The contrast was so brutal I could hardly stand to look.
Serena reached out to hold our daughter, but Lily darted behind me and peered up at the strange woman in front of her, shy and uncertain.
I didn't shout anymore. I wiped the sweat off my face with the back of my hand, took her little hand in mine, and walked out without looking back.
Outside, the heat rolled over us in waves, the pavement bleached white in the sun.
I canceled the delivery order on my phone, buckled her helmet, and rode her home without a word.
Lily wrapped her arms around my waist, and her small voice reached me.
"Daddy, do we not have to keep delivering food anymore?"
My heart felt like it was being rolled over by a thousand tiny needles, and I fought down the sting behind my nose.
"Mm. It's too hot. We'll rest for a day."
She nodded the way she always did, like she understood something, and didn't ask anything else.
On the way back, I used what little money I had left to buy a roast chicken, and the ice cream she'd been wanting for so long.
Once we got home, I dug out the dusty remote and turned on the AC without a second thought.
She watched me carefully.
"Daddy, did we spend too much money today?"
A bitter ache rose in me, and I forced a gentle smile for her.
"It's fine."
To save money, the three of us had scraped by on next to nothing. A meal with meat was a luxury.
In the worst of summer we hadn't even let ourselves run the fan. On nights too hot to sleep, the three of us would spread a mat on the floor and fan ourselves with scrap cardboard.
And even so, the impossible debt was a bottomless pit that no amount of going without could ever fill.
Every so often a creditor would show up at the door with a can of red paint, and every few days there'd be another scene.
Serena really was a gifted director. She'd staged that bankruptcy without a single seam showing.
The old AC pushed out a slow, cool breeze, and bit by bit my heart settled.
After we ate, Lily quietly played with a doll she'd found.
My phone buzzed. Serena had wired me a large sum of money, then sent one message after another.
【Aaron, the company really didn't go bankrupt. I can explain all of this.】
【Kieran just had stomach surgery, and the scene you made upset him. I'm taking him to the hospital for a checkup first.】
【I'll send someone tonight to pick you and our daughter up. I'll do everything I can to make it up to you both from now on.】
I let out a scornful laugh and accepted the transfer without the slightest hesitation.
Then I turned around and got online to contact the best divorce lawyer in the city.
We used to believe Serena without question, willingly living a hard life at her side.
But now, I wouldn't hold out any hope for her at all.
Time slipped by fast, and the night deepened.
A polite knock came at the door. The young man outside kept his head respectfully lowered.
"Sir, Ms. Farley sent me to pick you and the young lady up."
I didn't say much. I fell in neatly behind him, our daughter in my arms, and got in the car.
It drove straight to our old home.
When I walked into the living room, Serena and Kieran Fox were sitting on the sofa, patiently reading a picture book with their son.
Serena's face lit up when she saw us, and she stood.
"Aaron, you're here."
She turned and told the nanny to take the boy to bathe and go to bed, but he wouldn't let go of her hand. He shrieked.
"Mommy, why are they in our house? I don't like them. Make them leave!"
At his words, Lily clutched my hand and shrank into herself even more.
Serena went a little stiff. Kieran only smiled, smooth and easy.
"Be good, Edward Fox. Go to sleep."
He shot me a contemptuous glance, stroking the ring on his fourth finger, his eyes flashing with open challenge.
The boy glared at us, unwilling to give in, then turned and ran to the nanny.
