Just because the twins upset my wife's childhood sweetheart, Travis Ebbington, she ordered them to be locked in the basement.

I knelt on the ground, crying and pleading to my wife for our children’s sake, "Our children are still young and the basement is dark. They will be scared. I’m their father. If you want to punish someone, punish me instead … "

But Tatiana leaned against her childhood sweetheart’s arms and looked down at me.

She coldly told me, "Shut up, Nate! You spoil the children too much. That’s why they don’t know how to behave! I am their mother. Don’t I have the right to discipline my own children?"

The children were so hungry in the basement that they found a bag of dried shrimp somewhere. That night, they suffocated in the hospital due to seafood allergies. But while I waited in agony, my wife’s childhood sweetheart posted a celebration of her pregnancy on WhatsApp Moments.

When my Dimitri, Dimitri Humphrey, rushed to the hospital, I collapsed at the ICU room’s door.

"Dimitri, please, I beg you. I don’t want anything else … I just want my children to be okay."

——

The ICU room’s lights stayed on for God knew how many hours. My heart felt like it was being eaten alive by a thousand ants. The pain made it hard to breathe.

Dimitri couldn’t help but look at me with sympathy.

He tried to comfort me by saying, "Don’t say that now. The children’s safety is the most important thing. When they’re out of danger, I’ll make sure Tatiana learns her lesson..."

Before Dimitri could finish, I handed him my phone with trembling hands. A social media post from Travis had gone up just thirty minutes earlier.

[@TravisEbbington: You are the child your parents wished for. Your parents will love you forever.]

Attached was an ultrasound scan. The words on the report were clear. Tatiana was six weeks pregnant with her lover’s child.

When Dimitri saw it, he fell silent for a moment before speaking softly, "I’ll call Tatiana right now. Don’t worry, you’re the only son-in-law our Humphrey Family recognizes … You don’t need to worry about it."

But I didn’t wait. I called Tatiana myself and put it on speaker. As soon as she answered, her impatient voice came through.

"Are you going to tell me the kids are 'fighting for their lives' again? I only locked them up for a day! How could it be that serious? Can’t you come up with a better excuse? Nate, you really disgust me!"

Before I could say a word, she hung up.

Dimitri’s face turned pale. He didn’t know what to say anymore. On the other hand, tears streamed down my face.

"Dimitri, I have nothing left. I only have my two children. Please, let me go... Let them go..."

Just as he was about to respond, the ICU room’s lights went out. I jumped to my feet and rushed to the doctor. To my surprise, he only shook his head.

The doctor then grimly explained, "The twins suffered severe laryngeal edema from the seafood allergy. They were suffocated for too long, so they were already in a coma when they arrived at the hospital."

"We did everything we could. I’m truly sorry for your loss, Sir … "

As he spoke, two hospital beds were pushed out of the emergency room. Two small bodies lay still, covered by white sheets. There was no sound.

My legs gave out. Before I realized what just happened, I collapsed to the floor. I still couldn’t believe what was happening.

When Dimitri arranged for the funeral home to handle the burial, I followed him like a lost soul. But when the bodies were being loaded into the funeral home’s car, something inside me snapped. I ran forward, grabbing the door tightly to stop them from leaving.

"My children aren’t dead! Where are you taking them? Give them back to me!"

I shouted, my voice hoarse with grief, "Please, let me take them home! I want to take them home!"

Dimitri could only hold me back. My Dimitri-in-law was also crying. His own voice broke as he shouted my name.

But I didn’t care.

"Nate, it’s okay. Cry it all out. I know you're really heartbroken, mate. Just let it all out … it's okay ... it's okay … "

Several people pulled me away. The moment my hand slipped from the car door, the funeral car drove off. That was the end.

I watched as it got farther and farther away, taking my children with it. My body finally gave out and I closed my eyes, losing consciousness. When I woke up, I was in the old Humphrey Family’s mansion. Dimitri sat by my bed, his eyes red and swollen.

As soon as he saw me open my eyes, he wiped away his tears and spoke in relief, "Nate, you're awake! Do you want some water? Are you hungry?"

I tried to force a smile, but instead, tears rolled down the sides of my face.

"Dimitri, please ... Let me go. I have nothing left with me anymore … "

Dimitri froze, then sighed as if he had made up his mind.

"Fine, Nate ... I'll tell Grandpa."

I watched his back as he left the room. As soon as he left, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. Without further ado, I covered my eyes with the back of my hand and sobbed.

I had come to the Humphrey Family when I was six years old. Mr. Humphrey and my grandfather, Mr. Brown, had been World War II comrades. Both of them were bound by a lifelong friendship.

When I was three years old, my parents died in a freak accident. My grandfather raised me after that. But when I was six years old, he unfortunately passed away. His passing left me completely alone in the world.

It was Mr. Humphrey who took me in. He raised me as his own grandson. Over the years, both he and Dimitri treated me like real family. For seven years, no matter how cruel Tatiana was, I endured it. As a man, I stayed home, did the housework and took care of my children.

