I was so furious I almost laughed.
Whether he went out stealing or robbing was none of my damn business. I hadn't forced him into anything.
When I said nothing, Leah let out a sigh.
"You've been working too much overtime lately, you're in a bad mood, so I'll let all that anger talk slide."
"I'm going to take Roland out for a nice meal first, to settle his nerves."
"You stay home and calm down. And stop tossing the word divorce around every five minutes."
"Our daughter is only three. If she loses her mother this young, the other kids at daycare will make fun of her!"
With that she took Roland by the hand and headed for the door.
On his way out, Roland glanced back at me.
There was no mistaking the smugness in that look, or the challenge behind it.
Not long after, my phone buzzed.
A message from Leah.
"Since you don't want Roland staying at the house, I'll take him to a hotel nearby for now."
"I'll spend the next few days showing him around, clearing my head."
"You just stay home and think about what you've done."
I stared at the screen and laughed out loud, cold and short.
Reflect?
I did have something to reflect on.
How blind I'd been, marrying a woman who'd sell out her own family for a piece of trash like that.
Leah's heart had turned completely rotten.
If that was how it was, there was nothing left to say.
I called my lawyer straightaway.
"Wyatt Finch, draw up a divorce agreement for me. The faster the better."
Then I called a private investigator I knew.
"I need you to look into two people for me. My wife, Leah Swanson, and a college student named Roland Fox."
For the next few days Leah didn't contact me, and I was glad for the quiet.
But every time I looked at my daughter, I couldn't shake the worry.
This house wasn't safe anymore.
Who knew what low, filthy trick Roland would pull next.
So I quickly packed a few of Nina's clothes and her everyday things.
I drove her straight to my parents' place.
I'd barely arrived when two photos came through from Roland.
The first showed a luxury king bed in a five-star hotel, an Apple set laid out neatly across it. Scattered beside them were several designer watches and a few pieces of high-end menswear, tags still uncut.
The second was two hands laid one over the other, a pair of matching Cartier rings on the ring fingers.
No guessing needed. The hands belonged to Leah and Roland.
I looked at the two photos and let out a cold laugh.
Roland probably really thought he'd landed himself a rich woman.
He had no idea.
The reason my family lived in a nice house and drove nice cars was that I'd worked myself to the bone over the years to make vice president.
Leah, meanwhile, had never pushed herself. After all these years on the job she was still stuck in that easy little admin position, going nowhere.
Every month, after taxes and benefits came out, her take-home pay was a pitiful six thousand.
And all of it went straight to that family of hers, who'd only ever valued their sons over their daughter.
I hadn't wanted her to feel small shopping with her friends, so I'd gotten her a supplementary card on my account.
I never imagined she'd take the money I'd broken my back to earn and use it to play rich woman in front of some other pretty boy.
I called the bank and had that card frozen on the spot.
My mother heard the commotion and came out of the back room. Seeing the look on my face, she hurried over.
"What's the matter? You look terrible. Did you and Leah have a fight?"
I didn't want the two of them worrying, so I took a deep breath and pushed the feeling back down.
"It's nothing, Mom. Just a little trouble at work."
"I'll probably be busy the next few days, so I need you and Dad to look after Nina for me."
My father came out of the study and took his granddaughter from me.
"Go on, take care of what you need to. We've got Nina."
"But listen to me, son. If anyone's treating you badly, don't you dare bottle it up."
"Your mother and I will always be on your side. Worst case, you come home, and we'll take care of you."
Hearing my father say that, my eyes stung.
In my last life, after I died.
My parents couldn't bear the grief of burying their own child, and before long they both passed away, one after the other.
In this life, I would never let that tragedy happen again.
