No Winter Waits Forever

An hour into my daughter's college-sendoff dinner, Marissa Langley still hadn't arrived. Every one of the hundred-plus calls we made was rejected. Every message she sent back was the same automatic reply: "On my way." My daughter stood up and sat back down five times, head lowered as she twisted the hem of her dress, not knowing how she was supposed to read the line in her speech that said, "Thank you to my parents." When I finally couldn't take it anymore and left the room— I saw Marissa in the banquet hall next door. She was standing shoulder to shoulder with her first love, Adrian Pierce. In front of them was Adrian Pierce's son, whose GPA fell more than a full point and a half short of my daughter's. "Thank you, Mom and Dad, for raising me!" The boy bowed to them. Marissa held Adrian's arm, smiled softly, and gave a gentle nod. Amid the thunderous applause, I stood there watching them for a long time. Suddenly, I felt more tired than I had ever felt in my life. So I turned around and went back to my daughter's table. "She isn't coming, sweetheart. Go onstage and say what you want to say." I reached out, patted my daughter's shoulder, and said softly, "And the thing you asked Dad about before— "I've thought it through. We'll do it your way." Chapter 1 My daughter's eyes widened at once. "Really?" I smiled and nodded solemnly. She took a deep breath and stood up. Her speech wasn't long. It lasted five minutes in total. Aside from thanking her high school teachers, the only family member she thanked was me. "Thank you to my dad. Without him, I wouldn't be who I am today." I watched my daughter speak with such poise, my heart filled with pride and bitterness at the same time. Beside me, the relatives from Marissa Langley's side of the family frowned in dissatisfaction. "She didn't mention her mother once?" Marissa's mother said with a sour face. "I told you girls shouldn't study too much. They forget their roots!" My daughter's aunt rolled her eyes, glanced at me, and said in a mocking tone, "Mom, don't just blame the child. If she can say something like that, her father must have taught her!" "My dad didn't teach me that." Before I could speak, my daughter, who had always been sensible and shy, spoke up from behind me. "You're talking about my mother, but where is she?" Marissa's mother and aunt froze, then curled their lips. "Your mother is busy with work. Something must have delayed her on the way. What's the big deal?" "Exactly. Your mother just didn't come. It isn't like she's dead." "But look at you. An ungrateful little brat. An unfilial daughter!" My daughter's eyes reddened. She was about to argue, but I held her back. "No need," I comforted her softly. After all, to my daughter and me, Marissa might as well have been dead. The dinner ended at eight thirty. My daughter and I saw off every guest before leaving the banquet hall. At that exact moment, the doors to the banquet hall next door opened too. My daughter was caught off guard and met Marissa's eyes as Marissa walked out holding Adrian Pierce's arm. "Mom..." Her eyes reddened at once. "Why are you—" "Oh, Dr. Langley, is this your daughter too?" one of the teachers walking out of the hall asked in surprise. "How did your daughter do? Is she having her college-sendoff dinner next door too?" Behind Marissa, her "son," Kyle Pierce, stiffened. Adrian Pierce also glanced at Marissa and awkwardly let go of her arm. "I don't know her." Marissa suddenly spoke. "She isn't my daughter. She has the wrong person." My entire body jolted. I stared at her in disbelief. "Marissa Langley, you—" "Dad, forget it." My daughter grabbed my arm. Her hands were shaking badly, but she still forced a smile onto her face. A dull ache spread through my heart. "Right. Wrong person." I looked straight at Marissa and said each word clearly. "This is my daughter. We don't know you." We turned and left. Something seemed to waver in Marissa's eyes. But in the end, she didn't chase after us. One hour later, she came home smelling of alcohol. "Adrian Pierce's child had his college-sendoff dinner today too. I was just temporarily pretending to be his mother so he could have a complete family." She came in, changed her shoes, and explained lightly, "And what I said just now was because I was afraid the child would be compared for no reason and develop an inferiority complex. It would affect his mental health. "Next time, just invite your teachers out for a separate meal." She reached out, wanting to pat our daughter's shoulder. But my daughter turned away at once, avoiding her hand completely. "There won't be a next time." I calmly watched Marissa's expression turn ugly. "The teachers are going on a trip too. Tonight was the only time everyone was here. "After this, school starts." The living room fell so quiet it felt unsettling. Marissa withdrew her hand, frowned slightly, and glanced at our silent daughter. "Then forget it. "Nora Duncan, you're an adult now. Don't be so petty over a little thing like this. "Once you enter society, no one will indulge your little temper." She walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. Our daughter stood there, desperately holding back tears. I didn't say much. The next morning, I handed her a document. "Nora, Dad needs your help with something." I spoke gently. "Can you look over this divorce agreement and tell me if it's written properly?" Chapter 2 My daughter's entire body trembled. It took her a long moment to react. "I... My classmate's dad is a really good lawyer. I'll ask her!" The joy on her face made my throat tighten. Nora had asked me about divorce three years ago. That was after Adrian Pierce appeared in front of Marissa again and moved into the apartment downstairs from us. Marissa was a math professor. When our daughter asked her a math question, she frowned and said she couldn't teach