"Did you hear that? Your daughter, who you've raised with so much hardship, knows that River treats her better!"

"Tell me honestly, where have you been this past month, why did you make Lacey feel like you abandoned her?"

Harlow ended the video call and crossed her arms, ready to judge me.

I looked at her with a furrowed brow, feeling for the first time that the woman I had loved for so many years was so strange!

"Can't you really tell that I had surgery?"

"Right, you probably have already completely forgotten about what happened back then."

I lowered my head so that Harlow could see the scar.

I did this not to make her feel guilty, but to make her understand that I'm not like her, I wouldn't abandon Lacey for no reason.

When I looked up, Harlow's face was buried in my neck.

"Honey, I was wrong, I thought you were faking it."

"I actually received the surgery information from the hospital, but I thought you were just being jealous and throwing a fit..."

I icily pushed her away from me.

Faced with my coldness, Harlow's tears silently fell.

"Honey, does it hurt..."

I nodded and then shook my head.

When the doctor asked me to have a family member sign the consent form, I couldn't reach Harlow, but I saw on River's Facebook that they were eating skewers at a street stall.

That was the kind of dirty food that Harlow despised the most, it would definitely give her a stomachache if she ate it.

But she would rather ruin her body to accompany River in eating and drinking.

She was so busy that she didn't have time to sign the consent form for me, her husband.

She didn't know that the reason I needed surgery was because the blood clot left from saving her years ago was pressing on a nerve.

"I don't have any family, can I sign it myself?"

At that time, my head hurt, but my heart hurt even more.

As a result, the signature on the surgery consent form looked like a ghost's scribble.

"Honey, are you hungry? I'll go buy groceries and cook for you right now!"

"No need, I'm not hungry."

My stomach growled, and Harlow burst into laughter.

But I couldn't laugh.

Because her phone rang.

With just one glance, I saw that the incoming call was from River.

Although Harlow's gaze was focused on me, her eyes kept drifting towards her phone screen.

"Answer it, or he'll start worrying."

A look of panic flashed across Harlow's face.

"Honey, then I'll answer it, it must be a work-related issue."

She unhesitatingly answered the phone in front of me, not giving River a chance to speak.

"Alright, why are you so anxious? Even if the sky falls, wait until I'm free! I'm with my husband right now!"

After saying the last sentence, Harlow hung up the phone, regardless of what River wanted to say.

But River didn't give up, he kept calling Harlow even after being yelled at.

"Honey, what do you want to eat? How about your favorite garlic ribs?"

This was the first time in nearly a year that she had offered to cook for me.

In the past, I would have been so happy that I would have held her and messed around in the kitchen together.

Nowadays, those beautiful memories were so far away that I couldn't reach them.

Seeing that I was not as intimate with her as usual, Harlow took my hand. It seemed like she was seriously discussing cooking with me, just like a diligent and responsible wife.

But her gaze was fixed on the constantly vibrating phone.

Even her hand unconsciously began to rub.

She was rubbing the back of my hand, causing me great pain, but she didn't notice at all.

This was her subconscious action when she was anxious and uneasy.

She was worried about River!

I pulled out my hand that she had rubbed red and kindly answered the phone for her.

"Harlow, I'm in the hospital, can you help me..."

"What? Which hospital? I'm coming right now!"

After hanging up the phone, Harlow couldn't hide the worry on her face.

She picked up the car keys and hesitated to ask me,

"Honey, do you want to go with me?"

When they were having a good time, they didn't think of inviting me to join them.

Now that there was someone who needed to be taken care of, she thought of inviting me.

I vaguely heard the word 'stitches' from the phone.

And Harlow, she fainted at the sight of blood.

"I won't go, just sign the letter and leave, it will only delay you for two seconds."

I wasn't so cheap as to lick my love rival's boots.

"Honey! Can't you be a little more magnanimous! After all, River is your brother-in-law, don't you care at all?"

"Who would get divorced from his wife because he's jealous of his brother-in-law?"

Brother-in-law?

Did a brother-in-law who came out of nowhere also count?

Did she really think I didn't know that she and River had been living in the same suite for the past month?

When my friend helped me check the hotel records and there was always only one room, my heart died.

I clearly realized that Harlow and I could never go back.

Harlow left with disappointment.

Two days later, it was Lacey's birthday. No matter how she thought of me as a father, I treated her as my own.

Even if it was a divorce, I didn't want to hurt the child.

Unexpectedly, when I went to pick up Lacey for her birthday, the Davies family's courtyard was full of laughter.

River was holding Lacey and playing the game of 'Eagle catching chicks' with Harlow.

When he was tired, Harlow's soft hand gently wiped the sweat from River's forehead.

And Lacey hugged River and kissed him on the cheek.

To anyone, they looked more like a family.

And my mother-in-law, Mrs. Moore, was lying on a rocking chair, smiling at the scene.

This was the first time I saw Mrs. Moore laugh so happily.

I'd seen such a contented smile on my mother's face.

So, Mrs. Moore is very satisfied with River as a son-in-law.

I felt like a peeping Tom, spying on other people's happiness, standing in the hot sun for half an hour.

Harlow had noticed me a long time ago, but she pretended not to see me.

Looking at the carefully selected gift in my hand, I hesitated and walked into the courtyard.

"Lacey! Look what daddy bought for you!"

Lacey heard my voice but stayed in River's arms, showing no intention of running towards me.

When she saw that the gift I brought her was the princess set she had been longing for, she turned up her nose,

"Mr. Davies has already bought me a better one."

After saying that, she pouted her lips and turned her head away from me.

Lacey was angry.

Like mother, like daughter; they both treated me the same way.

One grew attached to a dog after taking care of it for a long time.

Let alone raising a baby with all the mess and fuss.

At this moment, Lacey's betrayal hurt me more than Harlow not loving me.

When Mrs. Moore agreed to let pregnant Harlow marry me, she had two hard conditions.

First, our child should carry my surname.

Second, Harlow should not live with her mother-in-law.

This was no different from a man marrying into a woman's family.

But I loved Harlow so much, that I even loved the child in her belly that had nothing to do with me!

When we finally got married and had a child, the grandson my mother had been looking forward to turned out to carry a different surname.

I didn't dare tell my mother that the child wasn't mine.

The title of a freeloader had already made my mother hang her head in shame, if she knew I was a cuckold, she might die on the spot.

My mother wanted to help me take care of Lacey, but I refused her, saying that young people nowadays prefer to raise their children by themselves.

Every time I thought about this, I felt guilty.

It seemed that my mother's wish was dashed again that day, Lacey didn't go back with me to see her grandmother.

I put down the gift, trying to make a last-ditch effort,

"Lacey, grandma misses you. Do you want daddy to take you home?"

"No! Grandma's house is too shabby! I want to be with Mr. Davies!"

Harlow, upon hearing this, was awkward and angry. After whispering something to River, she came to me,

"Lacey is just a child, don't be angry with her."

"River also prepared an apology gift for you. Don't lose face when you go inside, otherwise, my mom and I will be embarrassed."

I didn't expose the fact that Lacey no longer recognized me as her father after just a month because someone was deliberately guiding her.

I didn't believe Harlow hadn't seen it.

She was just playing dumb.

This was probably the last birthday I could spend with Lacey.

At the dinner table, I felt like a complete outsider.

River was even holding Lacey, constantly interacting with her to provoke me.