Chapter 3

“We were just joking around. Why do you have to be so uptight about it? It’s Bart’s birthday today.

“Why don’t you make this about someone else for once?”

Florence sighed as she spoke, as if I were the one being unreasonable.

“Is this really about making Bart happy on his birthday, or is it about keeping your little boyfriend entertained?”

Florence felt the intensity of my gaze. She quickly looked away and stammered out an explanation.

“S-Solomon is my assistant, and Bart likes having him around. If that’s what’s bothering you so much today, I can send him back to the office right now.”

She then shot Solomon a meaningful glance.

The guests who had come for Bart’s birthday party also dispersed uncomfortably.

The lively birthday celebration fell silent.

When the blood from my eye soaked through my collar, Florence finally looked rattled.

She grabbed some tissues and dabbed at my shirt, then turned to Bart and said, “Come over here and say sorry to your father. How could you point that water gun at your own dad?”

She shoved Bart forward.

I turned away and did not look at him.

Florence and I had been married for over ten years. We had not originally planned to have children.

Bart had been a pleasant accident.

After Florence gave birth to Bart, she became fully occupied with the company’s business.

I was essentially the one who raised the child.

He had started off very well-behaved.

He did not cry and fuss like other babies, and he could not bear to be away from me every day.

That all changed after Solomon joined the company as an assistant.

Florence gradually stopped coming home.

She took Bart with her and turned the company into her second home.

On our fifth wedding anniversary, she deliberately fell into the water just to amuse Solomon.

I did not know how to swim, but I jumped in without hesitation to save her.

But it turned out that I had rescued a mannequin.

That was when I realized Florence had done it on purpose.

On our sixth wedding anniversary, I was told by her friend that she and Bart had both met with an accident, and their bodies were already buried in the cemetery.

After a month of nonstop work, I was not thinking straight. I rushed straight to the cemetery without a second thought.

I dug into the grave with my bare hands until they were raw and bloody, just to take one last look at their ashes.

Bart and her showed up behind me and laughed.

Again, they were pulling the same cruel prank at my expense.

“I’m not apologizing! He completely ruined my whole birthday!”

His shrill scream pulled me back to my senses.

His attitude left me disheartened.

Florence had not expected things to turn out like that either.

She merely cleared her throat and told me to be the bigger person.

“He’s just a kid, and it’s his birthday today. It’s just a small wound. Here, let me put some medicine on it for you.”

“Don’t bother,” I refused coldly.

Florence’s hand froze midair.

After returning to my room and closing the door behind me, I faced the mirror and removed the gauze.

My right eye socket was an empty hollow.

The chili water had gotten into it, and it would not stop bleeding.

Bart was only eight years old, and yet he was capable of doing something so vicious.

“At the end of the day, he’s still your father. If you keep this up, what if he stops loving you?”

“Who cares? I have Solomon anyway. Mom, aren’t you going to divorce Dad already?

“When are you finally going to leave Dad? You and Solomon are practically a couple already!”

I could hear Florence and Bart from the living room.

My hand froze mid-motion as I applied the medicine. My fingertips went cold.

Florence ruffled Bart’s hair as she quickly retorted, “No matter what happens between me and Solomon, I’m not divorcing your father.

“We’re a family, and we’re sticking together.”

Bart frowned in discontent and said, “I don’t want that blind guy as my dad anyway. I want Solomon to be my dad!”

Florence hugged her son and chuckled.

“Even if your dad and I stay married, you can still have Solomon as a dad too. That way, you get two dads.”