After Divorce, No Longer Waiting for Him1
During the Midsummer Festival, my daughter was on the verge of death.
She had been frail and sickly since childhood, and her biggest wish was to have her biological father, Tom Carr, spend just one birthday with her.
He only agreed after I begged him repeatedly.
On her birthday, he didn't show up, and that night, my daughter passed away with regret.
Afterward, his first love posted a picture of them together. "Only a fool would use a child to bind a man's heart. In his heart, I'm the only one."
Everyone was mocking me.
I coldly commented: [The leash is off; no need to sneak around eating crap anymore.]
***
During the Midsummer Festival, on the night my daughter passed, I remained unusually calm, handling her funeral quietly on my own.
It wasn't surprising that Tom would prioritize the date for River Patel.
In the six years I'd been with Tom, all it took was one call from River, and he would drop everything to be there for her.
Whatever the reason was this time, it no longer mattered.
I quickly packed my bags, left the divorce papers, and prepared to leave.
But just as I was leaving, I saw River getting out of Tom's car.
"Amber Brown, what are you up to now?"
He slammed the car door shut, noticing my packed bags, and his brows furrowed.
His tone made it seem like I was always being unreasonable.
River spoke sweetly, "Amber, are you upset with Tom because of what happened that day? His dog got hurt, and it scared me to tears, so Tom came to help. I didn't know it was your daughter's birthday that day."
Doggie was her dog.
I only felt it was both sad and laughable.
It turns out that, in Tom's heart, our daughter was less important than River's dog.
My daughter had been hospitalized for years, and he rarely visited her, always using work as an excuse.
But he had time to take care of River's dog.
Whether he loved me or not was very clear.
"Tom, let's get a divorce."
The moment my daughter died, any lingering warmth I had for Tom vanished.
But Tom thought I was just angry. "Amber, what kind of game are you playing this time? It was just a birthday, nothing serious. But the dog got hurt, and River is helpless. I couldn't just ignore that."
Just a birthday, nothing serious.
He'd said similar things countless times whenever it involved our daughter.
He never cared about her.
Or perhaps, he despised the child who shared my blood.