Chapter 1

It was a rainy Monday morning.

In the back seat, nine-year-old Olivia clutched a delicate glass terrarium to her chest.

It was her handmade "Succulent Haven"—a miniature garden model she had spent the entire past month building for the Youth Special Education Horticulture Showcase.

Olivia had mild dyslexia.

At school, she struggled to match letters with sounds, always hiding in the quietest corners of the classroom, invisible to the world.

This showcase was supposed to be the very first time she gathered the courage to stand under the spotlight.

"Daddy," Olivia leaned forward, her amber eyes shining with absolute pure adoration as she looked at Christian in the passenger seat.

"You’ll help me snap the organ arch onto the model when we get up there, right?"

"Of course, sweet pea," Christian replied, his voice overflowing with fatherly tenderness.

"You just focus on presenting to the judges. Daddy will be right up there beside you."

I sat in the driver's seat, holding the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white.

But today was the single most important day for our daughter to build her confidence.

I didn't care about his role as a husband anymore—it was painfully obvious that a piece of Christian's heart would always belong to Helena.

I just desperately hoped he could, for once in his life, act like a real father.

For the sake of giving Olivia a complete family, I had swallowed my pride and endured it all.

Just as I pulled up to the main entrance of the exhibition center, Christian’s phone lit up on his lap.

He picked it up instantly, not even trying to hide it from me.

"Helena? What’s wrong?" he asked, his voice instantly dropping to a hushed, anxious whisper.

A muffled, breathless sob echoed through the speaker.

"Christian... I’m so sorry to bother you..." Helena choked out.

"It’s Carter. A horse spooked during his riding lesson at the equestrian club, and he got thrown off. His leg is scraped up."

"And... my ex-husband’s trust fund guardian is checking our stipend expenses today," she added, her tone laced with frantic despair.

"If I go to the hospital now and incur a massive bill, I’m terrified they’ll sue me for negligence and take Carter away from me..."

Helena knew Christian could never resist a damsel in distress, especially when that damsel was his precious first love.

Sure enough, Christian unbuckled his seatbelt immediately.

"Evelyn, you and Olivia head inside first. I have to go," he said, turning around to grab his coat from the backseat.

"Carter is traumatized, and Helena’s ex-family is going to attack her. I need to handle this."

"Christian, pull yourself together!" I grabbed his wrist, my voice trembling with suppressed rage.

"Olivia’s showcase starts in fifteen minutes. She spent a whole month working on this. You are literally at the front door—how can you leave right now!"