Eight Years of Devotion, Choosing Divorce

During a home invasion, I threw myself in front of Tyner to protect her, getting seriously injured in the process.
Lying in a hospital bed, not a single person came to visit me. Not even Tyners mother, Nina.
Just as my heart was turning to ice, on-screen comments started to appear in my vision.
The female lead isnt visiting him because today is the anniversary of Jonahs death. She has to take Tyner to pay respects.
She actually cares about him deep down. She just cant get over the fact that he used to be her brother-in-law.
Jonah was my older brother. Before he died, he made me promise to take care of his wife, Nina, and their daughter, Tyner.
I kept that promise for eight years.
But now, looking at the mess of stitches and bruises covering my body, I was finally tired.

1.
I lay in the hospital bed, every inch of me aching. My phone screen was still open to my last conversation with Nina.
I had texted her: [Its hard to manage on my own. Can you come to the hospital and help me?]
Her reply came back instantly: [You have the nerve to ask for my help? I havent even dealt with you yet. Do you have any idea how terrified Tyner was yesterday? What kind of stepfather are you?]
I wasnt just Tyners uncle. I was her stepfather. I had been for eight years.
As if on cue, another message from Nina came through. It was a voice note. I pressed play, and Tyners wailing filled the air. "Go away! I don't want you anymore! It's all your fault you didn't protect me! My face got all scratched up!"
"Grandpa was right about you! You never saw me as your real daughter! You wanted me to get hurt!"
"You're a monster! I never want to see you again!"
It was hard to believe those words were coming from the child I had raised for the last eight years. My heart felt like a dead weight in my chest, and the phone slipped from my numb fingers.
Thats when the live commentary appeared before my eyes.
The female lead isnt visiting him because today is the anniversary of Jonahs death. She has to take Tyner to pay respects.
She actually cares about him deep down. She just cant get over the fact that he used to be her brother-in-law.
Tyners just different from other kids because she lost her father. She has a temper, but shes been through so much. My heart breaks for her.
Id seen comments like these countless times before. The first time was eight years ago. They told me I was the male lead of this world, and Nina was my female lead. That she loved me, and after many trials, we would live happily ever after.
But eight years had passed, and I had never felt a single drop of that love.
And suddenly, I was just so tired.

2.
My phone rang. It was Nina.
"When are you coming home?" she demanded. "There's no one here to cook, and the laundry is piling up."
My hand clenched around the phone. It was the middle of summer, but a bitter chill washed over me.
Yesterday, burglars had broken in. It was just me and Tyner at home. It would have been finethey were just after moneybut halfway through, Tyner made a run for it. She was trying to get back a watch, a keepsake from her father, Jonah.
Her sudden move enraged one of the thieves. He raised his knife.
I didn't think. I just moved, shielding her with my own body.
In the end, I took several deep cuts. Tyner got away with a scratch on her cheek.
And even with me lying here, bleeding and broken, neither of them seemed to care.
What had I gotten in return for eight years of my life?
Shes just trying to show she cares! Shes too proud to say it directly, so she talks about housework.
Come on, Nina! Just tell him youre worried about him! Stop being so difficult!
The comments always said she loved me, that she was just afraid to show it because I had been her brother-in-law. For years, I clung to that hope, believing that with enough time, she would finally open up.
But now, I was done waiting.
This kind of love I didn't want it anymore.
"Nina," I said, my voice flat. "I'm done. I won't be taking care of you and Tyner anymore."
The moment the words were out, a massive weight lifted from my shoulders. For eight years, I had been their live-in maid. Id had enough.
"Cole, do you have any idea what you're saying?" she hissed.
"You owe Jonah. He entrusted us to you. You have to take care of us. You don't get to just quit."

