Chapter 1

In the arrival hall, I saw someone holding a sign with my English name. As I approached, I was surprised to find it was Sophia, my ex-girlfriend whom I hadn’t seen in three years.

She was there with Lucas and a few of our old friends, all craning their necks and looking expectantly towards the gate.

“Sophia, isn’t that your doormat, Jack?” one of them said.

Sophia, looking surprised to see me, quickly composed herself and said casually, “See? I told you he’d come crawling back.”

The group snickered and turned to me.

“Jack disappeared without a word back then. Now that he sees Sophia’s doing well, he’s probably been crying himself to sleep every night with regret!”

“But Jack, if you wanted to pretend to bump into her, why did you just throw on some casual clothes? Couldn’t you have dressed up a bit?”

“Don’t tell me you can’t even afford decent clothes without Sophia? Man, you must be in bad shape!”

In the past, whenever I went to meet Sophia, I would always choose my most flattering clothes, presenting my best self to her. But now, there was no need for that anymore.

My wife is pregnant, and I need to take care of her, so I dress for comfort. These casual clothes were just something I quickly changed into on the way to drop my wife off at the hospital.

Hearing their comments, I realized they only knew my English name and didn’t know that I was the person they were supposed to pick up.

Seeing that I remained silent, someone who used to be closer to me tried to smooth things over:

“Jack, it’s good that you’re back. Actually, Sophia has been looking for you all these years… asking around for news about you!”

Sophia’s smile froze, but she quickly regained her composure and said nonchalantly:

“Lucas’s child is about to start kindergarten. From now on, you’ll be responsible for drop-offs and pick-ups.”

Sophia was still as arrogant and presumptuous as ever.

But I was no longer the boy who always tolerated her behavior. Seeing her again, all I felt was annoyance.

Not wanting to waste time with them, I was about to reveal my identity when Lucas spoke up:

“Jack, don’t blame Sophia. She’s doing this for your own good. After disappearing for three years, who knows what you’ve been up to?”

“Looking at your shabby state now, you couldn’t even handle being her personal assistant if she offered.”

“Don’t worry, no one will look down on you for helping me take care of my daughter.”

Three years hadn’t changed Lucas; he was still as condescending as ever, still able to make me frown in disgust.

Sophia, misinterpreting my expression as jealousy, flashed a hint of smugness in her eyes.

“Alright, enough with the fuss. You can’t afford to be picky when you’re down on your luck,” she said.

“Just focus on taking care of the child and stop causing trouble. Know your place.”

“Don’t worry, we still have a room for assistants at my place.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the people around us burst into malicious laughter.

“Jack, see how good Sophia is to you? She’s worried you might be suffering out there, so she’s arranged food and lodging for you.”

“It’s just helping Lucas with the kid, isn’t that much better than your current miserable life? Hurry up and thank Sophia.”

Lucas straightened his clothes and said pompously, “Jack, don’t worry. If my daughter misbehaves, I’ll discipline her myself. I won’t let you suffer any grievances.”

Sophia snorted and glanced at me.

“What grievances could he have? He disappeared over a trivial matter back then. Now that he can’t make it on his own and has come back, it’s only right that he suffers a bit.”

Hearing this, my heart skipped a beat.

Even now, she still thought that getting married to Lucas was just a trivial matter?

It seems the Sophia who once loved me was long gone.

She was no longer the girl who, despite being injured herself, only cared about my wounds.

She was no longer the young woman who, with nothing to her name, loudly proclaimed her love for me and promised me everything.

And she was certainly not the successful woman who was willing to cook for me with her own hands.

But it’s fine. It’s all in the past now, no need to bring it up.

After all, I’m about to have a second child with my wife.