He Chose Her Son Over Our Daughter

A stampede happened at my daughter's kindergarten. Timothy Horuson was in a hurry to save his first love's son, and he pulled away someone else's hand. A hand reached out to him, hoping for him to save her. His daughter's hand.

And the light in my daughter's eyes faded. The longing for fatherly love she had held on to for so long vanished.

I risked my life to save her. She looked at me quietly. "I'll go with you, Mom. We'll leave Dad behind and go somewhere he'll never find us."

Heartless Father

That caught me by surprise, and then my heart ached. My daughter used to adore Timothy, even though he'd barely shown up, and even if he did, he never smiled at her. When I found out Timothy hadn't forgotten about his first love, I asked my daughter, very subtly, if she wanted to leave with me.

And she cried, every single time. "I love you and Dad, Mom. Why can't we stay together?" So I didn't get a divorce for Tabitha's sake.

Yet now she was the one who wanted to come with me. Timothy killed Tabitha's love for him. I looked at the scar on her forehead, and I felt my heart twist into a knot. I held her tightly in my embrace, and with a trembling voice, I said, "Of course. We'll leave. No one will hurt you. Timothy hates us? Then, we'll leave him behind."

Tabitha said sweetly, "It's my birthday tomorrow, Mom. Can I have one last birthday with Dad before we leave?"

Of course. She had one last sliver of hope for her father. Though he was always distant, Timothy would celebrate her birthday every year. Every year, he would give her a limited-edition Hello Kitty plushie. Every year, he would post a status update on the same day. It was the same every time.

A plushie pic and a sentence, if you could call it that.

"First year."

"Second year."

…

It almost felt like a father who deeply loved his daughter was making a record of his daughter's days, and that was why Tabitha still had hope for her father. That was why I kept telling myself that he loved us.

Then, three months ago, Timothy's first love, Willow Wisher, came back. Then, I found out he wasn't celebrating Tabitha's birthday at all. He was keeping a note of how long since Willow left him.

He only bought the plushies because Willow loved Hello Kitty. Tabitha and I meant nothing to him. I tried to tell Tabitha the truth, but I couldn't. It was the last time anyway. I should let Tabitha think her father loved her.

When we came out of the consultation room, we ran into Timothy. He was holding a boy. Nathaniel Watcher. Yes, that was Willow's son. The boy he saved while he abandoned his own daughter.

Willow was right beside him. Timothy was talking to her gently. Oh, I would've envied the couple if Timothy