Chapter 2

The entire room instantly fell silent. She cried even harder, but I turned to leave.

Lester used all her strength to grab me from behind: "Don't go! It's my fault, all my fault."

"Give me one more chance and I'll definitely change. Please don't leave me."

Lester's best friend also blocked my way: "George, what's gotten into you? Apologize to Lester right now!"

"Lester has been with you all these years. How can you bear to hurt her? Have you forgotten how much you two loved each other?"

"You went from middle school to college together before getting married. Have you forgotten all that?"

"You bastard! Don't tell me you're abandoning the child in Lester's womb too?"

At these words, my parents also grabbed me, desperately trying to talk sense into me.

"Lester is already carrying your child, and you still want a divorce? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?"

I struggled free with all my strength, seemingly uncaring about this news, righteously telling them to get lost.

"No matter whose child she's carrying, this divorce is happening."

My mom couldn't believe I would say something so heartless.

"George, you've always wanted children. Now that Lester is pregnant, why are you still making a fuss?"

Her words were like a heavy punch, slamming hard into my heart.

Once, I too longed for my own child, hoping from age twenty to age thirty.

Ten years passed. I'd hoped countless times to have a child with Lester, but those hopes were always dashed.

I didn't want to live like this anymore. Now I just wanted to completely separate from her.

The huge commotion attracted our neighbor, the single dad Steve, who came over with his child to hand it to Lester.

Every day at this time, Steve would go to work while Lester helped take care of the baby.

The moment she saw him, she forgot about our argument and took the child from him.

That tender look in her eyes was something I'd never seen before, as if she were looking at her own biological child.

My heart felt inexplicably pierced, the pain nearly making me unable to stand.

Lester and I once had a child too, but it was lost due to an accident.

"George, I heard everything you were arguing about just now. I didn't know you'd mind Lester helping me take care of the baby."

"I'll look for a new place today and move out with Wesley immediately. I won't affect your relationship."

Lester frowned, reluctance showing in her eyes.

"Don't! It's just helping you take care of a child. It's nothing at all."

"George, don't take our problems out on others. You just recovered from a serious illness—please stop making a scene, okay?"

She kept crying pitifully, and everyone redirected their anger toward me.

My dad's face flushed red with anger, his voice hoarse as he grabbed my hand:

"Listen to me. Stop this nonsense. Break things off with whoever you're seeing and live a good life with Lester!"

"She's carrying your child now. If you still dare to divorce her, don't blame me for breaking your legs."

I remained as cold as ever, my face showing no expression.

"This divorce must happen!" With that, I turned and left.

My dad made a threat, shouting at my retreating back: "If you divorce her, I'll disown you!"

Lester also stopped trying to keep me: "George, since you want to leave, don't expect to take a single penny! I'll make sure you leave with nothing!"

"Since you have someone new and are determined to abandon me, don't blame me for not being polite!"

I immediately filed for divorce, submitting as evidence the footage I'd captured at our neighbor Steve's house.