Chapter 2 The Truth My Daughter Already Knew

Sandra looked even younger than she had three years ago. Back then, she had been covered in bruises, sitting in my office, crying so hard she couldn't get a word out.

Her ex-husband had abused her. She wanted a divorce, but I was the only attorney willing to take her case.

He was violent. He kept showing up at my law firm, making a scene and threatening to break her legs.

I grabbed him by the throat and glared at him. "I've got a black belt in martial arts. If you so much as lay a finger on her, I'll break your legs first."

He was so terrified he started shaking. "What kind of lawyer are you? You're downright vicious."

I snorted. "Using evil against evil is called justice."

That was the day Jonathan stopped by my office with lunch and saw the whole thing. He hid behind me and shouted, "If you lay a finger on my wife, I'll knock your block off!"

I was so touched that when we got home, I transferred him 2,000 with the note, "Reward for my little hero."

Jonathan accepted the money and wrapped me in a hug. He acted all spoiled as he murmured, "Honey, I knew you were the best. I love you more than anything. Don't worry. I'll make sure Sandra stays safe."

I remembered thinking that sounded a little strange, but all I wanted was for Sandra to be okay.

Later, Jonathan helped Sandra when she moved places.

He would even go out of his way to stay with her when she called in the middle of the night because her ex-husband was downstairs.

At the time, I honestly believed he was doing all those things out of the goodness of his heart. I even bragged about him to my coworkers. "My husband doesn't make much money, but he has the kindest heart."

When Millie heard that, she rolled her eyes. "Mom, that's not kindness. That just means he's got his eye on another woman."

I scolded her for it. "Don't pick up all that nonsense from the internet. Your dad was just helping me maintain a good relationship with a client."

Millie let out a cold laugh. "Then, why doesn't he work on his relationship with his own daughter? When has he ever come to one of my parent-teacher conferences? When has he ever picked me up from school? You know nothing. Everyone in my class thinks my dad's dead."

I hadn't listened to her.

I kept telling myself Millie was still too young to understand how hard adulthood could be.

Jonathan had given up his career to be a stay-at-home husband. I thought he'd already sacrificed enough. But as I now stood in the amusement park, watching him help Sandra off the carousel…

The moment her feet touched the ground, he lowered his head and asked, "Are you tired? Do you want to sit down and rest?"

Suddenly, I remembered how Millie had come down with a 102-degree fever last month, how I had called Jonathan and asked him to pick her up from school.

He had told me over the phone, "Nancy, I'm a guy. I'm terrible at taking care of people. Besides, you're a lawyer. You're much better at handling situations like this. It makes more sense for you to go."

Back then, I'd actually thought he had a point. So, I rushed out of the law firm, picked up my feverish daughter, and carried her to the hospital.

Sandra hadn't done anything, but Jonathan was treating her like she was made of glass.

Millie, who was standing beside me, spoke bitterly. "Funny how he's so good at taking care of everyone else. Why are we the only ones he treats like crap?"

Her words pierced my heart like a needle.

Before we left the house that morning, she'd stood in front of the mirror and changed her hair clip three times. "Mom, do you think Dad will like this one?"

I'd laughed and teased her. "Your dad's got terrible taste. He'd probably think a paper clip in your hair looked cute."

She'd pretended not to care, but she'd still carefully chosen a blue star hair clip.

Yet, Jonathan hadn't just stood her up. He hadn't even looked at her once.

I gently rubbed Millie's head. "We're still celebrating your birthday. After we're done here, let's go have some cake."

Millie sniffled and pouted. "I don't want cake anymore. I'm too mad to eat."

Just then, Sandra and Jonathan walked over from the carousel.

Sandra gasped. "Oh, today's Millie's birthday?"

She turned to Jonathan and lightly punched his arm. "You really are something. Your daughter's birthday is today, and you came to see me instead?"

Then, she crouched down in front of Millie. "How about I celebrate your birthday with you?"