stared at me blankly.

I shook out my stinging palm, turned around, and walked away.

…

During the week I spent at the hospital taking care of Mom, Damon truly made himself the man of the house.

He slowly took over Sophie's and Yelena's daily routines. He even crept into our master bedroom at night.

Yelena had a sensitive stomach. But in the footage, she was happily eating barbecue I would usually forbid, sighing in pure bliss. "Damon, I wish you were my dad!"

She shouted it loudly and deliberately turned toward the camera as if to make sure I heard.

Yet, through it all, I never reached out to either of them.

Two weeks later, Sophie started texting me. "You can come back now. It doesn't look good for you to be staying out this long."

I ignored it.

The next day, she texted again. "I sent Damon back to the dorms. Come home. There's no one here to take care of the house."

I still didn't reply.