She Chose Him, I Chose Family

Bianca flung her handbag at me as if I'd committed some unforgivable crime.

"When we got married, you promised you'd always be faithful to me. Is this what your faithfulness looks like?"

To me, that was an absolute joke.

She knew she'd once sworn to be faithful for life too. But had she kept that promise?

My daughter, Lily, flinched beside me and grabbed my sleeve, on the verge of tears.

I quickly scooped her into my arms to soothe her. Bianca's mother, Teresa, who'd come with us, stepped in front of us.

"What are you doing? You know this child's mother too. She's—"

But Bianca wasn't listening to anyone.

"Everett! Don't you dare ignore me! Tell me! What's going on here?"

Seeing my daughter cry like that broke my heart, and my words turned harsh.

"What right do you have to question me? You left for Europe on a work assignment and stayed gone for four years without sending a single message. Do you even still think of this as a marriage?

"I had my lawyer sign the divorce papers and send them to you a long time ago. As far as I'm concerned, I'm single now."

The word divorce sent Bianca into a rage.

She raised her hand to slap me.

"You cheated on me, and you think you're in the right? I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"

I caught her wrist on instinct, but I'd never lay a hand on a woman.

As we stood locked in a standoff, Teresa grew more and more frantic.

"Listen to your mother and let go! I'm doing this for your own good!"

Bianca, already furious, lost control completely. She suddenly kicked me.

The tip of her stiletto was razor sharp. When it dug into me, the pain made me suck in a breath.

"What did you do to get my mom on your side? She used to love me more than anyone!"

Teresa clutched her chest, so distraught she could barely breathe.

Of course she was looking out for Bianca. But Bianca didn't understand.

If anything happened to my daughter today, Bianca's life would be ruined for good.

In the middle of the struggle, a familiar voice came from behind me.

"Everett, long time no see!"

I turned around. Who else could it be but Marco?

On his wedding day, Bianca had been heartbroken. She'd signed the contract and flown off to the other side of the world that same night.

I'd assumed they'd lost touch long ago. Now it looked like Bianca had been having the time of her life abroad because he'd been right there with her.

Marco attentively draped his jacket over Bianca's shoulders.

"Everett, you really couldn't handle being alone, huh? So Bianca went abroad. Would it have killed you to wait a couple of years?"

Easy for him to say. He wasn't the one who'd endured all that loneliness.

Before I could fire back, Bianca suddenly turned to the crowd around us.

"Everyone, you be the judge! I've been working my fingers to the bone out there for this family, and he cheated on me—he even has a daughter this big! How am I supposed to go on?"

Then she leaned against Marco's shoulder and started sobbing.

It was quite the performance, and it earned her plenty of sympathy.

Watching her, all I wanted to do was laugh.

"So what do you want?"

Bianca's eyes darted.

"As long as you accept that Marco and I will keep seeing each other, I won't divorce you."

I knew it.

Just picturing it made me a little sick.

It was as if the girl who'd sworn at our wedding to love me forever had only ever been an illusion.

So I was the only one who'd stayed trapped in the past.

By now, the onlookers had started weighing in.

"What a scumbag! He's got a beautiful, successful wife, and he still doesn't appreciate her."

"That kid looks about a year old. He must've started cheating the minute she left for her trip. What an animal!"

With one comment after another, the crowd cast me as the guilty party.

And I didn't say a word.

Until...

"Shut up!"