Chapter 3

Ava hesitated for a moment, then returned to the bedroom.

I didn't sleep long before I was awakened by a shove. Opening my eyes, I saw Leo already dressed in his school uniform, standing in front of me with an unhappy expression.

"Why didn't you wake me up? I'm going to be late! And breakfast? You didn't make that either?"

Every day, I'd wake Leo up on time, prepare a hearty, warm breakfast for him, sacrificing my own sleep.

Because of the lack of sleep, I had heavy dark circles under my eyes, and my skin was sallow and dull. At forty, I looked fifty.

"From now on, you'll set your own alarm. And you can grab breakfast outside. Do you have money? I can transfer some."

Leo's eyes widened. He clearly hadn't expected his formerly devoted father to become this "irresponsible."

"I don't need your money. Uncle Ryan wouldn't be as lazy as you..."

He mumbled the last part, but I heard it.

Yet, my heart didn't stir an inch.

Leo stormed out, slamming the door. A small toy fell from the shoe cabinet in the entryway.

I walked over and picked it up. It was a toy car, one I'd customized. It could transform into a robot and play various cartoon theme songs.

Leo had been sickly after he was born, always gloomy when he was ill. But when he saw this little car, he'd giggle with delight.

Seeing his happy face, I'd submitted a proposal to my company: to produce more toy robots that could provide emotional value.

However, Ava had opposed the idea. She believed robots should serve humans with practical functions, not be mere "vases" that just transformed or played songs.

Later, the proposal was shelved. My Leo also grew older, and he'd long since disdained this childish toy.

I picked up the robot and pressed the button. It still worked perfectly. A thought suddenly struck me, and I took it over to the neighbor's child.

The child's nickname was Finn. His parents were divorced and had left him with his grandmother. He had no friends and always played silently by himself in the sandbox downstairs.

When he received the little toy, he examined it from all angles, his small face beaming with joy, playing with it enthusiastically.

Seeing him like this, I couldn't help but think of Leo when he was small, and that proposal from years ago.

Almost instinctively, I picked up my phone and called my old boss. Realizing what I was doing, I tried to hang up, but he'd already answered.

"Liam? Why the sudden call?"

"Ah? Nothing... just wondering, are you still hiring?"

I nervously rubbed my nose. A stay-at-home dad who had been out of the workforce for nearly a decade trying to return to a high-tech industry was surely a pipe dream.

But to my surprise, Mr. Harrison was delighted.

"Really? It's wonderful that you've changed your mind. My new company needs exactly your kind of talent. However, you've been out of the industry for a long time, so you'd have to start from the ground up."

"I can do it! I'll prove my worth!"

Hanging up the phone, I was so happy I almost jumped. I played with Finn until evening.

"Uncle Liam, you're so nice. I wish you were my dad."

Finn blinked at me, his eyes full of longing.

I didn't know what to say, so I just stroked his head.

Just then, the front door was kicked open, and a drunken man stumbled in.

"Who are you? Where's my mom?"

The man had barely finished speaking when Finn's grandmother rushed out, shouting warily at him:

"What are you doing back? I'm not giving you another dime!"

"Damn it! You're my mother! Whose money do you think it is if not mine? If you don't hand it over, I swear I'll make this little brat regret ever being born!"

With that, the man pulled out a knife and lunged at Finn.

In that split second, I could only throw myself in front of Finn, taking the blade for him.

Instantly, blood streamed onto the floor.