Chapter 4

We met Nyla and her son. I frowned as I realized that, although her son and my daughter were in the same kindergarten, they were not in the same class. I didn’t expect the school to organize activities that brought together students from both classes.

When Erik Moreno was two years old, his father left him and his mother. Out of pity, Joaquin took great care of them, mother and son. When Erik saw Joaquin, he flew straight towards him. Joaquin lifted him high up, and the two of them tacitly resembled a pair of father and son who had been together for many years.

My daughter clenched her hand, and I soothingly touched her head. She looked up at me and forced a smile, as if telling me that she was fine. But my heart started to ache even more, because my daughter was forced to be sensible at such a young age.

Suddenly, Lia seemed to see something and ran straight over, tearing something off Erik’s backpack. I took a closer look, and it turned out to be the keychain that Joaquin had lost before. That was given to him by his daughter, and she had spent two hours setting a trap to get it. She was very precious at that time, and I was even a little jealous when she gave it to Joaquin. What made me even more angry was that Joaquin didn’t care at all. Later, I found out that Joaquin no longer wore it, and I asked him about it. Joaquin warned me disdainfully not to make a fuss over nothing; it was just a keychain.

The lie was exposed at this moment. Joaquin’s expression was one of panic. Erik, seeing something being taken away, forcefully pushed Lia, shouting loudly, “You thief!” Lia fell heavily to the ground and had a momentary urge to cry, but she quickly pulled herself together. “You are the thief! This is mine!” I carefully turned over her hand to check if it was injured.

Nyla spoke in front of her son with a sarcastic tone: “Lia wants to be straightforward. Haven’t I ever said anything about how much you can take from us? We are not petty people anymore.” She was insinuating that the item Joaquin brought back was second-hand.

Ironically, those things were all bought by Joaquin and belonged to the community property of the couple.

Joaquin quickly intervened and squatted down to educate his daughter, saying, “Lia made a mistake, that is not yours; daddy will buy you one.” The daughter was very angry; her face turned red. Although she was young, she understood right from wrong. “Dad, how could you lie? That was clearly the keychain I gave you, and the little bear on top was sewn by Mom for me.”

Joaquin was stunned; he had underestimated the judgment of a child. Erik, however, started crying at this point, and the surrounding parents gathered and whispered to each other.

Joaquin got angry and assumed a parental stance, scolding, “You are just like your mother, mercilessly tormenting others and making them cry.” The daughter, holding back her tears, defended herself, “It was clearly you who lied first, why are you blaming my stepmother again? I hate you!” I couldn’t bear it anymore and hugged my daughter tightly. "Are you even worthy of being a father? Full of lies."

Joaquin’s face tightened as he guiltily reached out to take his daughter’s hand. But Nyla hugged his arm with a face full of concern. She stood up for Joaquin and said, “How can you speak to me like this? Joaquin is already a man, and it’s not easy for him; why are you taking your anger out on me?” In just a few sentences, her noble character and my petty-mindedness formed a stark contrast.

Just at that moment, the teacher in charge of the event came to organize. “Why is everyone gathered here? Let’s start the game.” She looked at the three of them standing together and said, “This must be Erik’s dad; he’s really handsome. You can tell they’re a family.” Nyla blushed and lowered her head, while Erik tightly held onto Joaquin’s sleeve.

But Joaquin was very fearful; he looked at me and our daughter, hastily rolled up his sleeves, wanting to defend himself. However, before he could speak, I uttered a shocking statement.