On the day Leigh’s first love returned to the States, I set fire to our home. I left with nothing but the twin kids she’d given me. When she was gravely ill and needed a kidney, I didn’t hesitate to donate mine. Yet she believed I had done it all to marry her, blaming me for breaking up her romance with her first love. Now I’ve finally given up, faked my death, and left for good. But when she heard of my supposed death, she completely fell apart. Content ### Chapter 1 The Harvest Moon Festival is a day for family reunions and, for us, it’s also the kids’ birthday. After they begged Leigh over and over, she finally agreed to come home for once. She’d casually mentioned wanting a home-cooked meal, so despite being feverish, I pushed through and made a full spread of dishes. The food is long cold now, and the kids are still up, holding onto their cake, refusing to go to sleep. Leigh still hasn’t shown. My head is swimming, and after popping a handful of painkillers, I step outside. I know where she is. Whenever she’s restless, she always goes to her girlfriends to vent. I find her at The Estate; soft lights glow from the yard where she’s clinking glasses with her friends. “So Chase Maddox is back in town,” one of them says, laughing. “What’s your plan for Max Caldwell—the one you brought in to help your family—and those twins of yours?” I reach up to knock but freeze mid-air, my hand stopping in midair as I hear Leigh’s response. “I’ll divorce him. He can take the kids. No need to make Chase uncomfortable.” Her answer is cold, decisive, and just as I expected. After all, if it hadn’t been for Gramps Dawson pushing her to marry me on his deathbed, Chase would have never left for Europe. She used his departure as her own protest, vanishing on our wedding day and turning me into the town’s biggest joke. After a year of marriage without seeing each other, we had one impulsive night that ended with her pregnant with the twins. As soon as they were born, Leigh had the nurse take them away without a second look. To her, they were proof of her betrayal of the one she truly loved. When she promised to come home for the kids’ birthday, I thought maybe she was finally softening. But as silence settled over the night, one of her friends spoke up. “Honestly, your husband’s been good to you. Even after his family went bankrupt, he helped get your company off the ground, drinking with clients until he had stomach ulcers. All to see you succeed.” “Please,” another friend snorted. “Without him, Leigh would’ve done fine on her own. If he hadn’t butted in and donated that kidney, her grandpa wouldn’t have forced her to marry him. Chase and Leigh could’ve been together all these years.” “He’s nothing but a freeloader who thinks he’s still some kind of big shot. Just dump him already.” Hearing that, I felt my heart clench as Leigh spoke again, cool and dismissive. “Let’s drop the subject. Cheers.” Another friend gave a sly smile and teased, “Max Caldwell is handsome, I’ll give him that. And if you don’t want him anymore, why not let us sample what he’s got to offer?” “Just treat him like a model on demand!” Amid the laughter, Leigh silently raised her glass, downing her champagne in one go. ### Chapter 2 My life has rarely gone as planned. It veers off course, drifting in and out of freezing snowstorms. I first met Leigh Dawson at a Charity Gala held by my family’s foundation. Back then, I was still the Caldwell Heir, and she was just a young startup owner who had used a friend’s ticket to get in. Among the auction items that night was one of my own paintings. People were offering high bids, hoping for a way into the Caldwell circle. But tucked in a quiet corner was one girl completely absorbed in my painting. The piece, called Mother, was my proudest work. A tear fell from her eye as she gazed at it, unaware that I was watching her. When she finally noticed me, she took a few steps back, looking at me timidly. “You’re very talented, Mr. Caldwell. But I can’t afford it,” she said softly. It was like a gentle breeze touched my heart, setting it racing. Later, I learned that Leigh had lost her parents young and had been raised by her grandfather. She’d been deeply moved by my painting. I gifted it to her that night, beginning six years of unrequited love. Leigh was always composed, distant, never fully rejecting me but never reciprocating. And so, I kept trying to win her over, connecting her to resources