Part 3: Broken PromiseWhen Our Roads Part

"You'll be there, right?"

Zack smiled. "I made a promise. I will be there."

The door clicked shut, and silence settled over the house. He had broken a lot of promises he made to me. I pulled out a tissue, crouched down, and wiped away the trail of water he had left across the floor.

I was a clean freak, and I did not want to stay with a filthy man.

Dora, however, was still far too young. She still had admiration for her father.

I was reminded of the promise we made before she went to sleep. That robbed me of my sleepiness, so I scrolled through my socials.

The first post was Wendy's. She said there was someone who would accept her for who she was, and the picture showed a transaction history for a million dollars.

Something hit me.

Zack gave her millions on a whim, while he barely gave me any presents even though we were married for seven years. After all, he was busy working on his business, while I was busy taking care of him and Dora. I did not have the time to care about presents.

But now I had time to think. And I finally understood something. Life did not feel the same with every person.

Zack never remembered my birthdays, and he never joined Dora's parent-teacher meetings. Even when it was our anniversary, all he did was verbally promising me he would show me the world when he was rich.

After he was inducted into the Shaws, he celebrated Wendy's birthday. He bought out the amusement park for a day and stayed with her until midnight to gaze at the stars, all because she wanted it.

He gave all his love to Wendy, and all he had for me was impatience. And whenever I complained, all he ever said to me was, "Stop throwing a tantrum."

My chest was feeling stuffy. This villa was starting to feel alien to me. It was cold and unwelcoming. The small 600-square-feet rental made me feel safer than this.

Though life was a struggle back then, at least I had a home. After I gave birth to Dora, we were out of money. We could not even afford the heater and electricity. Even Dora's milk was made with cold water.

I remembered how Zack got tearful as he handed me a hot sweet potato. "This is all my fault. I should've been more careful. Dora shouldn't suffer. When I get rich, I'll get a vasectomy."

He humbly made all those promises because he was worried I might leave him. He was worried I might resent him for being poor. Whenever I cried and said it was freezing, he would hold my hands against his chest.

He was by my side when we were at our lowest years ago. I wondered how he could change so much in the blink of an eye.

Right after I packed up my and Dora's stuff, Zack's phone rang. It was Wendy.

I did not want the sound to wake Dora, so I carried it towards the staircase before answering. Wendy's arrogant voice immediately came through. "You want to marry me? What about Cynthia? I'm not going to be a mistress, you know."

A long silence later, Zack chuckled. "I held that wedding with her overseas and got a fake marriage certificate. You're the only one I ever wanted to marry."

The call ended, and my heart froze. The certificate was fake, and so was his love. Still, this was for the better. I did not need to see him or ask him to sign the papers.

I pulled out the fake certificate from my suitcase and placed it on the nightstand.

I refused to keep anything that was not mine.

Zack did not come back, not even when it was already the next day.

I joined the parent-teacher meeting alone. When it was time for the race, the other kids had their fathers leading them. I was the only mother in the lane.