Home / He Gives Them Love, Leaves Us Scraps / Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

All Chapters of He Gives Them Love, Leaves Us Scraps: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Faye's POVMessages kept pouring into the family group chat, all praising Cassian Howell."Cassian really takes good care of his sister-in-law and nephew.""Exactly! Josh sure didn't spoil him for nothing."Soon, Esther Heaton posted another video. In it, her son, Noah Howell, thanked Cassian. "Dad is the best! I won first place in the essay contest because of you."Noah proudly held up his award certificate.Esther followed up with a voice message and even tagged me. "Faye, Cassian only got Noah a little gift because he won first place. Please don't get the wrong idea."A little gift?I stared at the children's camera sitting behind Noah. I'd seen it in Cassian's online shopping cart a week earlier.Six months ago, he'd promised Anne that exact camera for her birthday and never bought it. I'd thought he was finally planning a surprise for our daughter, but instead, the camera ended up in Noah's hands.My eyes stung. I blinked hard, then slowly typed a message. "So the bag wa

Chapter 2

Faye's POVI swallowed the bitterness and nodded. "Yes. I'll buy it for you."After Anne fell asleep, I sent my résumé to a company in Borwick.Cassian didn't come home until early the next morning, wearing a different outfit from the day before.He kept a change of clothes at Esther's house. He'd told me it was simply more convenient to go straight to the office from there whenever he stayed late with Noah. I'd believed him.But over time, he started spending more and more time at Esther's place. He went from saying he was helping his brother's family to openly taking care of her. Meanwhile, Anne called him "Dad" less and less, and Noah grew ever more affectionate toward him."Faye, where's breakfast?" Cassian asked as soon as he walked in. His tone was as demanding as ever, as if I should be grateful he'd bothered to come home."I didn't make any," I replied coldly.His expression darkened. "Are you done throwing a tantrum? Esther offered to make me breakfast, but I turned he

Chapter 3

Faye's POV"Stop talking nonsense in front of the kid!"Cassian reached out to cover Anne's ears, but she just stared at him calmly."I'm staying with Mom," she said.He froze for a few seconds, then let out a chuckle. "Fine. In that case, I won't give you any money for living expenses next month."He patted Anne on the head, as if amused by her childish bluff. "You'll see soon enough that this kind of threat won't work on me."Just then, my phone lit up with an email notification. It was a reply from the company in Borwick, with the word "interview" in the preview.Cassian caught a glimpse of the screen and snatched the phone out of my hand. "What kind of interview is this?"Before he could tap on the notification, his phone rang with the special ringtone he'd set for Noah.Cassian forgot about me at once, tossed my phone onto the table, and answered the call.Noah was crying loudly on the other end. "Dad... why did you disappear again? I had a nightmare that you didn't want

Chapter 4

Faye's POVAnne's small frame went rigid as she fought to keep her tears from falling. Her eyes were red, but she forced a small smile. "I must have gotten it wrong," she said. "Goodbye, sir."Cassian's expression flickered when he heard her.Anne took two steps back and looked up at me. "Mom, let's go to a different restaurant. I want to say a proper goodbye to my friends."Just as I took her hand and turned to walk away, I saw Cassian start to follow us, but Noah called out behind him. "Dad, it's time to cut the cake!"Cassian stopped in his tracks. Maybe he hadn't understood what Anne meant when she called him "sir". Or maybe he'd understood perfectly well and simply didn't care.Once we stepped outside the restaurant, my phone buzzed with a message and a money transfer from him. He'd sent exactly 50 dollars."Tell Anne the graduation photos are my gift to make it up to her. And stop teaching her to fight for my attention!"My hands shook with rage. In his mind, even the b