and watching her company grow. But then the Caldwell empire crumbled, leaving me as the sole survivor. Physically alive, but that was all. Despite Aunt Caroline’s protests, I donated my kidney to Leigh. The complications nearly killed me, and I had to abandon my art. Gramps Dawson knew the debt his family owed me, and on his deathbed, he forced Leigh to marry me. Reluctantly, she agreed—with the condition that I’d move into her household. Only after we were married did I learn that her heart belonged to her first love. Her “husband” would always be someone else. That year, at the Harvest Moon Festival, Leigh came home drunk for the first time. I’d only meant to help her to bed, but she clung to me, her hands wandering over my body. “Kiss me,” she whispered. One impulsive act, one monumental mistake. When I woke up, she slapped me across the face, her eyes full of tears. “Marrying me wasn’t enough? You had to go and do something so low?” I should’ve left then. ### Chapter 3 Exhausted, I returned to The Estate, the prison of my marriage to Leigh. Sure enough, the kids were still up. They ran to me, clinging to my leg. “Daddy, is Mom back too?” They ran to the door, only to turn around disappointed, heads hanging. Piper’s face reddened, and he burst into tears. “Mommy doesn’t want us, does she?” My heart clenched painfully. I knelt down and hugged them. “I want you both. Will you come with me?” I couldn’t tell them that, to Leigh, they were just obstacles on her road to happiness. Arlo, ever the little grown-up, patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Daddy. Wherever you go, we’ll go too.” I finally got them to sleep and stumbled into the bathroom, letting the shower drown out my sobs. Becoming their father hadn’t brought them a moment of happiness. Leigh had wanted to abort them as soon as she found out, only stopping when the doctor told her she’d never be able to have children again. She still dreamed of having kids with Chase. When the twins were born, she refused to even look at them, calling them disgusting. I raised them on my own, becoming both father and mother. Outside, she denied their existence. If they tried to call her “Mom,” she’d scold them as if they were strangers. Leaving is freedom for all of us. But maybe, out of guilt, Leigh remembered her promise to the kids. Late that night, she came back. I was packing when I heard her cold voice behind me. “What are you doing?” I turned and saw her staring at me with an unusual look in her slightly tipsy eyes. “Can’t sleep. Just cleaning up a bit,” I replied, trying to stay calm. A gust of cool night air blew in, cooling my fevered skin as Leigh stumbled into my arms, almost pleading. “Stay with me, Chase,” she whispered. She was so drunk she mistook me for him. Before I could pull away, she kissed me, her hands tugging impatiently at my shirt buttons, hungry and forceful. The mocking laughter of her friends echoed in my ears. “Just treat him like a model on demand!” ### Chapter 4 Humiliation and pain surged through me. I couldn’t take it anymore. I pushed her away. “If you love Chase so much, you shouldn’t have married me. Why put us both through this misery?” “I may love you, but I’m still a man with dignity.” Leigh’s gaze cleared, resentment darkening her eyes. I ignored her, continuing to pack my things. She grabbed my wrist and, noticing my feverish skin, scolded me, “Can’t you even take care of yourself?” She tried to check my temperature, but I shook her off. “You came looking for me. What did you hear?” I’d reached my breaking point and couldn’t hold back anymore. “You think Chase left because of our marriage? He left because he was afraid you’d make him donate his kidney!” “How dare you insult him!” she spat, throwing a glass at me. I didn’t dodge. It hit my forehead, shattering into pieces and drawing blood. To her, I was just a vessel for all her anger—smashable and replaceable. My blood blurred my vision, and for a moment, I thought I saw her reach out in concern, only to pull her hand back. She stood there, cold and unfeeling. “I came back like you wanted. Now leave me alone.” Her heels clicked away into the night, taking with them what little remained of my heart. The next morning, she had her assistant drop off birthday presents for Piper and Arlo. The kids left them at the door, unimpressed. Piper scoffed, “It’s not even my birthday today. What’s the point?” Arlo, indignant, declared, “We