With trembling hands, I removed the canvas from the drawing board.
At the top, three words were scrawled in childish handwriting.
[Family of Four]
Below, in smaller letters, was another message.
[Mom loves Dad]
A tiny heart was drawn beside it.
I clutched the canvas to my chest and for the first time that day, I broke down.
For five years, I had raised my children alone. No matter what happened between Tatiana and me, I never spoke badly about her in front of them. Yet, my children had seen the truth for themselves.
They knew.
They knew their mother didn’t love their father.
By the time night fell, I had packed all of their belongings into several boxes. I had scheduled a cross-state moving service in advance and now, I stood outside, watching the movers load the boxes into the truck one by one.
"Mr. Brown, everything’s packed. We’re ready to go," one of the workers informed me.
I nodded, turned back into the house and placed the signed divorce agreement on the coffee table.
Then, I picked up the lilies, holding them close.
For the first time in a long while, I felt a strange sense of relief.
As soon as I got into the car, my phone buzzed with a message.
It was from Travis.
[Travis Ebbington: Nate, I’m really sorry. Tatiana won’t be home for the next few days. She insisted on taking me to Hawaii for a vacation. Sorry.]
Attached was a picture.
I didn’t bother opening it.
Seeing something like this at a time like this … I didn’t feel anger. I didn’t feel pain.
I felt nothing, to be honest.
A bitter chuckle escaped me.
Without hesitation, I pulled out my SIM card, snapped it in half and tossed it out the window as the car rolled forward.
As I hugged the lilies tighter, I watched through the rearview mirror as the villa, the house I had lived in for seven years, grew smaller and smaller in the distance.
Meanwhile, at the airport, Mr. Humphrey and Dimitri stood in front of Tatiana and Travis, blocking their path to security.
Tatiana’s face twisted into an annoyed scowl.
"Is Nate crazy?" she spat.
"He acts so magnanimous at home, but now he sends you two to chase me down? That’s disgusting-"
Before she could finish, Mr. Humphrey’s cane swung through the air and struck her across the face with a resounding crack.
"You bitch!"
The old man’s voice trembled with rage as he shouted in anger, "You killed your own children and still have the nerve to take your lover on vacation? How could someone so heartless come from my family?"
Tatiana staggered, clutching her cheek.
"Grandpa … w-what are you talking about?"
