Se connecterLater on, Selena and Howard had a complete fallout. Howard blamed her for ruining his reputation, while Selena thought that Howard had no sense of responsibility and only knew how to hide behind his mother’s back during crucial moments. They argued in front of the hospital and in front of the residential area. In the end, they even argued on the square in front of Moms Unite’s headquarters. Someone took a video. In it, Selena was crying as she yelled at Howard, “Because of you, I lost my home, my daughter, and my reputation!”Howard also broke down and shouted right back, “Because of you, I offended my childhood friend!”A housewife shot back coolly, “Stop arguing. One of you lost a daughter, and the other lost a friend. None of you is worse off.”The video went viral in the neighborhood’s group chat again. I did not play it again after watching it once.I no longer cared about them. I was instead busy with looking for a new kindergarten for Dolce, learning how to cook he
Selena’s affair caused a huge commotion in our residential area. She was kicked out of Moms Unite, and the kindergarten intake parents’ group chat. The people who had praised her for being a model mother started avoiding her. She could not stand their gazes and wanted to move out, but she could not sell the house, since it belonged to me. So, she could only stay with her parents. Howard was in an even worse state. Once I sued him to get my money back, he was saddled with a huge amount of debt. In order to protect him, Zanda used the retirement savings she saved over the years. But it was not enough. She wanted to argue with me again, and I sent her a legal notice. Furious, she called me an ungrateful brat in the neighborhood group chat. She said that I did not care about friendships and refused to show mercy to my own childhood friend. Mrs. Xanders simply uploaded a video. In it was Dolce sitting in the living room alone while sleeping with her doll. Beside her were
“You can’t sign it!” Zanda snatched the divorce agreement and threw it on the floor. “Have you lost your mind, Philip?! My son is already in such a sorry state, and you want your money back?!”I glared at her coldly. “That’s money from our shared account.”Zanda trembled in rage. “You grew up together! Howard even treats you like a brother!”I laughed. “Did he still treat me like one when he slept with my wife?”The ward instantly fell silent. The other patients in the ward started eavesdropping. Feeling humiliated, Zanda wanted to slap me again, but this time, I grabbed her wrist. “That’s enough, Zanda.”She was stunned. In the past, I always thought that she had a rough life because she had to bring Howard up alone. That was why I lent money to Howard, helped him when he was unemployed, and let him stay at my place when he did not have a roof over his head. I thought that this was simply a show of goodwill, but they took my goodwill for granted as if it were their due.Zand
The next day, I went home to grab some things. Selena’s phone had been left on the bedside table. I originally did not want to touch it, but when the screen lit up, the message shown on it made me pause. It was from Howard. [Selena, I’m scared. My mom said that it’s going to be hard for me to get a wife in the future. You can’t just ignore me now.]As I stared at the words, my last shred of hope that this was just a misunderstanding completely shattered. I tried keying in Selena’s birthday as the password. But it was wrong. Then, I tried Dolce’s birthday. It was still wrong. In the end, I keyed in Howard’s birthday, and the phone unlocked. As I stared at the screen, I laughed. Their chat was full of evidence of their despicable affair over the past few years. When Howard said that he wanted a new phone, Selena transferred 1,000 dollars to him. Once, Howard complained that his classmates all had cars, and Selena took money from our shared account and paid the de
The medical staff pushed Howard and Selena into the emergency treatment room, while I sat on the bench outside. In my arms was Dolce, sleeping. But it was a fitful sleep. She kept holding onto my sleeve. The security guards and I gave a simple statement. The neighbors, too, testified on their own. Mrs. Xanders sat down beside me and sighed, “Philip, we always thought that your wife had a hard time raising Dolce alone, and we’ve only just learned about how pitiful a life Dolce had.”I stared at Dolce’s face and felt as if my heart had been stung by needles. Just then, a middle-aged woman rushed over. It was Zanda Zimmer, Howard’s mother. In the past, she often said that I was like a son to her. Whenever Howard asked me for money, a car, or a house, she would say, “Philip, you grew up together. Howard doesn’t have any siblings. You need to help him.”I truly did treat Howard as my brother.When Zanda arrived in front of me, the first thing she did was not to ask me what had ha
The very moment I pushed the door open, everyone was stunned. Selena and Howard were curled up in pathetic balls in the bed. Their faces were pale as they trembled. By the bed was a long, black thing. I recognized it immediately. That was my stun baton. Selena’s lips were pale, and when she spoke, there was a noticeable quiver in her voice. “T-Turn it off…”Howard, too, was in so much pain that his face was scrunched up. “Philip… save me…”The silence lasted for a whole two seconds before the crowd went wild. Mrs. Xanders sucked in a sharp breath. “Isn’t that Selena? And isn’t the man in bed with her Howard?”Mrs. Lane covered her mouth. “My goodness, isn’t he Mr. Wilson’s childhood friend? Doesn’t Selena post every day in Moms Unite on how to have a successful married life?”The younger neighbors behind them took their phones out. The security guards hurriedly stopped them. “Don’t take any photos! Call the ambulance first!”But it was already too late. Someone had already







