Chapter 1

“Dad! I’ve paid off David’s penthouse apartment in full, and I even hired a live-in house manager. David won’t have to worry about a thing in his retirement!”

My son, Kevin Miller, sounded thrilled.

I, however, was stunned, somewhat at a loss.

After my divorce, I had worked tirelessly, alone, to raise my son. He graduated college and successfully landed a coveted offer from a top tech company, earning a hefty six-figure salary.

But the first thing he did after receiving his first-year bonus was to arrange a lavish, all-inclusive retirement for my own brother, David Stone.

“David was so good to me when I was a kid. Now that I have the means, naturally I want to repay him first!”

“He looked out for me then, and now I’ll look out for him!”

Watching my brother, David, and my son, Kevin, chummily with their arms around each other, I couldn't help but laugh.

Last month, I’d tried to bring up wanting to catch up on my missing social security payments.

What did he say again?

“Social security is all a scam! At your age, you should be focused on your career!”

“It’s pathetic to think about taking it easy before you’re even old enough. You have no ambition!”

Thinking of that, I tossed the already melted pill into the trash. When I spoke again, my voice was devoid of emotion.

“Alright, then. Let’s find a time for you to formally separate your residency from mine.”

The moment the words left my mouth, the living room fell into a dead silence, which was then shattered by Kevin Miller’s furious roar.

“Dad! You’ve really lost it!”

“How can you be so petty at your age? Your heart is smaller than a pinhead!”

David Stone looked awkward, patting Kevin’s back, his words hesitant.

“Mark… I know… I know you think I’m taking advantage of Kevin’s filial devotion. I also feel it’s not right, but Kevin is such a loyal kid…”

I remained expressionless, pulling open the front door.

“Got it. This is my house. Please leave!”

Kevin Miller was so enraged his face flushed crimson. He clenched his fists, about to step forward.

Seeing the situation escalating, David quickly pulled and pushed Kevin out the door.

“Mark! You’re angry right now. I’ll take Kevin for now. We can talk again in a couple of days when you’ve cooled down!”

I watched, wide-eyed, as the uncle and nephew walked away with their arms around each other, feeling a huge chunk of my heart hollowed out.

For the next week, Kevin acted as if I didn't exist, completely silent.

It wasn't until Sunday afternoon that my ex-wife’s call came through.

“Mark, I swear, ever since we divorced, you’ve become more and more unreasonable!”

“You’re going to hurt your son over something so trivial?”

“It’s been a week, and you haven’t even bothered to reach out. Don’t you know you should apologize to your son when you’ve done something wrong?”

I held the phone in silence, not uttering a word.

“Mark! Are you listening?! Kevin’s been in a terrible mood these past few days, drinking himself miserable! Do you, as his father, even have a heart?!”

“I’m warning you, Kevin is my only son!”

“You were so adamant about raising him back then. If I’d known you’d act like this, I never would have agreed to let you take him!”

Her words cut through me like a knife.

She was right!

All these years, I’d pulled double duty as both his mom and dad, raising him alone.

How much he used to depend on me when he was little.

But I don't know when it started, my sacrifices were simply taken for granted.

No matter how much I did, it seemed it could never compare to a few superficial words of warmth from his mom, whom he only saw twice a year.

I choked back the lump in my throat, my voice trembling.

“Is that so? I haven’t been good enough to him?”

“Sarah Johnson, have you given a single penny in child support all these years? His food, his clothes, parent-teacher conferences, every ache and sniffle—which one wasn’t me?”

“How dare you accuse me?”

The woman on the other end was speechless, unable to utter a word for a long time.

I wiped my eyes and simply hung up the phone.

Before I could put my phone down, it rang again.

It was David Stone.

I hung up immediately.

The next second, SnapChat notifications started pinging, one after another.

[Mark! Aren’t you being too much?! What did Sarah do wrong? What did Kevin do wrong? Can’t you ever look for reasons within yourself?]

[The way Kevin is now just proves he’s a good kid who knows how to repay kindness. I truly can’t understand how you could be a father like this!]

[No matter what, Kevin is your only son. Do you really want to sever ties with him forever?]

[Alright, I know you’re mad at me. I apologize, is that enough?!]