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The owner handed it back,saying it was a minor fix,no charge.
I forgot to thank him,hurrying home.
After charging it,I opened Eleanor’s social media.She’d been posting Arizona landscapes for days.
Clicking through,I saw her,Charles,Nathan,and Claire in every video,laughing like a true,blood-bound family.
My hands shook as I dialed Nathan.
Ten calls,none answered.
I tried Claire.
After endless ringing,she picked up,her“hello”dripping with impatience.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves:
“Why are you all in Arizona?”
Claire’s voice turned cold:
“Mom’s divorced you.We’re adults—where we go isn’t your business.”
“She suffered so much for us.She deserves happiness!”
“You were always too busy to be with her.Now she’s found her joy—can’t you just wish her well quietly?”
Her words were like a knife twisting in my heart.
I’d worked tirelessly for this family,for our children, all these years.
Worse than my wife’s departure was the chilling indifference of the children I’d raised.
When Nathan was six, he was stung by a venomous bee. I ran barefoot ten miles to the clinic, and it took half a year for my blistered feet to heal.
When Claire was ten,her violin string snapped the night before a competition.I rode my bike through the city at midnight,banging on a luthier’s door until he agreed to fix it.
Those moments lived only in my heart.
My voice rasped:
“I’m not…”
Before I could finish,Charles’s voice cut in:
“James,don’t be mad at the kids.”
“Eleanor and I came to Arizona to retrace old places before we die.The kids are just being caring,wanting to see where their mom once was.”
“We’ve been brothers for years.I know you’re generous—you won’t overthink this.”
His voice,as calm and warm as ever, subtly shifted the blame onto me.
I didn’t respond,slamming the phone down in a near rage.
It slammed against the sofa, its already cracked screen splintering further into a spiderweb pattern.
Yet the stubborn device still worked,showing a comment on Eleanor’s post through the fractures:
“The kids have called Charles ‘godfather’ for so long,they might as well be his own!”
My vision blurred.
My mind uncontrollably drifted back to Eleanor's two pregnancies, both initiated by her, both without any protection.
I’d thought it was natural,a blessing.Now…
A knock interrupted my thoughts.
An editor from the publishing house stood at the door,holding a document:
“Professor James,we couldn’t reach you for days,so I came by.”
“Regarding your upcoming book on ancient architecture,we need your signature to add Charles Bennett as a co-author.”
“Wait.”
My voice was a hoarse rasp:
“Add Charles as a co-author?”
The editor blinked,then nodded:
“Your wife handled the publishing talks.She repeatedly confirmed you knew and agreed.”
“But a new rule requires your personal signature before publication.”
My body trembled,clutching the thin agreement,blood rushing to my head.
