Chapter 1

My husband was walking another woman's daughter down the red carpet while our eight-year-old daughter was hiding backstage, wearing a dress she had spent a whole month picking out for her father.

A reporter thrust a microphone in front of Caleb and asked with a smile, "Is this your family?"

He didn't deny it.

He looked down at Sabrina and Lily standing beside him, facing dozens of cameras, and offered that warm, gentle smile I knew all too well.

"They mean everything to me."

They mean everything to him.

I stood in the control area at the side of the stage, the voices of the lighting operator, photographer, and stage manager coming through my headset simultaneously.

The red carpet live stream was broadcasting across six giant screens in the hotel ballroom.

Caleb's words echoed clearly into the ears of every investor, reporter, and brand guest.

Applause followed instantly.

No one knew that every single detail of tonight's anniversary event had been designed by his wife.

Even fewer knew that the child who was supposed to be by his side was standing less than twenty feet from the red carpet right now.

I took off one side of my headset and turned toward the backstage area.

Sophie was standing outside the dressing room, wearing a light blue dress.

The hem was adorned with tiny silver stars, picked out by her from seventeen children's dress catalogs.

She had said Caleb would wear a navy suit tonight, so when they stood together, they would look like "the same sky."

She had practiced for two whole weeks for this red carpet.

Practiced holding her father's arm.

Practiced not looking down when meeting reporters.

She had even prepared three answers in advance, just in case someone asked what she wanted to be when she grew up and she got too nervous to speak.

Half an hour ago, Caleb had told her on the phone, "Baby, Daddy is on his way. Stand there and wait for me. I'll come in and get you myself."

She really had been standing there waiting the entire time.

Every time footsteps came from outside the door, she would look up.

But the ones who finally walked into the hotel were Sabrina and her nine-year-old daughter, Lily.

"Mommy." Sophie didn't cry or demand answers, only staring at the live stream on the screen. "Why is Daddy taking her on my red carpet?"

I knelt down and smoothed out the wrinkled tulle on her shoulder that she had been clutching.

I had no way to brush this question off with an adult lie.

Tonight's arrangement was nothing new to Caleb.

As the high-end hotel event planning director, I had sent him the entire schedule a month in advance.

He knew the 7:10 PM slot was for the family red carpet, that Sophie would be waiting for him backstage, and that the main promotional theme of this anniversary was "Built for Families."

It was the tenth anniversary of his boutique fitness brand.

Over the past few years, he had said countless times in interviews that his wife and daughter gave him the courage to start his business.

He printed our family photos in brand brochures, included the picture of newborn Sophie holding his finger in funding roadshows, and even said to the camera in the latest promotional video, "The proudest strength a man can have is protecting his family."

Those words used to touch me.

Hearing them again tonight, nothing remained but irony.

Fifteen minutes ago, Sabrina had called him.

She said Lily was being mocked at school by a few kids for not having a father, hiding in the restroom crying, refusing to attend the dinner.

She needed Caleb to come over and comfort her, emphasizing that Lily already viewed him as the only reliable male figure in her life.

Caleb had already arrived in the hotel's underground parking lot at the time.

I heard him with my own ears on the phone saying to me, "I'm going to pick them up and will be right back. Sophie can wait backstage for ten minutes."

I reminded him that the red carpet live stream couldn't be delayed.

He answered in a tired, impatient tone, "Nora, it's just an entry order. Lily was just humiliated—don't start making a fuss at a time like this."

I didn't argue with him.

Not because I accepted it, but because there were over three hundred guests, twenty-seven media outlets, and several investors who directly decided his next funding round.

I had spent four months preparing tonight; I couldn't let the entire team bear the consequences of his choice just because he changed his mind at the last minute again.

But I never expected he would walk Lily straight down the red carpet that belonged to Sophie.

Even less did I expect him to let reporters assume Sabrina and her daughter were his family.

On the screen, Sabrina wore a champagne-colored long dress, her arm resting naturally around Caleb's.

She had clearly prepared for tonight long ago; even the little dress on Lily matched the color of Caleb's tie perfectly.

When she turned to look at the camera, a perfectly measured touch of shyness hovered at the corners of her mouth.

Had I not known she was breathing heavily through her sobs on the phone half an hour ago, I too would have believed this was just a warm moment unexpectedly granted to a single mother.

"Sophie." Maya, the backstage assistant, walked over quickly, her eyes moving back and forth between me and my daughter. "It's almost time for the family video segment. According to the original plan, she needs to go on stage with Caleb to light up the 10th-anniversary logo."

Sophie's fingers tightened around her dress hem.

I knew she was still waiting.

Children always value a parent's promise more than reality.

Even though Caleb had walked someone else down her red carpet, a tiny sliver of hope remained in her heart—maybe Daddy was just accompanying Lily first, maybe he would still come back for her next, maybe he still remembered they had practiced together for two weeks.

I stood up and picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Push the lighting ceremony back three segments."

Maya froze for a second. "But the investors are already—"

"Play the annual growth video first, then schedule the founder's interview. Tell the host that the family segment equipment needs re-confirmation."

She nodded immediately and went to execute the order.

Sophie looked at me. "Is Daddy still coming to get me?"

I wanted so badly to tell her yes.

Over the past eight years, I had made excuses for Caleb too many times.

He missed parent-child sports day because a new store was opening.

He forgot Sophie's dentist appointment because an investor dropped by unexpectedly.

He left halfway through her birthday dinner because a pipe burst at Sabrina's place.

He gave the building blocks he promised to assemble with Sophie to Lily because "that child hasn't been doing well lately."

Every single time, he had a reason.