I thought that as long as I had them, that was enough.

But now, I had nothing.

I didn’t know how much time had passed when Dimitri came back into the room.

"Grandpa wants to see you."

I walked into the study, where Mr. Humphrey sat in his old rocking chair. He looked at me with deep sorrow.

"Good grief, Nate! I’ve heard everything. It was my stubbornness that kept you trapped all these years."

"The children will be buried tomorrow. Once the ceremony is over, if you want to leave, you are free to do so. That ungrateful bitch really let you down. She never deserves you just for one bit."

I didn’t say anything. I just bowed deeply to him.

Tears dripped onto the floor as I bent forward. I was grateful to the Humphrey Family for raising me for over twenty years, but I could never forgive Tatiana. I could never continue being her husband!

Besides, there was nothing left to say.

Mr. Humphrey let out a long sigh.

"Alright, my dear Nate ... You can go."

As soon as I returned to my room, Tatiana walked in.

She sneered the moment she saw me.

"What? You ran to Grandpa to complain already? Nate, do you really think that if you get on his good side, I’ll just listen to whatever you say?"

"I don't understand what kind of spell you put on Grandpa and my Dimitri to make them take your side for so many years."

The moment I saw her, the hatred in my heart nearly consumed me. I wanted to kill her. I wanted her to pay for my children’s lives!

But then, their voices echoed in my head.

"Dad, where’s Mom? Is she busy with work again today? We haven’t seen her in so long."

"Even though Mom doesn’t like us, we still miss her a lot."

"Dad, we love you so much... And we love Mom too."

The last thing my sons said to me before they were carried out of the basement had been the same.

"Dad, don't blame Mom. We made Mom unhappy. Please don’t fight with her because of us..."

I took a deep breath and turned away from Tatiana, refusing to look at her. Instead, I walked to the bed and sat down. Frankly, I was really done with that woman.

Seeing me ignore her, Tatiana’s expression darkened. She suddenly grabbed my wrist, shoved me onto the bed and climbed on top of me.

"What are you pretending for?" she sneered.

"Didn’t you beg Grandpa to let me come back? Why do you look so miserable now that I’m here?"

She leaned down, trying to kiss me. I struggled, but she had me pinned. I had no choice, so I bit her lip hard.

Tatiana hissed in pain and immediately sat up, wiping her mouth.

"Are you crazy? What’s fucking wrong with you?"

She glared at me, her eyes full of disdain.

"You’ve gotten good at playing games, Nate. First, you said the child was being treated at the hospital just to lure me back. When that didn’t work, you ran to the old house and whined to Grandpa so he’d pressure me. And now you’re pulling this little hard-to-get trick?"

She scoffed.

"You ignored the children just to get my attention. Where are they now, huh? They’re only five years old and you left them alone at home? How cruel can you be?"

My hands clenched into fists. My voice was cold when I interrupted her.

"The children are dead."

Tatiana froze. For a second, something flickered in her eyes. There were shock and disbelief beneath her gaze. But she then smirked.

"Nate, I really underestimated you. You’ll say anything to get sympathy."

Without another glance at me, she stood up and walked to the door. Before leaving, she paused, her voice sharp.

"You rejected me this time. Don’t go crying to Grandpa that I ignored you, or I’ll only find you even more disgusting."

The door slammed shut behind her. After that, the room fell into silence. I wiped my lips fiercely, trying to erase the scent of her.

Tatiana and I had been in love once. On her eighteenth birthday, she stood in front of me, her cheeks flushed with shyness.

"Nate, can I like you?" she had asked.

"Don’t worry, I’ll treat you well."

Her eyes held an innocence that made my heart soften. Without hesitation, I nodded.

For the next two years, I cherished her. I gave her everything and she made me feel like I was her entire world. Until I turned twenty-two. That was when my grandfather called us both into his study.

"Tatiana, Nate, both of you are already in marriageable age. I’ll pick a good day for the wedding."

That day, something changed.

Tatiana’s warmth turned cold. Her gaze, once filled with love, became sharp with impatience and disgust. I never understood what I did wrong. She never told me.

A year after our marriage, she got pregnant. I thought things would get better from then on. But after giving birth, she became even worse.

Tatiana stopped coming home at night. She even ignored our children. She walked the streets with Travis, her childhood sweetheart. She openly showed the world that I was nothing to her.

I fought. I argued. But she only gave me a cold, mocking smile.

"You got what you wanted, Nate! The title of the Humphrey Family’s son-in-law and the child. What more do you want?"

"Your whining makes me sick."

After that, I stopped searching for answers. I stopped asking why. From then on, I devoted myself to my children.

For seven years, Tatiana never loved me. She never loved our beautiful children either.

I thought that as long as I had my children, I could endure everything. That life would go on, even if it was painful. But now, I had lost even them.

So, why would I live like this then?