All Chapters of Seven Days Until Forever Ends: Chapter 11 - Chapter 18

A month later, Oscar competed in a robotics league.This time, I wasn't there.Just before the competition, the sensor module on the robotics arm suddenly malfunctioned.In the past, I would always have been the first person Oscar turned to whenever something like this happened. I'd help him check the wiring all over again, and when he got nervous, I'd remind him that winning or losing wasn't as important as he thought.Now, he sent me three messages. However, not a single one received a reply before the competition began.At the time, I was at the overseas project site, and my phone was locked away in a safety locker. So, I hadn't seen any of his messages at all.Once Oscar took his place at the competition table, he made one mistake after another. In the end, his team was eliminated in the preliminary round.His teammates blamed his poor performance. His coach, Damon Bates, also warned him that if he performed the same way next time, he might lose his position as the team's pr

When Francine arrived, I was attending the opening ceremony for the new city project.She didn't contact me beforehand. Instead, she stood quietly at the back of the crowd and watched the entire ceremony.Onstage, I was dressed in a dark suit and explaining the architectural vision behind the development to the guests.The new city preserved the original coastline, connecting the public library, schools, and community center along a single pedestrian thoroughfare.During his speech, Sean Paine, the project director, mentioned that I had once lived on-site for an entire month to keep the project on schedule. And when a problem arose with one of the structural designs, I had stayed in the conference room with my team for three days straight.Francine stood below the stage, her expression growing increasingly complicated.Throughout our marriage, she had always seen me as an architect with a flexible schedule. She knew I had won awards and that the firm depended on me. But she had n

On the day of the divorce hearing, I returned to the country.Four months had passed since I left.Francine sat on the other side of the courtroom without a lawyer representing her. She had lost a considerable amount of weight, and she no longer wore the badge identifying her as a senior partner at the law firm.The judge, Alexis Rubio, asked whether we both agreed to the divorce."Yes, Your Honor," we answered in unison.Francine closed her eyes briefly. Even though she had known the outcome for a long time, her hands still trembled slightly as she spoke those three words aloud.There was little dispute over the division of assets. The marital home would go to her, and our joint savings would be divided according to the agreement.I transferred part of the proceeds under my name into Oscar's education fund, while Francine and I would share the costs of his future medical care and education.Judge Rubio then asked about the custody arrangements."Oscar previously stated that h

Five years later, my overseas assignment came to an end.The new city project won an international architecture award, and the award ceremony was held back home.That day, I ran into Francine and Oscar.Oscar was 17 years old now. Not only had he received an early admission offer from the school of architecture, but he was also beginning to look more and more like I had at his age.Francine had changed quite a bit too. She had left her old law firm and stopped handling high-stakes divorce litigation, choosing instead to join a legal aid organization for minors. At the same time, she never remarried.I occasionally heard news about her from Oscar, but I never asked about her personal life.After the ceremony, Oscar held the trophy and studied it for a long time."Dad, is it heavy?" he asked me."Not too bad.""When I was little, I thought being an architect meant drawing a few sketches every day.""What about now?"He smiled and handed the trophy back to me. "Now I think you'