My dad clenched his fists, barely holding back from hitting Lily, and said, “You take your daughter and leave now. for anything else.”
won’t hold you accountable
Unexpectedly, Lily knelt in front of my dad and said, “I know I was wrong, but the child in my belly is innocent. He is our child.”
I knew she would use the child as leverage, so I quietly took out my phone and played the recording from the afternoon.
Hearing that not only was the child not his, but Lily had also stolen his watch and sold it to her ex–husband, my dad finally lost his temper and slapped Lily.
Lily fell to the ground but got up again, hugging my dad’s leg and saying, “I really know I was wrong. I’ll never dare to do it again. I’ll abort the child tomorrow, and we can have our own child.”
My dad pushed her away in disgust and said, “I’m giving you three days to bring the watch back. Otherwise, you can wait to go to jail.”
Hearing this, Zoe finally reacted and grabbed Lily’s clothes, crying and shouting, “Hurry up and return the watch to him! I still have to take the SAT! You can’t ruin my future over this bit of money!”
Lily silently pulled Zoe away.
After the mother and daughter left, my dad collapsed into a chair, holding his head and crying.
We thought Lily would obediently return the item, but early the next morning, my dad and I were woken up by a commotion downstairs.
Opening the window, we saw Mike with Lily at the entrance of the community, causing a scene. He was saying that my dad had slept with his wife, that I had beaten his daughter, and that he wanted money from my dad.
There were even people livestreaming among the onlookers.
My dad and I quickly went downstairs. Mike, in stark contrast to his usually fierce demeanor, was crying to the livestream camera, saying, “My ex–wife has been with this Jack guy for a year. During this time, his daughter even beat up my daughter. After my ex–wife got pregnant, he even kicked her out and told her to ask me for money.”
The uninformed crowd was indignant, shouting, “Where are the people involved? How can they not come out? Such heartless people must be exposed!”
“Yes! They must be exposed! Let everyone know who this scumbag is!”
My dad and I struggled to push through the crowd, seeing Lily and Zoe hiding behind Mike, silent.
“Lily, come out and tell everyone what really happened!” my dad shouted, pointing at Lily.
Lily didn’t dare to speak, but was pushed out by Mike. “You come and tell everyone!”
Lily bit her lip and said, “It’s you. You said you would treat me well and take care of me, but your daughter beat me and Zoe when you weren’t home. I’m pregnant with your child, but you kicked me out and told me to ask my ex–husband for money!”
The crowd pointed at my dad and me, discussing among themselves. “They look so refined, how can they do such terrible things?”
“You don’t understand. This is what they call wolves in sheep’s clothing.”
“Like father, like daughter. No wonder his wife divorced him.”
At this point, Zoe also jumped out, pointing at me and saying, “You’re no better. At such a young age, your room is full of luxury goods. You must be kept by some old men who bought those things for you!”
Zoe clearly knew that all my things were bought by my mom, but she still chose to spread rumors about me.
My dad clenched his fists, ready to rush over, but I held him back by his clothes.
I smirked and took out my phone, playing the conversation between Lily and Mike at the restaurant that day.
As soon as their voices came out, there was a gasp from the crowd, and they looked at the three of them with disdain.
3:25 PM
<
Seeing the situation turn against them, Mike quickly shouted, “It’s fake! It’s all fake! Her recording is synthesized!”
“The audio might be synthesized, but I don’t have the ability to fake the restaurant’s surveillance video. I’ve already reported to the police before coming here. The police will naturally investigate whether it’s true or false. As for what you just said about me being kept by someone, and that my dad kicked out the pregnant Lily, you’ve already damaged our reputation. I can sue you, I said to the three of them, word by word.
Zoe was still being stubborn at this point, saying, “What evidence do you have that I slandered you?”
is
I pointed to a girl who was livestreaming nearby and said, “Livestreams are usually recorded. All the evidence there, and everyone here is a witness. Zoe, did you think about the fact that you’re about to take the SAT before you said all this?”
The girl who was livestreaming raised her phone and said, “I have the livestream recording. I’ll definitely cooperate with the police investigation. The viewers in my livestream also hate liars the most!”
Hearing this, Zoe’s face turned pale. She quickly turned back to pull Lily’s hand and asked, “Mom, what should this. I’m about to take the SAT. If this gets out, what school would accept me?”
we do?
Mike impatiently said, “So what if you don’t go to school? What’s the point of a girl studying so much? You might
You
I guys told me to say
as well
I get married early.”
The police arrived quickly. Upon hearing that we wanted to sue them, Zoe immediately knelt in front of the police, crying and saying, “Officer, it was my parents who told me to say those things. If I didn’t do as they said, they would beat me to death.”
Then she grabbed my hand, “I’m sorry, Ava. I apologize. I was wrong. I was just too envious of you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I still have to take the SAT. If this gets blown up, my whole life will be ruined.”
Seeing his daughter betray him, Mike rushed over and grabbed Zoe, slapping her hard across the face. Zoe’s face immediately swelled up, k
and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
“What are you doing!” Seeing someone get violent, two police officers immediately pinned Mike to the ground.
Seeing the situation turn against them, Lily immediately looked at my dad with teary eyes. She knew my dad was the easiest to soften up. “Honey, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have betrayed you. I shouldn’t have been fooled by his sweet talk and gone back to him. I’ll go abort the child right now. Can we start over? We can have our own child. From today on, Ava will be my own daughter. I swear I’ll treat her well.”
As she spoke, she tried to grab my dad’s clothes.
My dad pulled his clothes from her grasp in disgust, his tone icy cold. “Find time to get the divorce done. I never want to see you again.”
At the police station, Lily and Zoe both said that Mike had forced them to do this, and that he had instructed them to steal the watch. They claimed they didn’t get a penny from selling the watch.
Watching them turn on each other, I couldn’t help but sneer, “Birds of a feather really do flock together, but when trouble comes, it’s every man
for himself.”
Later, Mike had to sell his house to compensate my dad for the watch.
I didn’t pursue the matter of Zoe publicly slandering me, only asking her to apologize publicly.
As a high school student myself, I knew what the SAT meant to her. I didn’t want to ruin her future.
My dad and Lily quickly processed their divorce. On the day of the divorce, Lily kept trying to win my dad back, but my dad was determined to
divorce her.
I saw Zoe again at our high school graduation party. She had been admitted to a decent college. When she learned that I had been accepted to Harvard with a score of over 1500 on the SAT, she sincerely congratulated me.
At the end of the party, Zoe and I were waiting for our rides on the roadside. She smiled bitterly and said, “If I had chosen to get along well with you from the beginning, and if my mom had been content with her life with your dad, perhaps everything would have been different. We were too greedy”
I patted her shoulder and said, “It’s too late to say anything now. But it’s good that you still have a chance to start over.”
As I got into the car, I heard Zoe softly say “Thank you” behind me.
“The End”
