Sabrina had never thought that I would've already packed up my suitcase to leave. She rushed over to me to try and stop me from leaving.
Just then, there was the sound of the thumbprint-activated smart lock being unlocked from the outside. Moments later, Joshua entered the house with his son, Andy Sears, in tow.
Who would've thought that he would actually have his fingerprint registered at my own house?
I'd told Sabrina before that I never wanted to see Joshua in my house. He'd framed me and taken away everything that was mine. He'd also turned me into the laughingstock of the neighborhood and made people hate me to the point that I hadn't dared to leave the house.
He'd completely destroyed me.
And I hated him.
But, obviously, Sabrina didn't care about a single word I said.
When Joshua caught sight of me, his face paled slightly. He then put on a pitiful look and said, "Ash…"
Andy immediately hid behind him and yelled at me like I was some sort of monster. "No, Ashton, please don't hit my daddy!"
I looked at Andy, who was perhaps ten years old, tops. He looked very naive and innocent. However, he was also the one who'd framed me for hitting Joshua at my parents' house when I went back there for Thanksgiving.
I'd been looking forward to that particular Thanksgiving for years. It was the first time my parents had ever agreed to let me come home for the occasion after that incident happened.
That day, I'd tried very hard to mend my relationship with my parents. Yet, Joshua had then grabbed me at the top of the stairs before rolling all the way down with me.
I'd broken a leg during the fall, but nobody had even spared a look at me.
Instead, they'd all rushed toward Joshua, who'd landed on the other side of the staircase landing.
Crouching around him, they'd asked him if he was alright. I'd felt my heart sink, but I'd still harbored some hope as I said, "He was the one who pushed me."
Joshua hadn't defended himself. He'd just nodded submissively and said, "Whatever Ash says."
Then, Andy had suddenly burst into tears as he came down the stairs, yelling, "Ashton! Why did you push my daddy down the stairs?
"Daddy didn't want to disturb you and your family for Thanksgiving—it was Grandma and Grandpa who insisted that we come! But if you didn't want to see us here, then we could just leave! Why did you have to push Daddy down?"
Just as he'd finished speaking, my mom, Betty Pearson, had rushed up to me and given me a huge slap across the face.
She'd yelled at me in disgust, "I thought that you really repented all these years. I didn't think that you'd turn out even more evil and ungrateful than before!"
At that moment, I'd felt so wronged that my eyes had instantly filled with tears.
Whoever said that men didn't cry was wrong. They just hadn't had their hearts completely broken before.
I'd insisted that I'd never pushed Joshua, but nobody had believed me.
My dad, Larry Jenkins, had just glared coldly at me, looking utterly disappointed. "Are you telling me that a young child like Andy would lie about this?"
Sabrina had clenched her fists and said in an equally cold voice, "You're hopeless, Ashton Jenkins."
Tiana had then stormed over and angrily kicked my broken leg. I'd been in so much pain that I'd cried out in agony.
Even then, nobody had cared about me. They'd just watched me suffer, feeling a little lighter as they took it out on me.
Nobody had said anything, but I'd been able to tell from their faces that they thought I deserved to suffer.
Tiana had even said, "You're a terrible daddy. I hate you so much!"
That day, I'd left the house while limping in pain. I could still remember the excruciating pain from back then.
I'd planned to divorce Sabrina that very night, but she'd torn the divorce agreement in half, seeming as calm as ever, and said, "Don't you get it, Ash? Nobody loves you anymore except me."
I'd said nothing, feeling dazed and confused. The only question that had kept running through my head was whether she really loved me.
Sabrina had been able to tell what was on my mind. She'd laughed mockingly and said, "If I didn't love you, do you really think I'd still put up with you when you're such an evil person?
"Mom and Dad don't want you anymore. They've already decided to take Joshua in as their foster son. So, you should just stay by my side and continue repaying your sins to him. Understood?"
I'd grown up in a loveless family, so I was eventually persuaded by Sabrina to stay.
I'd been too afraid that nobody else in the world would love me anymore. I'd been worried that I would find myself on the streets with nowhere to go if I lost my current family. If that happened, I would be just like a kite with a broken string.
And I hadn't wanted to end up abandoned and disliked by others.
So, I'd learned to compromise and be patient.
I'd stopped defending myself and allowed Sabrina and Tiana to openly disregard me while they showered Joshua and Andy with all of their love and care instead.
Yet, my years of compromise had never amounted to anything good for me. My life had been horrible.
I was suddenly snapped out of my thoughts and brought back to the present when Tiana rushed up to me and shoved me aside. She then grabbed Andy's hand and comforted him.
"Don't worry, Andy. Mom and I are here, and we won't let anyone beat you or Joshua up."
Then, turning to me, she warned me, "If you dare to hurt them, I'll never acknowledge you as my daddy again!"
Andy pretended to look gentle and understanding as he said, "But Tiana, you shouldn't be so fierce with Ashton…"
Then, he looked at me and gave me a meek smile, trying to please me. "Ashton, I know that you don't like me or my daddy. But my daddy isn't like you. We don't have anything anymore. Can you please not chase us away?"
I should've known that a bastard could only ever raise another bastard. Like father, like son, after all—and Andy was exactly like his dad.
I smiled at him and said, "What do you mean, you don't have anything anymore? This house belongs to you now."
