Chapter 2

I watched as Calvin clung tightly to Gilbert, crying as if his world had just fallen apart and he had been wronged in the worst possible way.

At that moment, it struck me that the two of them and Nancy looked more like a real family together, while I was nothing more than an outsider.

An icy laugh slipped out of me as I raised the phone I had just taken from Calvin.

"Who gave him this phone?"

Gilbert lifted his chin, his face full of contempt. "I did. Got a problem with that?"

I shoved the phone hard back into his hands. "He's a kid. He doesn't know better. But what about you? You're an adult, so what's your excuse?"

Gilbert let out a mocking laugh. "It's just a game. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? I get that you're in a bad mood, but he's still young. He needs some space."

That was it. I could not hold it in anymore. I stepped toward him, anger boiling over.

However, before I could get close, Nancy blocked my path.

"Joshua, are you done making a scene? If you're not, you can keep going, but we're leaving."

She yanked off her black mourning dress and tossed it carelessly onto the floor. As Gilbert walked past, he deliberately stepped on it, then glanced back at me, his eyes full of open provocation.

My whole body trembled.

The next second, I lunged forward and drove my fist straight into his face.

"To hell with you!"

The room exploded into chaos.

Nancy screamed and threw herself onto Gilbert. Calvin, terrified, ran over and wrapped his arms around him, crying as he shouted, "Dad!"

That single word hit me like a lightning strike. I froze where I was standing, unable to move.

Even my own son had been part of this carefully built lie.

Around us, relatives began whispering in shock.

"What did he just call him?"

Nancy's expression shifted for a split second, then she snapped back to her senses immediately. "Gilbert is Calvin's godfather. What's the problem?"

Then, she walked straight up to me. Right in front of everyone, she slapped me hard across the face.

"Joshua, I will not let you humiliate my assistant like this! So what if you're the CEO? Does having power give you the right to treat people this way?"

Her words twisted the entire situation.

In an instant, all the accusing looks turned toward me.

She stood there, putting on a perfect act of innocence. "Gilbert, I'm taking you to the hospital."

My wife left my mother's funeral with her lover.

My son stayed behind, curled up in another man's arms.

Everyone thought I was about to lose it again.

However, I simply bent down, brushed the dust off my suit, and picked up Nancy’s black mourning dress from the floor.

"Sorry for the scene. It was just a small lovers’ tiff.”

At that moment, my old friend Luis Cooper rushed in.

After hearing what happened, his face filled with anger. "Joshua, don't be upset. I'll go back and teach her a lesson."

I did not respond.

He patted my shoulder. "Your mother's passing was so sudden. It's such a shame. My condolences."

Expressionless, I removed his hand from my shoulder. "I have things to take care of. Do as you like."

There was a time when I felt nothing but guilt toward this man.

Now, all I felt was disgust.

Back then, at my mother's birthday party, Luis had come as her old friend and brought his daughter, Nancy, with him.

My mother had taken a special liking to Nancy. She would always give her expensive jewelry and tease me from time to time.

"Look at her. She’s so young yet already so accomplished. When are you finally getting married?"

Nancy was seventeen years younger than me.

She used to joke with me in a playful, teasing way in private, but I had always seen her as nothing more than a friend's daughter, never once crossing the line. However, that night, one drink followed another, and when I woke up, Nancy was lying naked beside me, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes.