Chapter 4

The man was restrained by neighbors, and I was rushed into an ambulance.

The knife had carved a huge gash in my shoulder, and the pain made me break out in a cold sweat.

It all happened so suddenly that I was still trembling, submerged in fear.

At that moment, I desperately needed some comfort, even just a little.

So, I called Ava.

"Ava, I'm at the hospital. Please come quickly."

"What happened? I'm working late right now." Ava's tone was clearly impatient, and her background noise was too loud, sounding more like a restaurant than an office.

"I was stabbed. I'm covered in blood, and it hurts so much. Please come."

Hearing Ava's voice, tears suddenly streamed down my face, pouring out all the grievances I'd suffered.

But in the next second, Ava's words plunged me into an abyss.

"Liam, can you stop joking around? You're perfectly fine at home, how could someone suddenly stab you? You're forty years old; can you stop being so childish?"

"I'm not joking! I really was stabbed, and I'm at the hospital right now!"

My voice became rushed and agitated, my volume significantly higher.

But to Ava, I sounded just like my old "unreasonable" self.

"I know you're still mad about us not spending your birthday with you, but you don't have to make up such a lie, do you? I've been really tired lately. If you keep this up, we might really have to get a divorce."

"Forget it. I shouldn't have said anything. I still have to work. You get some rest."

With that, Ava hung up.

I stood there frozen for a moment, then called Leo.

"Leo, Dad's at the hospital. Can you..."

Before I could finish, Leo's impatient voice cut me off.

"Oh, great. Mom said you lied about being stabbed, and I didn't believe it, but I guess you really can pull off such a crazy lie. Dad, please just leave us alone, okay?"

"What do you mean? You're with your mom? Isn't she supposed to be working late?"

Before I could ask more, Leo hung up.

At that moment, I felt as helpless as a leaf adrift in a vast ocean.

Suddenly, something clicked. I frantically opened Ryan's Ins profile.

Sure enough, he'd posted a video. He was smiling at the camera, with a luxuriously decorated upscale restaurant in the background.

The caption read: "Striving alone in a strange city, glad to have you all by my side."

I knew that upscale restaurant well; it was where Ava and I had our first date. But after we got married, whenever I wanted to revisit it, Ava would always refuse, citing the high prices.

In the video, although only Ryan was visible, I still heard Leo's voice.

It was a fleeting sound, but I heard it clearly. I couldn't possibly mishear it, because it was a word I knew all too well:

"Dad."

My phone slipped from my grasp.

Ava, with whom I had shared thick and thin, and Leo, whom I had painstakingly raised, had now given their devotion to someone else.

Though I tried not to care, the pain in my heart was uncontrollable. My breath hitched.

"Uncle, aren't Auntie and Leo coming?"

Finn, who had been quietly watching over me, asked cautiously.

"No, but it doesn't matter anymore. Will you stay by my side?"

I gently stroked his head and asked. He nodded like a woodpecker, eagerly promising:

"I will! I'm just afraid you'll blame me since it was my dad who did it."

His little head slowly drooped, and I felt a pang of sympathy.

"No, it's not your fault. You did nothing wrong, and neither did I."

I hugged him, both of us seeking comfort in each other.

Years of love couldn't be completely severed in this moment.

But from now on, they would no longer be my top priority. There were more people and more things in the world worth loving.