used to want her back for Daddy’s sake. Now that Daddy doesn’t want her, neither do we.” Even at barely two years old, they were already heartbreakingly mature, wise beyond their years. “Daddy,” Arlo asked in his soft little voice, “where are we going to go?” I ruffled his hair, replying, “Back to Gramma’s Place.” The Caldwell estate was long sold; all I had left was Gramma’s old home. Mom had tried many times to bring her to the city, but Gramma had refused to leave her small town, so I’d spent many summers there, keeping her company. “There’s no amusement park there, no skyscrapers. Just birds, flowers, streams, and bridges.” The kids hugged me tightly, cutting off my words. “With Daddy, anywhere’s the best place.” ### Chapter 5 Leigh and I have both been busy lately. She’s preparing for Chase’s return, and I’m planning to leave with the kids. She’s always had the upper hand, so if I want to leave, I need to be prepared. Even though the kids say they don’t want her, I can tell they’re still looking wistfully at her picture the night before we leave. I hesitate before finally calling her. She picks up, her tone as impatient as ever. “What do you want?” “The kids want to see you one last time. Are you going to come back?” I wonder if she’ll return for this final moment together. But then I hear Chase’s voice. “Leigh, if you’re too busy, I’ll just head back to the States. Apparently, I don’t matter much.” Chase’s tone is careless, but Leigh jumps to reassure him. “You matter, Chase. He’s nothing.” Then the line goes dead. It feels pointless, even asking for a farewell. The painting I once gave her still hangs above her bed, and I remember that tear of hers the day she first saw it. I light a match and let the flames consume it. Our marriage started with that painting, and it’ll end with it too. The fire spreads quickly, racing up the walls, devouring the room. With the kids in tow, I walk away, not looking back. Leigh, I’m giving you the freedom you wanted. The fire roars with intensity, burning everything to ash. I take the kids and return to Gramma’s Place, now in a small tourist town where visitors often wander by. After she passed, the house remained unchanged, gathering dust. Wiping it away, I can almost see her handing me a big slice of watermelon, her smile wrinkling at the edges as she teased me for eating like a messy kitten. With the kids, I find peace. Together, we clean up the overgrown yard, working side by side, and I make plans to open a little craft shop selling souvenirs for the tourists. News breaks of the Dawson Estate going up in flames, with reports that Leigh Dawson’s husband and twins are believed to have perished in the fire. But that night, Leigh is in a hotel room with Chase, who laughs and says he’s off to the drugstore to pick up some “essentials” for the night. She knows exactly what he means. ### Chapter 6 After Chase leaves, Leigh places a hand over her chest, surprised at how calm she feels. There’s no thrill, no flutter. So, when Chase comes back and makes his move, she finds herself instinctively pulling away. “Sorry, work emergency—I need to go.” She rushes out, feeling a strange unease she can’t quite understand. That night with Max hadn’t been the alcohol-fueled blur she pretended it was. She’d known exactly who she was with, drawn to him in a way she couldn’t explain. Her regret made it easier to blame him, anyway. Max always took it. When news of the fire reached her, Leigh froze. For just a moment, guilt slipped into her mind, and she wondered if, by coming home that night, things might have turned out differently. But the thought vanished as quickly as it came. She assured herself that it was all a ploy, just another of Max’s pathetic schemes to win her sympathy. “Really, what’s he up to this time?” She couldn’t hide the disdain in her voice. Then her assistant handed her the recovered items from the fire—a blackened wedding ring and two half-charred presents. The ring was all Max had held onto from their marriage, something he’d always kept with him. The kids’ gifts hadn’t even been unwrapped before the fire consumed them. “They believe the fire started in the bedroom. It seems like he locked himself in from the inside. No one could’ve escaped that fire.” Leigh stumbled, gripping the table. “So, you’re saying he chose to stay? That he’d rather die there with the kids than escape?”
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