I moved my wheelchair to the staircase and stopped at the corner, looking down at the warm, happy scene below.
A picture-perfect family of three.
Virginia thoughtfully placed Cassie’s favorite food onto her plate. Hugh chuckled, teasing her.
"You’re going to spoil her at this rate."
Virginia just smiled and gently fixed the tiny crown on Cassie’s head.
"My daughter deserves to have the whole world."
The grievance I had buried deep inside me for years surged up all at once.
I turned back to my room and tore apart everything Virginia had given me over the past five years, throwing them into the trash.
The moment the trash can tipped over, Hugh appeared in front of me.
Without warning, he kicked my wheelchair.
Pain shot through my body, cold sweat breaking out across my skin. But Hugh only grinned.
"Bryan, it must be miserable to live like this, huh?"
"After all these years, you’re still just as useless."
"Watching your own wedding be taken from you, watching your wife bring my daughter home—and you still have to endure it all? Honestly, I almost feel sorry for you."
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to move.
But before I could react, Hugh suddenly staggered backward—then tumbled straight down the stairs.
Virginia’s panicked scream echoed through the house.
Before I could even process what had happened, she was already cradling him in her arms.
When she turned to look at me, her eyes blazed with fury.
"Bryan, what the hell are you doing? Are you insane?"
"Hugh just came to invite you to dinner—what right did you have to push him?"
Virginia's parents shot me a look full of disappointment and disdain.
Meanwhile, Cassie stood by, sobbing loudly.
"Bad man! The bad man bullied Daddy! I don’t want him here!"
"I want Daddy! I want Daddy!"
Hugh let out a weak sigh and leaned against Virginia for support, his arm draped over her shoulders.
"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I just told Bryan that I agreed to stand in for him at the wedding, but I didn’t expect him to take it the wrong way…"
"Don’t be mad at Bryan. He didn’t mean it."
Lying on the floor, humiliated, I let out a cold laugh.
"Virginia—our wedding, the car accident, this child… shouldn’t you give me an explanation?"
Her expression stiffened, and a flicker of panic flashed through her eyes.
"What is there to explain? You got into a car accident. What does that have to do with Hugh?"
She crossed her arms, her voice growing colder.