Chapter 4

When I arrived at the hospital, cold sweat still covered my forehead and my hands were shaking like leaves.

Fortunately, my daughter had reacted quickly when the car hit her. Her injuries weren't too serious. Aside from a fractured lower leg and a concussion, there was nothing else wrong.

But when she slowly woke up and saw me, tears fell at once.

"Dad, the money in my account was transferred out.

"Thirty thousand... It's all gone..."

My head buzzed.

That thirty thousand dollars was the merit scholarship my daughter had won for her grades.

She'd seen the money vanish from her bank account for no reason and rushed to the bank to ask about it. In her hurry, she hadn't seen the speeding car...

But apart from me, there was only one other person who knew the password to that account.

I went back at once and slammed that bank card down in front of Marissa.

"I transferred the money out."

Facing my questioning, Marissa was completely casual.

"I bought Kyle a small apartment near his school.

"He studies art. Dorm life doesn't suit him. He needs his own space.

"My cash flow was tight, so I borrowed it for now."

"Marissa Langley!" My fingertips dug deep into my palm, and my face turned pale.

"That was Nora's money!"

"She doesn't need it anyway," Marissa said lightly.

Smack.

I couldn't take it anymore and slapped her hard across the face.

"That was hers. What right did you have to touch it?

"She almost got into a car accident because the money was transferred out—"

"What?"

A little panic finally appeared on Marissa's face.

"A car accident?

"She's at the—"

"Mr. Duncan, I know you're upset, but how can you lie like this?"

A mild voice spoke up.

"I saw Nora downstairs just now and even said hello to her," Adrian Pierce said, lowering his head sadly.

"We'll pay the money back later. If you're angry right now, I can kneel and apologize, all right?"

As he spoke, he moved as if he were about to kneel.

Marissa's expression changed completely.

"Owen Duncan, you're still full of lies as ever." She looked at me coldly and said,

"So what if I took her thirty thousand?

"I've raised her for so many years. Is it too much for her to give me back thirty thousand?"

I couldn't believe my ears.

My phone suddenly buzzed. It was my daughter calling.

"Dad, you didn't hang up just now. I heard everything."

My daughter's weak voice came through the receiver.

"Let's do what she said.

"Thirty thousand. Consider it the price of ending things between her and me."

So this was what it felt like when the heart hurt until it went numb.

My ears rang, and even Marissa's voice became muffled.

"I'm going on vacation with Adrian and Kyle this week. Next week school starts, and our two families will go to Harrington together."

She left those words behind and walked away with Adrian Pierce.

I calmly stood up. The next day, I placed a divorce agreement and a declaration of severed ties in her study.

Who was going to Harrington with you?

Aside from being accepted to Northbridge University, my daughter had also received an offer from a top university overseas.

"Dad, will you regret it?"

One week later at the airport, my daughter sat in a wheelchair and asked softly,

"You were married to Mom for so many years. Now you're separating all at once."

"Then will Nora regret it?" I asked her in return.

"You're still so young, and you're about to go study overseas alone with Dad."

We looked at each other, then laughed at the same time.

Neither of us would regret it.

That was enough.

My daughter had always worried about the cost of living abroad. That was why she'd been so anxious when the money was transferred away.

But she didn't know that my work and savings were far beyond what she imagined.

We had more than enough to walk away from someone who wasn't worth staying for.

Ten hours later, we landed safely on the other side of the ocean, in a world wide enough for us to breathe.

The moment we turned our phones back on—

both my daughter's phone and mine began buzzing wildly.