it. But when Adrian Pierce asked once, she tutored Kyle Pierce in math for free for three straight years, without missing a single day. For three years, she never attended one of our daughter's parent-teacher conferences. Yet she attended every single one of Kyle Pierce's, always on time. I'd argued. I'd fought. I'd asked her whether she no longer wanted this family. But she always pushed up her glasses coldly and looked at me as if I were mentally unstable. "Kyle's foundation is weak. With a little guidance, he improves quickly. "Nora's grades are average. More tutoring won't change much. "I don't do things with a low return on investment. "And don't get emotional and make baseless accusations about me and Adrian Pierce." Right. Professor Langley was always so rational. So rational that when our daughter ranked first in the entire state, she only replied with two words— Not bad. Then she turned around, went into the study, and stayed up all night putting together a college application plan for Kyle, who was barely scraping a 2.0 GPA. "Dad, why don't you and Mom get divorced?" Our daughter had said that to me a long time ago. Back then, to keep her focused on her studies, I gritted my teeth, endured it, and smiled as I told her I was fine. But this time, there was no need. If Marissa didn't want this family, then it was time for me to keep my promise to my child and let go completely. "Mr. Duncan, I brought Kyle over to apologize." The doorbell suddenly rang, interrupting my memories. It was Adrian Pierce and Kyle Pierce. "What happened yesterday was my fault. I didn't think things through and made things difficult for you." He looked remorseful and spoke softly. "Marissa just has a warm heart. I only mentioned it once, and she insisted on pretending to be my wife. "But nothing is going on between us. Please don't misunderstand." "Mr. Duncan, I'm sorry. I stole your daughter's mom." Kyle leaned in with a cheeky grin. Behind me, I soon heard the sound of my daughter accidentally knocking over a cup. "Exactly." I calmly reached out and stopped him from coming inside. "You know very well your mother can only be stolen." Kyle's expression darkened instantly. "What did you just say, you idiot?" He raised his fist high. But when I saw the thing hanging around his neck, my pupils constricted. "What is that? How do you have that?" "Owen Duncan, what are you trying to do?" Two voices overlapped. The moment Marissa stepped out of the elevator, she put herself in front of Adrian and Kyle. As if they were the inseparable family of three. "Marissa, I brought Kyle to apologize to Mr. Duncan, but he called Kyle a motherless child..." Adrian's voice was weak and wounded. Marissa was about to flare up, but I pointed at Kyle's neck and said coldly, "Marissa Langley, what right did you have to give Nora's protection pendant to someone else?" Marissa's expression changed, and the words stuck in her throat. That pendant had been made from a family heirloom of mine. My daughter had worn it since birth, for fifteen full years. "It's just an object," Marissa said coldly. "Kyle kept catching little colds around that time, so I gave it to him for protection. "Owen Duncan, why do you always have to fixate on these tiny things?" I slowly lowered my hand. Little colds. Tiny things. When that pendant went missing, my daughter had been hospitalized with pneumonia and nearly died. Even while wearing an oxygen mask, she blamed herself, thinking she'd lost the pendant. So all of it had been a joke. "Fine. Then I won't care anymore." I looked at Marissa and smiled in relief. "Go be their family. "Nora and I don't need you anymore." Chapter 3 A crack finally appeared in Marissa's expression. "Why do you always like to overinterpret everything?" She looked up irritably at my daughter behind me. "No wonder you've taught the child to be like this. She'll never learn to think calmly!" I smiled faintly. "We've been calm long enough. "If you won't leave, then we can." Marissa slammed the door shut, and her footsteps quickly disappeared outside. "Dad, I'm sorry." My daughter clenched her hands. "You fought because of me again..." My heart ached. I corrected her at once. "Nora, the person at fault has never been you. "Let's pack our things today and move back to Dad's old house, all right?" My daughter's eyes were red, but she nodded hard. Marissa only discovered we'd left the next morning. She sent me a single question mark. Her usual brief, superior way of speaking, waiting for me to explain and apologize. But I didn't bother replying a single word. On the third day, she finally seemed unable to hold back and added Adrian Pierce and Kyle Pierce to our family group chat. "From now on, Adrian and Kyle count as family too." She issued orders in the group. "If anything comes up, say it directly in the group." Adrian immediately posted a photo of the three of them eating together at a five-star restaurant. Kyle followed right after, showing off. "Thanks, Aunt Marissa, for buying me the newest gaming laptop. It runs games so smoothly!" A three-thousand-dollar laptop, and Marissa bought it without blinking. But before college, when our daughter wanted an eight-hundred-dollar phone, Marissa called her vain and materialistic. I was too tired to watch their little performance, so my daughter and I left the group together. Marissa finally called me. "Owen Duncan, what is the meaning of this?" My tone was distant. "I'm making room for your family of three. Is there a problem?" "How long are you going to keep being unreasonable?" Marissa sounded exhausted. "You quietly took our daughter and ran away from home, and now you're deliberately embarrassing Adrian and Kyle. "Have you considered how difficult this is for me?" Every word she said made her sound like the victim. I simply hung up. I no longer wanted to waste energy arguing with her. We had no contact