While taking our daughter to preschool, my wife suddenly called me, saying she had an emergency. She left our daughter on the street and told me to go get her.

Fearing for our daughter’s safety, I pulled out my intravenous drip at the hospital and rushed over, but I was too late.

An unlicensed truck had hit her and fled the scene. She died instantly.

I cradled her lifeless body, overcome with grief.

At the same time, my wife's ex-boyfriend posted on social media: "You always show up when I need you. It's so good to have you."

The post included a picture of the two of them together.

Shaking all over, I took a screenshot and sent it to my wife, demanding: "Is this why you left our daughter on the street?"

Shaking all over, I took a screenshot and sent it to my wife, demanding, "Is this why you left our daughter on the street?"

Her reply came long after our daughter’s cremation and burial: "Iris is five. She can be independent. But Jeremy can't live without me!"

——

"Jocelyn, I want a divorce."

With a heart full of despair, I sent my final message and blocked Jocelyn.

Jocelyn Blake was the moon I gazed upon from afar for most of my life.

Our first encounter was at a high school sports meeting. The field was a sea of faces, and she seemed lost in the crowd, searching for something. Then, she turned and stumbled into my arms. In that fleeting moment, our eyes met, and it felt as though I was struck by lightning-time itself seemed to stand still.

With just that one glance, I was mesmerized and fell for her completely.

I carried that unspoken love throughout high school.

Though I was an exemplary student with a direct path to Peking University, I willingly relinquished that opportunity to attend the same college as Jocelyn.

In college, I pursued her with unwavering devotion.

I brought her breakfast each morning, immersed myself in her world, and crafted thoughtful gifts even on the most mundane days.

My relentless pursuit eventually won her heart.

Even after we started dating, I continued to cherish her deeply. Knowing how much she loved celebrity culture, I worked hard and saved up every penny to get tickets for her favorite star's concerts.

We started our journey together at nineteen, married at twenty-five, and welcomed our daughter Iris at twenty-seven. Iris was five years old this year.

For thirteen years, I have cherished Jocelyn with all my heart.

For thirteen years, I never raised my voice with her. Even the smallest hint of discomfort from her broke my heart.

When she said she didn’t want Iris to hold back her career, I left my well-paying job and became a stay-at-home dad.

I faced criticism and mockery from others but focused on taking care of her and Iris with utmost attention.

Knowing how important her career was to her, I handled everything myself and never troubled her.

I thought that by giving my all, I could build a happier family.

But instead, my unconditional love allowed Jocelyn to rekindle her relationship with her ex-boyfriend.

It was the same figure she had been searching for in the crowd during that high school sports meeting.

This time, while I was bedridden with a high fever and on an IV drip, I had no choice but to let her take our daughter to school just once.

I never imagined that this one instance would lead to our daughter's death.

And the reason? To spend time with Jeremy Heath!

My Iris was only five years old.

Why did she have to become a victim of Jocelyn's whims?

I was overwhelmed with grief and despair.

Iris’s death made me see the harsh reality.

With her passing, all my love for Jocelyn was buried along with her.

After spending an entire day and night by Iris’s grave, I managed to contain my grief enough to leave.

Not far from the cemetery, I spotted Jocelyn and Jeremy walking together, with Jeremy holding an urn.

"Jocelyn, do you think Cathy will like it here?"

Jeremy asked, referring to a stray cat he had adopted.

Jocelyn, looking tender and about to answer, suddenly noticed me.

Her warm expression quickly turned to one of annoyance.

"Cason, are you kidding me? I’ve only been gone a few days, and you’re already talking about divorce and stalking me. Can’t I have a little privacy?"

Jocelyn snapped at me, clearly annoyed.

"Just get out of my way," I said coldly, not bothering to look at her.

Lucas stepped in, putting on a sad face. "Cason, my cat Cathy passed away unexpectedly. Jocelyn stayed with me to help me through it. We’re just taking care of her arrangements. I hope you can cut Jocelyn some slack."

Jeremy's tone was polite, but his look was clearly smug as if to say, "See how much Jocelyn values me."

I glanced at Jeremy and said flatly, "I don’t need to be involved in your personal issues."

"Cason, this is too much! Jeremy is already heartbroken over Cathy, and you’re being so sarcastic. Why are you being so nasty?"

Jocelyn glared at me, clearly thinking I was just bitter and mean-spirited.

"Whatever."

I said dismissively and walked away, ignoring both Jocelyn and Jeremy.

As Jocelyn watched me walk away, a flicker of confusion crossed her face.

