For a moment, Nathan felt as if all the noise around him had disappeared. He could not hear anything at all.

Only one sentence echoed in his mind.

“He is my dad.”

From a distance, Nathan watched Yara pull Xavier’s hand and introduce him to her classmates one by one. She looked proud, like a child showing off something precious. Nathan felt a hole open in his chest. Cold air poured straight into it.

He and Moon were not even officially divorced yet. Yara had already started calling Xavier her father.

Soon, another familiar figure appeared.

It was Moon. She had claimed she had work to do that morning.

Moon stood on one side of Yara, and Xavier on the other. Each of them held one of Yara’s hands. The three of them wore the same happy smile.

It was no wonder Nathan had not known about the school’s open day, neither in his past life nor in this one. Moon had never mentioned it to him.

She had known about it all along. She had even discussed it privately with Yara and decided that Xavier would attend as her father.

They had joined forces so early just to deceive him, who was Yara’s biological father and Moon’s lawful husband.

Nathan remembered lying on his deathbed in his past life.

Yara watched the couple on the television with full attention and ignored Nathan, who was barely alive.

It all made sense. During the years Moon was on the island, she must have kept in touch with Yara. Perhaps Yara had already accepted Xavier as her father long ago. They only waited for Nathan’s death so Xavier could take his place openly.

Nathan could not watch any longer. He turned and walked away. The cold wind hit his face and dried the tears in his eyes.

He went straight to the city hall and took out the divorce papers. He signed his name carefully on the blank line and handed it to the clerk.

“Excuse me, everything is signed. Please, process the divorce.”

After checking the paperwork, the clerk completed the procedure without delay.

Only when Nathan held the divorce certificate in his hands did he truly understand that he had no connection left with Moon or Yara.

Over the next few days, Nathan resumed physical training ahead of schedule.

He had trained from a young age, but after Yara was born, most of his time and energy had gone into caring for her. The rate at which he trained had dropped a lot. Before leaving for Javerton, he wanted his body to be in peak condition.

Moon was busy as well. She was handling work arrangements ahead of her assignment to the South Sea the following month.

During weekends, no one was home to look after Yara. Nathan had no choice but to take her with him to the training grounds. He took water and snacks. He told her to sit nearby and play on her own for a while.

One day, not long after she sat down, Yara noticed Xavier passing by.

She rushed over excitedly. She wrapped her arms around his waist and refused to let go.

“Dr. Quinn, will you play with me? Dad always makes me sit here alone. I’m so bored.”

Nathan clenched his fists.

He had not seen that look of affection on Yara’s face in a long time.

Xavier smiled and patted her head gently. He glanced at Nathan, and a flicker of smugness showed in his eyes.

“You need to ask your dad if that’s okay.”

Before Yara could speak, Nathan drew a slow breath in and said calmly, “You can go play with Dr. Quinn. Don’t go too far, though. Be careful.”

Seeing Yara around would make him feel even more annoyed.

Besides, once he left, she would be with Xavier anyway. There was no reason to stop them from hanging out.

A flicker passed through Xavier’s eyes. The corners of his lips lifted slightly. He took Yara’s hand and led her away in another direction.

Yara did not hesitate. She walked beside him happily.

Nathan opened his mouth. He wanted to call out to them, but in the end, he looked away and focused on his training instead.

Nathan had just finished warming up and was about to start his training when he heard Yara crying nearby.

His face changed immediately. He ran toward the sound.

When he saw the familiar figures, his gaze caught on a line of blood on Yara’s forehead.

Xavier stood beside her. He looked panicked. He pulled gauze from his white coat and tried to stop the bleeding, but the blood soaked through it.

Nathan had no time to think. He picked Yara up and ran to the hospital.

The doctor worked for over an hour before finally being able to stop the bleeding with some stitches.

Only then did Nathan feel his heart ease. He turned to Xavier and asked, “How did Yara get hurt?

“You’re a doctor. That was a serious wound. Why didn’t you take her to the hospital right away? If I hadn’t been close by, she could’ve lost so much blood!”

Xavier looked shaken and tried to defend himself.

“I didn’t know she would be that energetic. I looked away for a moment, and she jumped off the steps and fell.

“Besides, I’m not a surgeon! It’s not that strange that I couldn’t respond immediately.”

Nathan’s anger rose.

Xavier was clearly making excuses.

Moon arrived at the hospital as soon as she heard the news.

She rushed into the ward. When she saw Yara lying on the bed with her head wrapped tightly in gauze, anger burned in her eyes.

“How did Yara get hurt?”

Xavier avoided her gaze.

Nathan held back his own anger. He was about to explain what happened when Yara spoke weakly from the bed.

“Mom, I got hurt because Dad took me to…”

Nathan was frozen in disbelief.

It was Xavier who had taken her somewhere else, and that was how she got hurt. Yet she blamed everything on him.

His voice shook as he asked, “Yara, say that again. Who got you hurt?”

Yara pouted as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“It was you! It’s your fault! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have fallen.

