Arrogance Knows No Bounds
I was on my knees, the cold floor biting into my skin as I begged her. They're just kids, Alice! It's pitch black down there, they'll be terrified. If you want to punish someone, punish me. Please, I'm their father...
But Alice just leaned back into Ethans arms, looking down at me with an icy disdain. "Its because you coddle them that theyve become so arrogant. I'm their mother. Don't I have the right to discipline my own children?"
Down in the dark, the twins grew desperate with hunger. They found a forgotten bag of dried shrimp somewhere in the clutter.
That night, both of them were rushed to the hospital, their little bodies struggling to breathe, their airways swelling shut from a severe seafood allergy. Meanwhile, Ethan was posting on social media, celebrating the news that Alice was pregnant.
When my brother-in-law, Mark, arrived at the hospital, he found me collapsed outside the emergency room.
"Mark," I choked out, my voice raw. "Please, just let me go. I don't want anything. I just want my kids to be okay."
1
The light above the ER doors burned like a cruel, unblinking eye. My heart felt like it was being devoured by a million tiny ants, the pain so sharp it stole my breath.
Mark looked at me, his face etched with a pity I couldn't bear. "Don't say that, Liam. The kids are the only thing that matters right now. As soon as they're out of danger, I swear I'll deal with Alice..."
His voice trailed off as I trembling, held up my phone.
It was Ethan's post, made just half an hour ago.
"To the little one we've dreamed of, Mom and Dad already love you more than words can say."
The picture was an ultrasound scan. The name was clear: Alice Blackwood. Six weeks pregnant.
Mark fell silent. A moment later, he stammered, "I'm calling her right now. Liam, don't worry. You're the only son-in-law the Blackwood family recognizes..."
This time, I was the one who made the call. I hit the speakerphone button, and Alice's impatient voice crackled through.
"Are you going to feed me that same garbage about the kids being in the ER? I locked them up for a day, Liam, one day. How could they possibly need emergency care? If you're going to make up excuses, at least make them believable. God, you disgust me."
She hung up before I could say a single word.
The color drained from Mark's face. He looked like a man who had run out of words, out of hope.
Tears streamed down my face, splashing onto the sterile tile floor. "Mark, I have nothing left. They're all I have. Please... let me go. Let them go..."
He started to speak, but just then, the light above the ER doors went out. I scrambled to my feet and rushed toward the doctor, who met my desperate gaze with a slow, somber shake of his head.
"Anaphylactic shock from the seafood allergy. Their airways swelled shut. They were without oxygen for too long... they were in cardiac arrest by the time they arrived." He paused, his voice gentle. "We did everything we could. I'm so sorry."
Two small gurneys were wheeled out from the emergency room. Two tiny forms lay still beneath white sheets, all their laughter and life silenced forever.
My legs gave out from under me. I crumpled to the floor, the world dissolving into a black, roaring void.
Mark made the call to the funeral home. I followed him like a ghost, a hollow shell moving through a nightmare. It wasn't until the attendants were loading the small bodies into the back of the hearse that something inside me snapped. I lunged forward, clawing at the vehicle's doors, refusing to let them close.
"My children aren't dead! Where are you taking them? Give them back to me!" My voice shredded into a raw scream. "LET THEM GO! I want to take them home! I have to take them home!"
Mark wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight as his own tears fell. "Liam, stop. Please, stop. I know it hurts, I know..."
Other hands joined his, pulling me away. The moment my fingers lost their grip on the cold metal, the hearse pulled away, its taillights shrinking into the distance.
Watching them disappear, a final wave of darkness crashed over me, and I knew no more.
When I woke, I was in a bed at the Blackwood family estate. Mark was sitting beside me, his eyes red and swollen.
He wiped at his own tears when he saw mine were open. "Liam. You're awake. Do you need some water? Are you hungry?"
I tried to smile, but the effort just made a fresh wave of tears spill down my temples. "Mark... please. Let me go. There's nothing left for me here."
2
Mark stiffened, then, after a long moment, he nodded as if coming to a heavy decision. "Okay," he said softly. "I'll go talk to Grandfather."
As I watched him leave, I pressed the back of my hand to my eyes and finally let the sobs wrack my body.
I came to live with the Blackwoods when I was six. My grandfather and Mr. Blackwood were old army buddies, brothers-in-arms who had saved each other's lives. My parents died in an accident when I was three, and my grandfather raised me until he passed away, leaving me utterly alone in the world.
Mr. Blackwood took me in and raised me as his own grandson. For all these years, both he and Mark had treated me like family, like a son, a brother.
That was why, for seven years, I had endured Alices cruelty. I stayed home, managed the household, and raised our children while she did as she pleased. It was my duty, my way of repaying their kindness. I thought that as long as I had my children, my life had meaning.
But now, I had nothing.
Sometime later, Mark returned. "Grandfather wants to see you."
When I entered the study, Mr. Blackwood was sitting in his old rocking chair. The look he gave me was full of a deep, aching sorrow.