after that until one week later, when my daughter realized she'd left something behind and had no choice but to go back to that house with me. The moment we opened the door, we saw Marissa, Adrian, and Kyle sitting around the dining table, looking like a happy family. "It's very artistic. I like it." Marissa took the bracelet off her wrist and tossed it straight into the trash can beside her. Then she put on the crooked "art watch" Kyle had supposedly made by hand. That bracelet was the birthday gift our daughter had bought for her last year with an entire year's worth of scholarship money. My daughter stood silently in the entryway for a long time, then gave a bitter smile and threw the gift-wrapped scarf in her hands into the trash can too. When Marissa heard the sound and turned back, a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face. "Adrian and Kyle wanted to celebrate my birthday. The apartment downstairs had a leak, so I let them come up." She gave a simple explanation. My daughter and I didn't respond. We only went into the room and searched for what we needed to take. "It's been a week. Today is my birthday, and you're still going to treat me like this?" Marissa frowned in displeasure. I looked up and asked, "Then yesterday was Nora's birthday. Did you remember?" Their birthdays happened to fall only a day apart. Marissa's expression changed. On the other side of the room, my daughter found the thing she'd left behind, stood up, and silently pulled me away. Marissa took a deep breath and chased us out, as if she wanted to explain something. But one call of "Marissa" from Adrian Pierce made her stop immediately. She didn't take another step forward. And we didn't look back. I thought these lukewarm days would last until my daughter and I officially left. But I never expected that not long before we were supposed to go— my daughter would suddenly get into a car accident. Chapter 4 When I arrived at the hospital, cold sweat still covered my forehead and my hands were shaking like leaves. Fortunately, my daughter had reacted quickly when the car hit her. Her injuries weren't too serious. Aside from a fractured lower leg and a concussion, there was nothing else wrong. But when she slowly woke up and saw me, tears fell at once. "Dad, the money in my account was transferred out. "Thirty thousand... It's all gone..." My head buzzed. That thirty thousand dollars was the merit scholarship my daughter had won for her grades. She'd seen the money vanish from her bank account for no reason and rushed to the bank to ask about it. In her hurry, she hadn't seen the speeding car... But apart from me, there was only one other person who knew the password to that account. I went back at once and slammed that bank card down in front of Marissa. "I transferred the money out." Facing my questioning, Marissa was completely casual. "I bought Kyle a small apartment near his school. "He studies art. Dorm life doesn't suit him. He needs his own space. "My cash flow was tight, so I borrowed it for now." "Marissa Langley!" My fingertips dug deep into my palm, and my face turned pale. "That was Nora's money!" "She doesn't need it anyway," Marissa said lightly. Smack. I couldn't take it anymore and slapped her hard across the face. "That was hers. What right did you have to touch it? "She almost got into a car accident because the money was transferred out—" "What?" A little panic finally appeared on Marissa's face. "A car accident? "She's at the—" "Mr. Duncan, I know you're upset, but how can you lie like this?" A mild voice spoke up. "I saw Nora downstairs just now and even said hello to her," Adrian Pierce said, lowering his head sadly. "We'll pay the money back later. If you're angry right now, I can kneel and apologize, all right?" As he spoke, he moved as if he were about to kneel. Marissa's expression changed completely. "Owen Duncan, you're still full of lies as ever." She looked at me coldly and said, "So what if I took her thirty thousand? "I've raised her for so many years. Is it too much for her to give me back thirty thousand?" I couldn't believe my ears. My phone suddenly buzzed. It was my daughter calling. "Dad, you didn't hang up just now. I heard everything." My daughter's weak voice came through the receiver. "Let's do what she said. "Thirty thousand. Consider it the price of ending things between her and me." So this was what it felt like when the heart hurt until it went numb. My ears rang, and even Marissa's voice became muffled. "I'm going on vacation with Adrian and Kyle this week. Next week school starts, and our two families will go to Harrington together." She left those words behind and walked away with Adrian Pierce. I calmly stood up. The next day, I placed a divorce agreement and a declaration of severed ties in her study. Who was going to Harrington with you? Aside from being accepted to Northbridge University, my daughter had also received an offer from a top university overseas. "Dad, will you regret it?" One week later at the airport, my daughter sat in a wheelchair and asked softly, "You were married to Mom for so many years. Now you're separating all at once." "Then will Nora regret it?" I asked her in return. "You're still so young, and you're about to go study overseas alone with Dad." We looked at each other, then laughed at the same time. Neither of us would regret it. That was enough. My daughter had always worried about the cost of living abroad. That was why she'd been so anxious when the money was transferred away. But she didn't know that my work and savings were far beyond what she imagined. We had more than enough to walk away from someone who wasn't worth staying for. Ten hours later, we landed safely on the other side of the ocean, in a world wide enough for us to breathe. The moment we turned our phones back on— both my daughter's phone and mine began buzzing wildly.