note: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! 

The chapters get longer as we move deeper into the story. I'm so excited to see your reactions so don't hesitate to drop your thoughts in the comments and vote if you enjoyed the chapter. Feedback is always appreciated. 

Enjoy! 

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Andrew Cai had never wanted to drag out work as much as he did then. Sadly for him, he had responsibilities to attend to. Responsibilities like seeing his wife and having dinner with her and his daughter, whom he was certain hated him now. It only managed to weigh heavy on his heart as he forced himself out of his office chair and into the men's washroom to freshen up his disheveled appearance before he made his way back home.

Home.

It had lost context and somehow still held meaning.

His home, the one he used to share with his wife, was one where he felt comfortable in and the only sentimental value he could find himself attached to the house was because the last seven years of Aurora's life was there. Her childhood home, one he shared with her and being two weeks away from his daughter caused a strain on his heart.

The longest he'd gone without seeing and holding Aurora in his arms was two days, the weekend Andrew and Talia tried to do a getaway because they both knew their marriage was failing and wanted to mend it but the getaway ended up being hellish as they had argued most of the time and had sex once — angry sex if that counted.

It was impossible to miss his daughter. He pulled up to his house, parking the car by the curb and sat there silently after killing the engine, watching Aurora stare at him through the window. Her small eyes were now wide, an ear-splitting grin on her lips and she soon got onto her feet, rushing towards her father.

He was out of the car in an instant, opening the door and stepping out just in time for Aurora to hurdle her little self at him, wrapping her arms around his legs. The feel of her little body against his elevated his heart and an indescribably fatherly joy broke through him as he leaned down, pried her little hands from his legs and scooped her into his arms, giving her a little twirl before hugging her close to his chest and attacking her face with kisses.

"Ba!" she laughed, protesting but as he pulled her away to give her face a good look. The ear splitting smile was there and he knew she wasn't the least bit annoyed. She didn't hate him. He thought wrong.

He had never been more relieved.

"Where did you go?" she inquired, getting straight to the questions.

Unable to meet her eyes and unsure of what how much her mother had disclosed to her, Andrew shifted his daughter to his hip and closed the car door, locking it. Putting her back down he said, "I had some work to do and I couldn't make it home."

"Oh, okay," she replied but he could tell by the frown on her face that his answer didn't satisfy her.

"This weekend," he proposed, bending down to his knees so he was at eye-level with her, "We're going out for lunch and then ice cream, and maybe we can hit the park on the way home."

"Really?" she brightened up.

"Definitely."

"Ba," she squealed, hugging him again. "That's great. You and me and Mummy haven't been out together in a long time."

Dread filled his chest. "Aurora..."

Before he could get his words out, another voice cut through.

"Andrew, get inside. It's cold. Aurora could get sick."

His eyes lifted. For the first time in two weeks he met Talia Lancaster-Cai again. Her chestnut brown hair was cut short, her wide green eyes were guarded, a look Andrew was no stranger to in the last couple of years. Standing there, a two week gap between when he last saw her and now, he couldn't help but notice all the things different about her. Her hair was shorter and as she welcomed Andrew back home, her shoulders were tense. She managed to keep a considerate distance between them even when he went in for a hug. A hug that lasted only a second, a hug that wasn't like the tight, warm ones he was used to. He removed his shoes, ready to place them into the shelf out of old habit but then paused when he saw another pair of shoes in his place.

A pair of men's shoes.

"Mummy's friend, Simon, hangs around most days now so he keeps his stuff here when he wants to have a sleepover," Aurora chimed in.

Andrew couldn't draw his gaze away from the occupied spot on the shoe shelf. Simon fucking Allerton wormed his way into their lives and Andrew had been so naive to be unsuspecting until he found his wife doing the horizontal with Simon, just down the hall from where Aurora sat watching the television.

He refused to blame his anger and instead chose to blame Simon, for being such a coy bastard. Turning sharply to face his wife and daughter he plastered a smile to his lips, fully aware that Talia could call him out for being fake any second but he counted on Aurora's presence for a fight not to break out.

"I'm starving," Andrew announced, his words neutral but his eyes which had latched onto Talia's silently dared her, "I hope dinner's good and you haven't been wasting all the good stuff on your friend Simon."

