Chapter 3

My dad stood up too and handed Gerard the keys to the new car I'd just bought him:

"Gerard, Wendy's pregnant. You've done this family a great service."

"This car's yours now. From now on, you're my godson."

Gerard took the keys and smiled:

"Thank you, Uncle Carter."

"Still calling me uncle?"

"Thank you, Dad."

The four of them talked and laughed as they walked out the door, their backs the very picture of happiness.

Nobody asked for my opinion.

Fine. If that's how it is, I want the divorce, and I don't want this home either.

I got in touch with a divorce lawyer:

My wife cheated on me twice and is now pregnant. I'd like a divorce agreement.

He replied quickly:

The other party is the one at fault, so you can demand all the property back.

I hesitated for a few seconds:

Okay. Then let her walk away with nothing.

Last time, I already gave Wendy a chance.

This time, I want to give myself a chance.

A chance to make them pay the price.

After printing out the divorce agreement, I went out and had a meal at a restaurant I'd booked.

At six in the evening, Wendy and the other three came home talking and laughing.

I sat on the couch and held the divorce papers out to her:

"Sign it."

Wendy opened it, and the words "walk away with nothing" stung her:

"Honey, I just wanted a baby so badly."

"I don't want a divorce."

My mom snatched the divorce agreement and tore it up:

"John Delgado, so now you won't even listen to your own mother?"

"Am I hurting you by telling you to have a son? It's for your own good. You'll understand when you're old."

Wendy's stomach growled:

"Honey, I'm hungry."

Wendy doesn't work. I gave her fifty thousand dollars a month for living expenses.

I never let her touch the housework, and I did the cooking when I got home.

But now that she was tangled up with Gerard, everything I'd ever done for her looked like a joke.

My mom smacked me on the head:

"Wendy said she's hungry. Are you deaf?"

"Go cook, now. Don't let my precious grandson go hungry."

I stayed put and messaged the lawyer to print another copy of the divorce agreement.

Gerard stood up and kissed Wendy.

"I'll go cook. After all, it's my child Wendy's carrying."

When the food was done, Gerard set a bowl of noodles down in front of me:

"John, you should eat something too."

"Don't worry, once the kid's born, he'll call you Dad and me Uncle."

The way he said it, you'd think I'd come out ahead at his expense.

"I'm going to divorce Wendy. The child is yours, and it has nothing to do with me."

Gerard suddenly let out a scream and splashed the bowl all over me.

The scalding broth burned my skin red and raised a patch of blisters.

Wendy and my parents all crowded around Gerard, though not a single drop of the broth had landed on him.

I stood up to go rinse it off in the bathroom.

Wendy blocked my way:

"Honey, Gerard meant well. How could you scald him like that?"

"Apologize to Gerard, and we'll let it go."

I stared at Wendy:

"He splashed me. And I'm supposed to apologize to him?"

"Wendy, are you blind?"

Smack!

My mom slapped me hard across the face:

"Is that any way to talk to my precious grandson?"

I covered my cheek and demanded loudly:

"Mom, Wendy's baby has no blood relation to you at all. Why do you insist on protecting her?"

"Of course it does! Gerard is my godson, so Wendy's baby is my own grandchild!"

"All these years I raised you for nothing—you can't even father a child!"

My dad spoke up too:

"John, I always said you don't know how to handle people. You should learn a thing or two from Gerard."

Beaming, my mom pushed Wendy and Gerard into the master bedroom:

"Give it your all tonight. Maybe you'll even hit twins."

I looked at the four of them, disappointed, then turned and walked out of the house.