3.
I cant believe hed say that. She loves you, you idiot! She has her reasons for not visiting!
Its that helpless feeling of wanting to slap someone through the screen. He held on for eight years just to give up now?
The comments stung my eyes. Who were they to judge me? To dictate my life? If it were them, could they have lasted this long?
Eight years ago, Jonah was dying of cancer. On his deathbed, he grabbed my hand. "Cole," he begged, "remember when you almost got hit by that car? I saved you."
"Please, help me this one time. After I'm gone, marry Nina. Help me take care of her and our baby girl."
He was right. If he hadn't pushed me out of the way, I would have died that day. I owed him my life. And on top of that, Id had a secret crush on Nina since we were in high school together.
So I agreed.
I gave up my dream of being a singer. I started taking care of them. I cooked, I cleaned, I did the laundry. I raised Tyner from the time she was an infantchanging her diapers, feeding her bottles, soothing her when she cried in the middle of the night.
I thought eight years of devotion would mean something to them. I thought they would grow to love me.
I was wrong.
Snapping back to the present, I spoke into the phone. "Whatever I owed Jonah, I've paid it back over the last eight years."
"And there's no rule that says because he saved my life, I have to sacrifice my own."
The line went silent. I hung up.
The comments exploded with rage: What a piece of trash. Jonah saved his life, and this is how he repays him.
No wonder she doesn't love you. Go on, keep acting like this. Youll make sure she never loves you.
I let out a bitter, silent laugh.
I wanted to tell them I didnt want their twisted version of love anyway.

4.
In the days that followed, Nina and I didn't speak. I took care of myself in the hospital. When I couldnt manage something on my own, Id ask one of the janitors for help.
I've always been independent. I had to be. My parents always favored Jonah. He was charming and knew how to sweet-talk them. I was the quiet, introverted one who just did what needed to be done.
Theres a saying: the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Well, I was the silent one. The more I did, the less they appreciated me, because they just came to expect it.
The day I was discharged, I went home alone.
The moment I walked through the door, Tyner threw a toy at me. It hit me square in the stomach, right on one of my healing wounds.
"Get out! You're not welcome here!"
It's normal for Tyner to act out like this. She lost her real dad, after all.
I just want to give her a hug. It's so sad she has to go through this at such a young age.
I gritted my teeth against the searing pain in my gut and looked at Tyner, my heart sinking. I had raised this girl since she was a baby. We should have had a bond. But here she was, spitting venom at me.
Just then, Nina came out of her room. Her eyes were like ice.
"Decided to come back, did you?"
"Tyner hasn't done her homework all week because you weren't here. She's barely eaten."
"I bought some ribs. Go cook them for her so she can get her strength back."
OMG, I love a female lead who says the opposite of what she means! She obviously bought those ribs for him!
Hahaha, Nina and her stubborn personality!
I wanted to laugh. It was all so ridiculous.
This kind of love? I refused to accept it.

5.
I walked past Nina, went into my room, and started packing.
Halfway through, she stormed in, glaring at me. "What do you think you're doing?"
"This family just went through a traumatic robbery. Everyone is on edge, and you choose now to cause a scene."
The comments chimed in: Exactly! What is he doing? She just offered him an olive branch and he ignored it.
I hate this male lead. Can the author replace him?
If only they could. I didn't want this role anymore. It was exhausting.
I zipped up my suitcase and started to wheel it out.
Suddenly, my father was there, blocking the doorway. He leaned heavily on his cane, his face darkening as he saw my luggage.
"Where are you going?"
"It's none of your business."
I tried to move past him, but he swung his cane, bringing it down hard across my back. The wound, not yet fully healed, split open. Blood soaked through my shirt.
Nina rushed forward, then stopped short a few feet away. "This is what you get for making a fuss," she said. "Now you've made Dad angry."
"Nina, what's going on here?" my father demanded.
"He suddenly announced he's not taking care of us anymore," she said. "He was packing his bags to leave."
My face was pale with pain. As I opened my mouth to speak, Tyner ran up and kicked me in the shin.
"Grandpa, teach him a lesson! He didn't protect me, and now he wants to abandon me!"
"You worthless animal!" my father roared, striking me again with his cane.
"Your brother was so good to you! He saved your life! Is it so much to ask that you take care of his family in return?"
"You should be grateful! Nina is a successful, capable woman! Youre just a useless piece of trash!"
I lay on the floor, the pain turning into a dull numbness. It was always like this. My entire life, he had torn me down, called me useless while praising Jonah as a saint. When Jonah died, he took all his grief and anger out on me, beating me with that cane for a week straight. I was bedridden for a month after that.
Am I the only one who feels kind of bad for him?
Bad for him? This is his own damn fault. If he just did his duty and took care of them, this wouldn't be happening.
He deserves it. I hope they beat him to death. It'd serve him right.
I looked at the three cold faces staring down at me, at the hateful comments scrolling past my eyes.
It only solidified my decision. I needed to get away from them.
I reached into my bag, pulled out the divorce papers, and threw them at Nina's feet.
"Let's get a divorce."

First, search for and download the MotoNovel app from Google. Then, open the app and use the code "279551" to read the entire book.