Every single time, the reason sounded decent enough.

Over time, even I almost forgot that a man repeatedly missing from his own family doesn't become forgivable just because he has a good excuse every time.

"We'll wait ten minutes first," I said to my daughter.

These were the final ten minutes I could give her tonight.

The red carpet interview on the screen was still ongoing.

An entertainment reporter recognized Sabrina.

She was an influencer in the parent-child lifestyle niche who had gained popularity rapidly over the past two years, accumulating a massive following by sharing her life as a single mother.

The reporter asked her with a smile why she was attending with Caleb tonight.

Sabrina didn't answer right away.

She looked down at Lily first, then said softly, "Some people don't need blood relations to show up when a child needs them most."

A wave of touched sighs rippled through the audience below.

Caleb stood beside her, offering no explanation that he was already married, nor clarifying that his biological daughter was waiting backstage.

He even placed his hand on Lily's shoulder, adjusting his stance to cooperate with the photographers.

My phone buzzed at that moment.

It was a text from Sabrina.

Hope you don't mind. Lily really needed him tonight.

Immediately following was another picture.

In the photo, she and Caleb stood on either side of Lily, all three smiling toward the camera.

Sabrina added another sentence:

You have him every day. Lending him to us just this once shouldn't be a big deal, right?

I stared at that line of text, finally realizing she hadn't reached out for help at the last minute tonight.

She had prepared the dress, prepared her daughter's look, and prepared the questions the reporters would ask long ago.

The so-called school bullying was merely an entry ticket to pull Caleb out of the parking lot.

She wanted everyone to see that they looked like a real family.

Even more, she wanted me to see it with my own eyes.

I didn't reply, simply taking a screenshot to save it.

"Nora."

Caleb's voice suddenly came from behind me.

I turned around. He had finished the red carpet interview and walked backstage alone.

Sabrina and her daughter hadn't followed, likely receiving more interviews in the media area.

His expression wasn't one of guilt; rather, it carried a hint of blame.

"Why did you change the schedule last minute? Investors are asking when the family segment starts."

I looked at him for a few seconds before saying, "Sophie has been waiting for you."

Caleb's gaze fell upon our daughter.

Only then did he truly see that she had already changed into her dress.

"Baby." He took a step toward her. "Daddy had something come up just now."

Sophie stepped back half a pace.

That tiny movement made Caleb freeze.

"You walked my red carpet," she said.

"I was just accompanying Lily in first." Caleb bent down, trying to explain in the same coaxing tone he always used with her. "She was bullied at school today and is in a really bad state. You've always been sensible; you wouldn't get angry over a little thing like this, right?"

The string in my chest that had been pulled taut all night snapped completely the moment I heard the word "sensible."

Adults excel at using "sensible" to reward neglected children.

Because Sophie had her mom with her, she could wait.

Because she had a complete family, she was expected to share her father.

Because she didn't throw a tantrum, her disappointment was always ranked behind everyone else's wounds.

Sophie lowered her head, looking at the silver stars on her dress hem.

"So are we still going on stage together?"

Caleb visibly relaxed.

"Of course. When the host calls us, Daddy will hold your hand and go up. It's just that Sabrina and Lily will come along too—they are special guests tonight."

"Why?"

"Daddy plans to have Sabrina serve as the brand's family charity ambassador. Tonight happens to be a good time to introduce her."

I looked at Caleb.

This wasn't in the event proposal, nor had it been reviewed by my team.

"You plan to announce her partnership at the anniversary?"

"It's just a verbal introduction." He frowned. "Don't make such a big deal out of this. She has a follower base; it helps the brand."

"You left your own wife and daughter backstage and walked another mother and daughter down the family red carpet—is that for the brand too?"

He straightened up, his tone immediately turning cold.

"Nora, there are many important people present tonight. I don't want to discuss these personal emotions with you."

"Is that so?"

I looked at the red carpet footage still playing on loop.

On the screen, he leaned down to fix Lily's hair while Sabrina stood aside, smiling at him.

Anyone who didn't know the truth watching this video would assume they were the family being presented by the brand tonight.

Caleb followed my line of sight, finally realizing how ambiguous that picture looked.

Yet he quickly averted his eyes.

"Sabrina just needs support. You know how hard things have been for her over the years."

I had heard this line too many times.

So hard that she was the first to get the news whenever my husband fell ill.

So hard that every single school event for her daughter was more important than Sophie's.

So hard that she could call on our wedding anniversary to have Caleb go over and repair her garage door.

Her hardships were endless.

Yet my daughter's and my endurance were taken for granted as having no limit.

The host's prompt came through my headset: "Nora, the founder's interview finishes in three minutes. Shall we resume the family lighting segment next?"

I pressed the call button, looking at Caleb as I answered, "Cancel the children's family lighting. Change it to Caleb's personal speech."

"You can't cancel it," Caleb said in a low voice. "That's the most important brand visual tonight."

"The original visual was you with your wife and daughter," I said. "Now that you've replaced your family, my daughter has no obligation to fill in as promotional material for you."

His face finally turned pale.

"Sophie is my daughter too."

I didn't reply.

Because some titles cannot be kept merely with words.

Caleb clearly wanted to argue further, but someone came from the front stage to urge him to go on. He glanced at his wristwatch and said hurriedly to Sophie, "Daddy has to go to work first. After the event, our family will take photos together."

With that, he turned and walked toward the stage without looking back.

Sophie never called after him.

She only lowered her head and quietly let go of the hand she had been saving for him all evening.

I suddenly had a terrible feeling.

Tonight...

Something between father and daughter had broken forever.