“And after I fell, you didn’t even take me to the clinic. Dr. Quinn was the one who carried me here.”

Hearing her twist the truth like that, Nathan felt numb.

Every breath caused a sharp sting in his chest.

The daughter he had raised for six years was accusing him without a second thought.

Even though he had decided to cut ties with Moon and Yara, she was still his own flesh and blood. How could he hold back when he saw her hurt?

Yet, she kept hurting him. Each blow cut deeper into his already wounded heart.

Moon gripped Nathan’s hand and pulled him out of the ward. She only let go when they reached a quiet corner.

Her head was pounding, and her voice was filled with rage.

“Nathan, is this how you look after Yara? You don’t even have a job! All you have to do is take care of her, yet you let her get hurt this badly! You didn’t even bring her to the clinic right away.

“I really have to wonder if you’re even her real father! Otherwise, how could you be so cruel?”

The veins on the back of Nathan’s hand stood out as he clenched his hands into fists. After everything he had lived through in both this life and the last, the final thread of attachment he had with Moon and Yara disappeared in that moment.

He only felt deeply disappointed.

Nathan gave a small, bitter smile and said softly, “Fine! If that’s how you see it, then I won’t be her father anymore. Let Dr. Quinn take that place.”

He was ready to let Xavier take the place of her husband as well.

Moon noticed that Nathan was calm and frowned.

But when she thought of the wound on Yara’s forehead, her emotions hardened again.

She was sure Nathan was only speaking out of anger after being yelled at. He loved Yara too much to truly give up on her.

Still, this time he had gone too far. She believed he needed to be taught a lesson.

“Why are you bringing Xavier into this? He was kind enough to take Yara to the clinic, and now, you are accusing him? That’s so ungrateful!”

Nathan chuckled, but his eyes shone with bitterness.

“Don’t you want him to be Yara’s father? Then, the two of you can be together publicly.”

Moon’s anger immediately flared. She slammed her fist into the wall beside his face, and her face darkened.

“I have never had any improper thoughts about Xavier! Stop making things up! There’s nothing between us!”

Nathan found that ridiculous.

If there was really nothing between them, why had Moon kept Xavier by her side and left him behind in the compound for twenty years?

If there was nothing between them, why had she thanked only Xavier when she received the Medal of Honor and mentioned no one else?

If there was nothing between them, why did Yara keep urging him to leave and make room for Xavier when he was on his deathbed?

Nathan no longer wanted to argue with her.

He would be leaving in six days. He could endure this for a while longer.

Nathan said nothing more. He turned and left the hospital without looking at Yara.

In the days that followed, Nathan packed his things for Javerton and focused on his physical training. He did not see Moon again, nor did he go to the hospital to check on Yara.

He had finally accepted the truth. They had no place for him in their hearts.

He would not humiliate himself by clinging to them.

…

The day Nathan was leaving was also the day Yara was discharged from the hospital.

For the first time in a long while, Moon called. Her voice was still a little cold, but the sharpness was gone from it.

“Yara’s coming home today. Make some at noon. Let’s have a family lunch to celebrate.”

Nathan paused. The words “family lunch” hit him straight in the heart.

In his past life, Moon had only returned twice during the twenty years she was away.

Each time, she stayed two or three hours before rushing off with the excuse of catching a train.

In those twenty years, the three of them never shared a proper family meal.

By the time he died, that wish had never come true.

This time, Nathan decided to make it happen.

He would finish what he could not in his past life.

He would close that chapter of his life and begin a new one full of possibilities.

After packing his things, Nathan cooked a huge meal and waited for Moon and Yara to come home.

The clock on the wall ticked steadily.

The time went from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., but they still had not returned.

Nathan had a feeling that they would not come home.

Just as he expected, the phone rang.

Moon’s voice was unusually apologetic as she said, “Xavier has been taking care of Yara these past few days. I want to take him out to lunch to thank him. We won’t be coming home for lunch today.”

There was a brief pause on the other end. Then, a hesitant voice said, “Why don’t you come too?”

Yara’s voice drifted into Nathan’s ears.

“Dad hasn’t come to see me at all these past few days. Why should he come with us to eat? I don’t want to see him! This lunch is just for Dr. Quinn.”

Nathan did not feel sad. He chuckled instead.

“I won’t come. You two enjoy your meal.”

He paused, then added, “Moon, Yara, goodbye.”

With that, he hung up.

Outside, he could faintly hear the sound of a horn.

Nathan took his suitcase from the bedroom and placed the divorce certificate under an untouched plate of food.

He looked around the house one last time. This was the place where he had spent nearly forty years of his life, combining the past and the present.

He would never return here.

As the car drove toward Javerton, the buildings of Southwest Military Command slowly receded.

From that day onward, he would be stationed in Javerton while Moon and Yara would be in the South Sea.

They would be separated in the north and south and probably would never meet again.

Nathan would spend the rest of his life flying in the sky and guarding the country’s airspace.