She expected me to be furious and jealous, but instead, I treated her as if she didn’t exist, completely ignoring her presence.

My icy demeanor and complete lack of response seemed to throw her off.

For the first time, she left Jeremy and rushed after me.

"Cason, what’s going on? Are you still upset about me not dropping Iris off at preschool? It’s been days. Do you really need to be this rigid?"

Jocelyn’s voice softened, but there was still a hint of accusation.

I responded flatly, "There’s no need."

Seeing my cold response, Jocelyn finally dropped her defenses and tried to explain. "Jeremy was really shaken by Cathy’s death. When I got his call that day, he sounded so distressed that I rushed to be with him and left Iris halfway. Was Iris upset? I’ll bring her a gift when I get back. She’s such a good girl. She’ll understand and forgive me, right?"

If Jocelyn had put even a fraction of the care she gave Jeremy into our family, she might have noticed that our daughter was gone.

But she didn’t. For her, there was only room for Jeremy.

I suddenly felt that the past thirteen years had been in vain.

"There’s no chance left," I said flatly and turned to leave, not wanting to say another word to her.

Seeing how resolute I was, Jocelyn quickly grabbed my hand. "How can you say there’s no chance? Please, don’t be so upset. I’ll make it right. I’ll handle dropping off and picking up our daughter every day. Will that work for you?"

Jocelyn, realizing how unusual my reaction was, tried to make things right.

If Iris were still here, I might have been willing to forgive her.

I used to be the kind of person who couldn’t stand to see her upset and felt guilty over even the smallest inconvenience she faced.

But at this time, it was too late.

"Let’s schedule a time to handle the divorce paperwork," I said, pulling my hand away from Jocelyn and walking off without a glance back.

"Wait!"

Jocelyn called out, her face a mix of confusion and resentment. Frustrated, she shouted after me, "Cason, you’ll regret this!"

Her anger was evident, but as she watched me walk away, she felt that something important was slipping away from her grasp.

With a frown, she called her assistant.

"Chase, get a lovely gift ready and have it sent to our house for my daughter. Hopefully, it’ll help make things right with her dad and get him to cool down."

As I walked out of the cemetery, my phone rang. It was the cemetery manager's voice on the line, fraught with urgency.

"Mr. Lucas, someone’s digging up your daughter’s grave!"

The news hit me like a punch to the gut, and I nearly collapsed.

Without a second thought, I spun around and raced back to Iris’s grave.

Iris had always been a ray of sunshine, with a special fondness for sunflowers. She often said they were like little suns, always smiling at her, and she wished she could hug them to hold onto that happiness forever.

To honor her, I filled her grave with sunflowers instead of a traditional headstone.

Each flower was a symbol of my deep love and the ache of losing her.

"Jocelyn, this place was covered in sunflowers—Cathy would have loved it!"

When I arrived, Jeremy had already put his urn in my daughter's grave. Two of Jocelyn's bodyguards were shoveling dirt back in.

The sunflowers I had carefully planted were uprooted and scattered with the petals strewn across the ground.

My daughter's urn was carelessly left beside the disarray.

"What are you doing?"

I shouted, shoving the bodyguards aside. "Who gave you permission to disturb this grave?"

Jeremy stepped forward with a shrug. "It’s just an unmarked grave with some sunflowers. I thought it’d be a nice spot for my Cathy. What’s the problem?"

Jeremy’s words were the last straw, setting off a fury I’d been holding back for so long. How dare he desecrate my daughter’s grave to bury his cat?

I lost all restraint and threw a powerful punch straight at Jeremy’s face.

Thud!

Jeremy was knocked backward, reeling from the blow.

Jocelyn’s eyes were a mix of anger and concern as she looked at me. "Cason, you’re not even at home with our daughter, and now you’re making a scene here?"

"I’m going to kill him!"

I roared, almost out of control, and rushed towards Jeremy.

"Stop him!"

Jocelyn shouted urgently to her bodyguards.

They quickly stepped in, each grabbing one of my arms and holding me back with a tight grip.

Jocelyn’s expression was steely as she came up to me. "I thought you’d gotten over this jealousy and matured. But here you are, making a fuss. Jeremy just found a new place for Cathy—why are you making such a big deal out of it? You’re actually hitting someone! Apologize to Jeremy right now!"

Jocelyn’s defense of Jeremy and her insistence that I should apologize for confronting the people who desecrated my daughter’s grave was infuriating.

