Chapter 2

The day Chloe walked out of the postpartum care center, I had just finished handing over my work at the hospital.

As soon as I reached the door, I heard laughter coming from inside.

"This baby is so pretty. Those big eyes are clearly from his father’s best features."

My Mrs. Halehappily teased the baby in her arms, while Kevin came out of the kitchen carrying a steaming bowl of broth.

"I made this soup myself. Your body is still weak, so you need to eat more."

He sat by the bed and fed Chloe with obvious tenderness, and the whole scene looked exactly like a warm, happy family.

My Mr. Hale was holding a rattle, smiling so hard he could barely close his mouth.

"This kid is so likable, just like his dad. Good thing he isn’t like Ethan, so gloomy and dull. Having a doctor for a father would be such a headache."

My hand on the doorknob instantly tightened.

I remembered the first time I met my Mr. Hale, when he patted my shoulder and said being a doctor was a good thing.

He even said he had been a doctor once too, and if his hand hadn’t been injured in a hospital dispute, he would never have retired so early.

But now, he was saying doctors didn’t deserve to have families.

I had only been away for further training for a year, and this family had already completely shut me out.

I lowered my head and gave a bitter smile.

I had been married to Chloe for three years, and she said she didn’t want kids, while I also understood how dangerous childbirth could be for women, so I never forced her to have one.

I still remembered the day I left for overseas training, when she cried her eyes out and said she couldn’t bear to part with me.

Clearly, for this past year, we had called each other every day and shared our lives, and even our colleagues joked that we had been married for three years, yet still acted like a couple in the honeymoon phase.

But a month ago, I finally managed to get leave and come home.

Even after an eight-hour flight, I never once said I was tired.

Who would have thought that when I rushed home, I would see Chloe with a huge belly, standing beside her first love, the man she had always had a soft spot for.

My thoughts were pulled back by Kevin’s words.

"Ethan, when did you get back? Why are you standing at the door and not coming in?"

At his words, the others in the room also turned to look toward the door.

When my Mr. Hale saw the resignation report in my hand, his brows knitted even tighter.

"I really don’t know why I chose to trust my daughter to someone like you in the first place. What bad luck. Now that you’ve quit your job, are you planning to have us two old folks support you?"

"Is that how you behave as a husband?"

My Mrs. Halejoined in criticizing me too.

"You quit? You couldn’t even keep this job. Tell me, what else can you do?"

"Chloe’s body isn’t convenient right now, but she and the baby will need money for everything. If you don’t work, are the three of you supposed to live on air?"

Hearing that, I only found it laughable.

"Whoever’s wife and kid they are, that person should be the one to support them."

"What did you say, Ethan? Why do you have no sense of responsibility at all?"

Chloe finally couldn’t hold it in anymore. Her eyes were red as she shouted at me, and because she was too worked up, she clutched her chest and started coughing violently.

"If Kevin hadn’t saved me from that car crash three years ago, I might have died already. His parents are both gone, and now he’s been diagnosed with terminal cancer. In a little while, no one in this world may even remember him anymore."

"Why do you always have to target him? In your heart, do you really think I’m that filthy and disgusting of a woman?"

Kevin rubbed her back with obvious distress, then turned to look at me.

"Ethan, say less, okay? I know it’s all my fault. I promise I won’t appear in your lives again from now on, but don’t let me ruin the relationship between you two, okay?"

Looking at the four people in front of me, who had clearly already unified their front, I felt even more like laughing.

So this was what a real family looked like.

Just then, Chloe suddenly said, "Ethan, my patience has limits too. If you dare keep targeting Kevin for no reason in the future, then don’t come back to this family!"

"If you still want to stay with me, then calm down. I can let you be this child’s father."

Next week?

I glanced at the baby already asleep in the stroller. Next week, I would be leaving for overseas.

But before I left, I didn’t mind giving them a surprise they would never forget.

Without changing my expression, I nodded.

"Fine."