"My boy," he said, his voice raspy with age. "I've heard everything. It was my stubbornness that ruined your life all these years." He took a shaky breath. "The cremation is tomorrow. After the service... you're free to go. That wretched girl has failed you. She was never worthy of you."
I said nothing. I simply bowed deeply before him, my body bent in a posture of final respect. I watched my tears fall, big, fat drops hitting the polished floorboards. I was eternally grateful for the twenty-plus years they had given me, for the home they had provided. But I could never forgive Alice. And I could no longer be her husband.
There was nothing left to say.
Mr. Blackwood sighed, a sound heavy with defeat. "Go on, then. Leave us."
I had just returned to my room when Alice stormed in, a familiar sneer on her face. "What, did you run straight to Grandfather to tattle on me again? Liam, do you really think that just because you've charmed him and my brother, I'll bend to your will?" She shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know what kind of spell you've cast on them, but it's incredible how they always take your side."
The sight of her ignited a rage so pure it nearly consumed me. I wanted to kill her. I wanted her to pay for what she did to my children.
But then, I heard their voices, soft echoes in the chambers of my heart.
Daddy, wheres Mommy? Is she busy with work again today? We havent seen her in so long.
Even if Mommy doesnt like us much, we still miss her.
We love you so much, Daddy. And we love Mommy, too.
The last thing my son said to me, as I carried him from the basement, was a whispered plea. "Daddy, don't be mad at Mommy. We made her upset. Please don't fight with her because of us..."
I took a deep, shuddering breath and turned away from her, sinking onto the edge of the bed.
My silence only seemed to fuel her anger. She grabbed my wrist, yanked me onto the mattress, and climbed on top of me. "What's this act? Weren't you the one who begged Grandfather to make me come home? Now that I'm here, you're not happy?"
She leaned down to kiss me. I couldn't push her off, so I did the only thing I could. I bit down on her lip, hard.
She yelped in pain and shot upright. "Are you insane? What is this, some kind of pathetic purity protest?" She scoffed. "You're full of tricks lately, Liam. First, you lie about the kids being in the ER to force me back. When that doesn't work, you run to the estate and have Grandfather pressure me. And now you're playing hard to get." Her voice dripped with venom. "You're so desperate to keep me, you'd even abandon your own children. Where are they, anyway? They're five years old, Liam. Did you just leave them home alone? You really are a monster..."
My hands clenched into fists at my sides. "They're dead," I said, my voice flat and cold, cutting through her tirade.
3
Alice froze for a second, then let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Wow, Liam. I really underestimated you. You'd say anything to win my affection, wouldn't you?"
Without another glance at me, she stood up and walked to the door. As she pulled it open, she tossed a final, cold remark over her shoulder.
"You're the one who pushed me away. So don't go crying to Grandfather that I'm neglecting you. It only makes you more pathetic."
The door clicked shut, and the room was silent again. I scrubbed at my lips, trying to wipe away the phantom sensation of her touch, the lingering scent of her perfume.
We had been in love once.
On her eighteenth birthday, she had stood before me, twenty years old myself, her cheeks flushed a charming shade of pink. "Liam... can I like you?" she'd asked, her voice barely a whisper. "I promise, I'll be so good to you."
Looking into her shy, hopeful eyes, my heart had melted. As if in a trance, I had nodded.
For the next two years, I treated her like she was the center of the universe, and she, in turn, acted as if she would pluck the stars from the sky for me. It was perfect.
Until we were twenty-two. Her grandfather summoned us to his study.
"Alice, Liam," he'd said, his voice firm but kind. "You're both of marrying age. I've taken the liberty of choosing an auspicious date for your wedding."
From that day forward, everything changed. Alices warmth vanished, replaced by a constant, simmering resentment. Her eyes, which once held adoration, now held only irritation and disgust.
I never understood what I had done wrong, and she never offered an explanation.
A year after we were married, she became pregnant. After the twins were born, she grew even more distant, spending her nights out, neglecting the children entirely. She flaunted her relationship with Ethan publicly, parading him around town without a single thought for my dignity.
I tried to fight it. I argued, I pleaded. But Alice would just stare at me with a cold, dismissive smirk.
"I gave you what you wanted, didn't I? The position as the Blackwood son-in-law, the children. What more do you want?" she'd sneer. "Do you know how pathetic you sound, Liam? Your whining just makes me sick."
After that, I stopped asking for reasons. I stopped asking about her nights with him. I simply focused on my children, building a life with them in the quiet corners of our cold house.
In seven years of marriage, Alice never loved me, and she never loved our children.
I thought we could continue like that, that I could find enough joy in my children to sustain me. I thought my life still had purpose.
But now, even that had been taken from me.
The next morning, Mr. Blackwood and Mark took me to the crematorium. As the two small caskets were pushed into the furnace, the tears I had been holding back finally broke free, streaming silently down my face. I bit my lip until I tasted blood, determined not to make a sound.