Overcome with rage, I struggled against the bodyguards’ hold, but their grip was unshakeable. All I could do was shout at Jocelyn, "You’re going to regret this!"

Jeremy, looking annoyed, added, "You always went on about how great your life was and how you married a stand-up guy. I thought you were genuinely happy. But it turns out the ‘great guy’ you bragged about is just a lunatic. If this gets out, it’s going to wreck your reputation and the company’s!"

Jeremy's anger was off the charts after that punch, and now he was clearly trying to drive a wedge between me and Jocelyn.

Jocelyn's face showed a flash of discomfort, but she quickly turned to me, her voice tight.

"Can’t you just stay out of this and be a good stay-at-home dad? Why do you have to come here and make a scene? Go home and take care of Iris. Don’t leave her alone like this. Understand?"

I stared at Jocelyn, barely containing my rage. "So now you care about Iris?"

Jocelyn’s expression hardened. "Of course, I care! Iris is my daughter too. I went through nine months of pregnancy and everything else to bring her into this world. Everything I do is for her. I want her to be proud of me as her mom."

Seeing her try to brush off my anger, I snapped, "Cut the crap! If you really cared, you wouldn’t have left her alone just to be with Jeremy. She’s only five! Did you even think about how terrified and alone she must have felt?"

"Seriously, enough!" Jocelyn shot back, clearly frustrated. "How long are you going to drag this out? Why are you being so petty about it?"

Jocelyn lost her patience and snapped, "Apologize to Jeremy and then get out of here. You’re just making things worse!"

Jeremy, glaring with rage, said, "Forget about the apology. I want him to pay for hitting me!"

He then delivered two hard punches to my stomach.

The blows were full of anger and force, leaving me crumpled on the ground.

Jocelyn, meanwhile, watched dispassionately, letting her bodyguards hold me back while Jeremy continued to attack.

Looking at Jocelyn now, so high and mighty, I couldn't help but remember when she was in college, bullied by some thugs. I fought them off for her, taking a brutal beating and ending up bloodied and bruised. Back then, she’d been full of regret and promised that if she ever had the means, she’d protect me in return.

At this time, as a powerful executive, Jocelyn coldly watched Jeremy’s brutal attack on me.

The contrast between her past promises and her current indifference was gut-wrenching, leaving me feeling utterly hollow and devastated.

"Cason, stop playing the victim," Jocelyn said with a dismissive sneer. "It’s just a few punches. Why are you lying there like it’s the end of the world?"

"Enough of this," she snapped. "Let’s get Cathy laid to rest properly."

Jeremy, having vented his anger, signaled his bodyguards to continue covering the grave.

I forced myself to rise, wincing with every movement, and tried to intervene.

Jocelyn grabbed me and slapped me hard across the face. "Cason, how long are you going to keep making a fuss over this? It’s just a grave!"

Fuming, she kicked the urn, scattering Iris’s ashes across the ground.

The sting of the slap was sharp, but watching Iris’s ashes scattered across the ground was a deeper, more agonizing pain. Witnessing her death had been the worst moment of my life, but now, I couldn’t even safeguard her remains.

I hate them!

As if the world itself was grieving alongside me, snow began to fall, covering the ashes with a quiet, sorrowful blanket.

"No!"

I cried out hoarsely, throwing myself onto the ground and desperately scooping up the scattered ashes with my hands.

Tears streamed silently down my face.

Jeremy watched with cold disdain and sneered, "Cason, I know you’re an orphan with no family. You’re just putting on a show with some stranger’s ashes. If you think you can stop Cathy from being buried like this, you’re just wasting your time."

I ignored Jeremy’s taunts, my focus solely on frantically gathering Iris’s ashes.

This was the only thing left of Iris in this world, and I couldn’t bear to lose it.

"You leave our daughter alone at home and come here causing trouble for Jeremy?" Jocelyn said with disdain, stepping on the ashes. "You’re really disappointing. How could Iris have such a negligent father?"

She stepped closer, her voice dripping with contempt.

"If you want to cry over a stranger’s ashes, go ahead. A man like you doesn’t deserve to be Iris’s father. From now on, I’m taking Iris away. She won’t be living with someone like you."

Jocelyn pulled out her phone and coldly instructed, "Chase, get my daughter to my private villa immediately. And don’t allow Cason to see her without my permission."

After a brief pause, Chase replied cautiously, "Mrs. Blake, your daughter passed away in a car accident on the day you sent her to school."

He continued, "I also discovered that the grave with the sunflowers, where Mr. Heath planned to bury his cat, actually contains your daughter’s ashes."