Chapter 3

Ivy fell over and began to cry. Once I caught sight of this, I instantly panicked. I helped Ivy to her feet and stared at Jenna coldly. "Apologize to her right now," I demanded. Liam frowned. Feeling displeased, he snapped, "Why are you yelling at a child?" Then, he pulled Jenna into his arms and continued, "Like I told you last night, Jenna doesn't like it when other people call me dad. She's just upset. It's not like she pushed Ivy on purpose." I stood my ground. "She clearly did it on purpose. She even called Ivy a bastard. Tell her, Liam—does Ivy truly not have a dad?" Liam hesitated for a moment before he continued comforting Jenna. It didn't look like he was planning to apologize at all. Amy rolled her eyes. Then, she smiled and said apologetically, "I'm really sorry, Ms. Smith. Jenna grew up overseas, and she's always been relatively straightforward. Please don't take her comment personally." When Jenna heard this, she looked even more smug than she did before. "It's true! All of my friends call her a bastard. She stole my dad!" she barked. I clenched my fists and stared fixedly at Liam. When he claimed to be a neat freak, Ivy and I did everything we could to accommodate him. I even ignored the fact that he was using work as an excuse to get involved with another woman. However, I couldn't stand idly by and let someone call my daughter a bastard. "I'm going to ask you one last time, Liam. Is—" "Her name is Ivy, right?" A look of annoyance flashed across Liam's face. Scoffing, he continued, "You know exactly how she ended up being my daughter. Since Jenna dropped by to spend time with me, let's not spoil the mood." Amy and Jenna, who were watching the situation unfold, seemed extremely amused. Liam gently scooped Jenna into his arms and said, "Let's go get you a new toy." "I want a princess costume too!" Jenna exclaimed. "Okay," he replied with a gentle smile. Heartbroken and disappointed, I watched him walk away before I finally managed to say what I'd been holding back for a long time. "I want a divorce, Liam!" I declared. Liam stopped dead in his tracks. Then, he turned around and spat emotionlessly, "What are you trying to do now, Yvonne? If you think that's going to work on me, then go ahead and do as you wish." Then, he left without so much as a backward glance. A glint of amusement flashed across Amy's eyes before she swiftly turned around to apologize to me once again. "I'm really sorry about all this. There's nothing between me and Liam—he's just a good friend. I got divorced at a pretty young age, and Jenna doesn't have a dad. He's just looking out for us, that's all. I'd hate for you to get upset over all of this," she explained. Before she left, she asked for my number and claimed that she wanted to compensate me for the drawing Jenna destroyed. Carrying Jenna in his arms, Liam gently called out to Amy from a small distance away, "Let's go, Amy." "I'll be right there!" the latter responded before catching up to them with a bright smile. As the pair walked away, I managed to overhear the conversation they were having. "I can't believe you, Liam. Ms. Smith was just upset. She doesn't actually want a divorce. Why would you agree to something like that?" Liam replied in a mocking manner, "She did everything she could in order to marry me. There's no way she'd actually divorce me. "I wanted to punish her for how she acted toward our sweet Jenna. Just give it some time—she'll be begging me to come home soon enough." I couldn't help but scoff. Liam failed to realize that people change. I was no longer the woman who'd sacrifice everything for love. Now, for the sake of my daughter, I was going to leave him once and for all.