Leona yanked Silas back and snapped at him:
"Silas, you can't treat your father like that! Can't you see he's so angry he wants to divorce me? Apologize to your father right now!"
Silas stuck out his chin stubbornly:
"No! He made Uncle Herman cry. He's a bad daddy. Tell him to get out!"
Herman crouched down, rubbed the top of Silas's head, and said gently:
"Silas, go ahead and say sorry to your dad. Otherwise, he'll blame Uncle Herman for breaking up your mom and dad."
"Just do it for me, okay?"
The boy who'd been snarling and flailing seconds ago went quiet as a kitten.
After listening to Herman, he nodded, looked at me, and muttered through clenched teeth, "Sorry. Happy now?"
A cold breath hissed through my teeth.
This was the child I'd poured ten years of my life into raising.
What was I still hoping for?
Maybe I was just born to be unloved by my own blood.
I couldn't stop staring at Silas. After a long silence, I ground out the words:
"Silas Weiss, you really are an ungrateful little brat."
He was young, but sharp enough to know it wasn't a kind thing to say.
Everyone else's faces changed first.
Amy snatched Silas into her arms.
Leona's expression twisted as she jabbed a finger at me and screamed:
"What kind of vicious man says that about his own son?!"
Then Stanley spoke up, hands clasped behind his back, every inch the patriarch:
"Lucas, it's obvious you've been holding a grudge for a long time, and you're just using this as an excuse to force Herman out of this family."
"If nobody's apology is good enough for you, then leave."
"But let me make one thing crystal clear: this house was bought by your mother-in-law and me. Don't you dare think you're entitled to a single cent of it."
"And another thing. You married into this family. Silas is a Simmons. Custody stays with us. You walk out of here with nothing."
I laughed. "You say that like I'm dying to keep that ungrateful kid. This house, this family? None of it's mine. I don't want any of it."
I'd never had anything to begin with.
And they were worried I'd try to take something.
Unbelievable.
Leona signed the papers without hesitation and shoved the divorce agreement at me:
"Take it."
"The economy's garbage right now. You're all alone in this world. I'd love to see how you survive."
"And if you ever come crawling back, don't expect me to take you in."
Silas bit down hard and said, "I'll never tell anyone you're my dad."
The moment I held that signed agreement in my hands,
something heavy that had been sitting on my chest finally lifted.
The loss I'd braced myself for didn't come with the pain I'd expected. Instead, there was relief.
Herman couldn't hide the triumph in his eyes. "No offense, bro, but you were just a live-in son-in-law. Without this family, you won't last a day out there."
I smiled coldly.
A live-in son-in-law?
I married in because I loved her. Not because I had no other choice.
When it came to ability, not a single person in this house could hold a candle to me.
Without another word, I grabbed my suitcase and walked out the door.
