Chapter 4

This was my child.

"Noah, when are you coming back? Daddy misses you."

There was a lot of noise on the other end, as though they were at an amusement park.

Even so, I picked out Noah's voice immediately. "But I don't want to see you, Daddy."

The tears in my eyes seemed to freeze. I couldn't believe what I'd heard.

"Noah, what did you say?"

His voice was as clear and bright as ever, but his words struck me straight in the heart. "I said I don't want to see you, Daddy."

My grip tightened around my phone. I took a deep breath. "I know you're having fun right now. Keep playing, and when you're done, come see me, okay? No matter how long it takes, I can wait."

Noah didn't hesitate. He was every bit as cold as his mother. "No. Mommy said you made her mad. You're a bad daddy! I don't want to see you. Don't come looking for me anymore. I don't like you as my daddy!"

The call ended.

When the call ended, something in me finally died too. So my child didn't love me either, just like his mother.

Fine.

Now I could finally leave without anything holding me back.

Back at the hotel, I booked a flight home for the next day.

Before bed, I saw a post from Isabel on social media.

It was a photo of three people at an amusement park. Bishop was with them—the same man Isabel had brought to the wedding.

Noah was nestled against Isabel, sharing a three-flavor ice cream with Bishop.

The caption read: [My son loves it.]

There wasn't a single like on the post.

I understood immediately. Isabel had posted it specifically for me. I was the only person who could see it.

Whenever we'd fought in the past, she'd post something about our son just like this. It was her way of warning me to back down for his sake.

Every time, I'd done exactly what she wanted, laying my dignity at her feet and letting her humiliate me.

Looking back, Isabel had known exactly how to control me from the moment I'd dropped to my knees and begged the doctors to save her and our child.

Fortunately, that wouldn't work on me anymore.

I liked the post, put my phone down, and went to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Isabel's call woke me.

"Robert, what kind of father are you? Do you have any idea how long Noah waited for you? He's still crying!"

I rubbed my eyes and answered casually, "Oh. Then tell him I'm sorry."

There was silence on the other end for two seconds before Isabel gave a cold laugh. "Robert, do you believe me when I say I can make sure you never see Noah again?"

The threat in her voice was unmistakable, but I wasn't the same Robert who would bow his head again and again for the sake of his child.

"Sure." I stared at the ceiling, my voice distant.

I heard Isabel swallow on the other end. "Robert, what did you just say?"

I sat up and casually pushed aside the hotel comforter. "Sure. You're Noah's mother. Do whatever you want."

I heard something shatter on her end of the line. "Robert, I'm giving you one last chance. Take back what you just said. Otherwise, I'll take Noah out of the country tomorrow, and you'll never see him again."

I backed out of the call screen and opened my photos. 213 videos. More than a thousand photos.

I'd watched every single one countless times.

I took a deep breath and deleted the entire album. Suddenly, I didn't want to wait anymore.

"Isabel, we were never actually married, were we?"

The other end went abruptly silent.

I lowered my eyes and continued without waiting for an answer, "Since we were never married, there's no need for a divorce. Let's break up."

I hung up.

The next second, someone pounded hard on my hotel room door.