Mark looked at me, his face a mask of worry. "Liam, if you need to cry, just let it out. It's okay."
I just shook my head, unable to speak.
Mr. Blackwood slammed his cane against the floor. "That monster!" he roared. "Where is she? On a day like this, how could a mother not be here?"
A flicker of anger crossed Marks face, followed by a guilty glance in my direction. He lowered his voice. "I tried calling her. Her phone is off."
When the attendant returned with two small, ornate boxes, Mr. Blackwood reached out with a trembling hand.
But I stepped forward first, taking the urns and clutching them to my chest. "I'll take them," I said, my voice hollow. "They're my children."
Mr. Blackwood opened his mouth to protest, but I sank to my knees before him.
"Grandfather, I owe you a debt I can never repay. But these are my children. I'm begging you..." My throat tightened, but I forced the words out. "They are my children. They will not be buried in the Blackwood family plot. They will not carry the Blackwood name in death."
Mr. Blackwoods brow furrowed in pain. Mark quickly put a steadying hand on his arm, his eyes full of sympathy for me. "Okay, Liam," Mark said. "You're their father. It's your decision."
I gave him a grateful look before rising to my feet. Cradling the two urns, I walked out of the crematorium and went straight home. I had to pack their things. I couldn't leave a single trace of them behind in that cold, empty house.
But as I pushed open the front door, a vulgar sound met my ears.
"Oh, Ethan, stop it... I just got pregnant. The doctor said we need to be careful..."
4
The mans voice was thick with lust. "I know, I know, I'll be gentle. I promise I won't hurt our precious little baby."
A moment later, the sounds of their lovemaking filled the living room.
They were in the master bedroom. I couldn't go in, couldn't pack. All I could do was stand there, rooted to the spot, forcing myself to listen to every sordid sound. It was a form of self-torture, a punishment I felt I deserved.
I don't know how long I stood there before they finally emerged.
Ethan had a smug, triumphant look on his face, though he feigned politeness. "Oh, Liam! When did you get back? It's all Alice's fault, she insisted the kids were at daycare and dragged me back here. So sorry about that, man."
Alice emerged from behind him, melting into his embrace as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Why are you even talking to him? He has no right to question what we do." She turned her face up to Ethan. "Come on, let's go. Weren't you hungry?"
Throughout the entire exchange, Alice never once let her gaze fall on me.
I stepped aside, clearing a path for them to leave.
As she passed, her eyes finally landed on the two boxes I was holding. "What are those?" she said, wrinkling her nose. "They look so dusty and grim. Disgusting."
With that, she took Ethan's arm, and they walked out the door.
I looked down at the urns in my arms and gently wiped their surfaces. "It's okay," I whispered. "Mommy wasn't talking about you. Don't listen."
I carefully placed the urns on the coffee table and began to pack. Their clothes, their toys, their easel.
His last painting was still on it, unfinished.
My hands trembled as I removed the canvas. At the top, in a child's clumsy scrawl, were three words.
OUR FAMILY.
And below the drawing, a smaller line of text.
MOMMY LOVES DADDY, followed by a tiny heart.
Clutching the canvas to my chest, I finally broke down, my body shaking with silent, agonizing sobs.
In the five years I raised them alone, no matter how bad things got between Alice and me, I never said a single bad word about her in front of our children. But they weren't blind. They could see it for themselves. Mommy didn't love Daddy.
By the time night fell, I had packed several boxes with their belongings. I had already scheduled a long-distance moving company. I watched as the movers carried everything out to the truck, piece by piece.
"Everything's loaded, Mr. Hayes," the foreman said. "We're ready to go."
I nodded, then walked back inside one last time. On the coffee table, I placed the divorce papers I had already signed.
As I left the house, clutching the urns tight, a strange sense of relief washed over me.
I had just settled into the passenger seat of the truck when my phone buzzed. A message from Ethan.
Hey Liam. Sorry, but Alice won't be home for the next few days. She's insisting on taking me to Hawaii for a vacation. Tough luck!
Attached was a photo, but I didn't bother opening it. The message stirred nothing in me. No anger, no pain. Just a hollow, echoing emptiness.
I pulled out my SIM card, snapped it in two, and as the truck pulled away from the curb, I tossed the pieces out the window.
Holding my children close, I watched in the side mirror as the house I had lived in for seven years grew smaller and smaller, until it was nothing but a memory.
Meanwhile, at the airport, Mr. Blackwood and Mark intercepted Alice and Ethan as they were about to go through security.
Alice's face instantly darkened. "Is Liam insane? He acts all magnanimous to my face, then sends you two to chase me down at the airport? He's absolutely pathetic..."
Before she could finish, her grandfather's hand cracked across her face, the sound sharp and final.
"You monster! You murder your own children and you still have the gall to run off on a trip with this parasite? How did the Blackwood family ever produce a heartless beast like you?"
Alice staggered back, stunned. "Grandfather... what... what are you saying?"
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