Chapter 5

Third-Person POVCassian spent two days at the theme park with Esther and Noah.Before heading home, he bought Noah a mountain of gifts.As he was checking out, it suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't bought anything for Anne in a long time. In fact, he couldn't even recall what she liked.Remembering how pale Anne had looked at the restaurant that day, he felt a little guilty. He pulled out his phone and called Faye, but there was no answer. He tried again, with the same result.Faye had never ignored his calls before. He stared at his phone, lost in thought.Esther picked up a little stuffed toy beside him. "How about this one? Girls her age usually love stuff like this."Cassian glanced at the price tag. It was just a cheap trinket, the kind people tossed in to round up the total.Something about it bothered him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why. He put the toy back and said, "Never mind. I'll take her shopping myself when we get back."After dropping Esther a

Chapter 6

Third-Person POVCassian didn't sign the papers right away. Instead, he began searching everywhere for Faye and Anne.He went to Faye's best friend's apartment, but she wouldn't even let him inside. He called Faye's parents, but the moment he spoke, her mother hung up and blocked his number.In desperation, he went to Anne's school and told the front desk he was her father.Anne's teacher gave him a suspicious look. "Aren't you Noah's father? You came to his parent-teacher conference before."She paused, then added, "Anne always gets top grades, but you've never shown up for any of her school events."Caught off guard, Cassian blurted out, "Anne gets good grades?"The teacher's expression grew even more puzzled. "Of course. You're her father, aren't you? How could you not even know how she's doing in school?"Cassian panicked. "But didn't she submit a blank essay?"The teacher said politely, "You mean that contest? She left it blank because she said she didn't have a father."

Chapter 7

Third-Person POVEsther froze. She forced a smile when she saw the menacing look in Cassian's eyes. "Cassian, what's gotten into you today? Did Faye call you again? Maybe you should go home first..."He suddenly grabbed her wrist, his eyes bloodshot. "Esther, you'd better pray that Faye comes back. Otherwise, I'll make you regret it!"Just then, Noah appeared in the doorway of his hospital room. "Dad! Did you come to stay with me?"Cassian turned to him, his voice stern. "Noah, I don't like kids who lie."Noah fidgeted with his fingers, too afraid to look up. "Mom told me to pretend to faint. She said you would only spend time with us if I got sick..."Cassian lost control and slammed his fist into the wall.Noah burst into tears, and Esther immediately crouched down to shield him. "Cassian, what is wrong with you?"Blood dripped from Cassian's knuckles, but he seemed completely numb to the pain. He stood there, stunned by the sheer absurdity of it all."So you cheated on Jo

Chapter 8

Faye's POVTwo months later, I had settled into my new job.I returned to clothing design, starting from the bottom again. The pay wasn't nearly what I used to earn, but at least I didn't have to ask anyone for money anymore.Anne was enrolled in a new school not far from my parents' place. Whenever work got busy, my parents helped with drop-offs and pickups.When I received my first paycheck, I took Anne to the barbecue restaurant she'd been wanting to try for ages. She'd asked Cassian at least five times to take her there, but each time, something with Esther and Noah had come up.As Anne enjoyed her meal, she looked up at me with a contented smile. "Mom, I'm so happy!"I smiled back, but my eyes slowly filled with tears. Anne had never asked for much. She'd only wanted to sit down and share a meal with her dad. Yet even that simple wish had rarely come true.Just then, my phone buzzed with another message from Cassian."Faye, I know I was wrong. Please, give me another chanc

Chapter 9

Faye's POVBefore long, Cassian and Esther became embroiled in a legal battle.Cassian accused Esther of fraud, claiming she'd exploited his sense of duty to his late brother to get money out of him.Esther dropped her helpless, fragile act and turned vicious and sharp-tongued. She argued that everything had been Cassian's choice. He'd played the hero and given her money of his own free will. He was the one who'd driven Anne and me away, and none of it was her fault.The lawsuit soon became public knowledge. The friends and relatives who had once praised Cassian before all fell silent. Everyone now knew he'd driven his own wife and daughter away for a kid who wasn't even his.When Kelly Bradshaw, a mutual friend, called to tell me all this, Anne and I were out having pizza."Cassian's in terrible shape," she told me. "I heard he got fired, and Esther keeps harassing him. Every time he goes out, he ends up drunk, saying he regrets everything."She paused before asking, "Faye, are

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