Andrew had been with Talia for so long that he knew almost everything about her so when she returned his smile, her eyes crinkling and when she tucked her hand into her jean pocket, he knew she was furious. Furious for trying to start something in front of their daughter, but Andrew couldn't care less. Was he in the wrong? No. It was all Talia and Simon fucking Allerton.

Aurora took his hand, stealing his attention from Talia, and when he spotted his daughter's face, his anger melted almost instantaneously. She gripped his hand, pulling with that wide grin on her lips. "Come Ba, dinner is going to be amazing!"

He laughed at her enthusiasm as she pulled her father towards the dining room. Her very well knew his place around the house but having been absent for two weeks, it strangely looked foreign. There was certainly different about the aura that cast over the house but perhaps Andrew was being over critical and too cynical.

"And why is dinner going to be so amazing?" he questioned as she tried to usher him into his seat. His old seat. Her enthusiasm only made him smile, made him momentarily forget the disputes that needed resolving as he focused on his daughter.

She clambered onto the seat beside his. She usually sat beside her mother and Andrew could not help but send Talia a knowing look when Aurora chose to sit beside him this evening, a smirk itching to take a comfortable place on his lips.

"She misses you," Talia said sharply, smiling wide at Andrew, her hand curled around the chair.

"And we both know that could have been avoided," Andrew chided but before Talia had the time to even think of a response, he turned his attention back to his daughter, the only person in this damning world that deserved to be loved.

"Sorry, Ba didn't catch that. What did you say?"

"I helped make dinner!" Aurora exclaimed, the excitement evident in her voice.

"Oh my God, you made dinner?" Andrew gasped in exaggeration as he looked at her. His smile matched hers. "My girl made dinner? They grow up so fast." Pretending to wipe an imaginary tear from his eye, Andrew couldn't help but actually feel sad. He missed being over dramatic and excited around his daughter. Missed playing with her dolls and seeing that beautiful radiant smile on her face. Most of all, Andrew missed having her around, someone that always made his day better no matter what.

They fell into easy conversation after that, Talia chiming in every few minutes but it was obvious that she felt alienated. Perhaps it made Andrew evil but he couldn't help himself from feeling great that she felt left out. He had to go two weeks without his daughter, the person who made life have a lot more meaning to it, and while that was partly his fault for not confronting this any sooner, Talia was equally to blame. His wife was lying to their child.

Simon fucking Allerton was no friend.

There was nothing Talia could do as Andrew led his daughter up the stairs so that he help her get ready for bed before tucking her in. He wanted time to come to a standstill, everything around them to stop moving — all except the two of them. He wanted more time with her, knowing that when he descended the stairs to face Talia, it was not going to go down as he wished it to. Agreements between the two of them seldom ever happened anymore and now that their daughter was in question an agreement sounded even more outlandish. He simply wanted to stay trapped in the moment, reading story after story to his little angel.

He stole a few more moments after her eyes finally fell shut. She looked a lot like him. The same Taiwan eyes, the same thin lips, the same charming smile. Her nose and some of her character traits were from her mother. She was stubborn, just like her mother, whereas Andrew easily gave in. She was curious, just like her mother, whereas Andrew always settled to whatever life gave him and accepted it, never truly questioning and going out of his way to change things.

He loved routine.

Aurora loved change. And so did Talia.

Maybe that's why she cheated. She was tried of Andrew, the same old guy she'd been seeing since the beginning of university. She wanted a taste of something new, something different. The fact that she chose Simon Allerton out of all people hurt more than he could imagine — in fact, he'd never even imagined it before. It was not that Simon was his best friend since Andrew really didn't have one but Simon came close to it. He had confided in Simon many times, about everything including his marital problems, and the arsehole decided to sort matters out himself and get involved with Talia.

Sighing, because the inevitable was going to smack him in the face whether he liked it or not, he leant down and brushed a kiss across his daughter's forehead. "Sleep well, Aurora. Ba loves you."

With that, he reluctantly got up and exited her room, making his way downstairs. He certainly took his time descending the stairs and when he spotted Talia nursing a glass of wine in her hand, another one sitting invingly on the coffee table over a coaster, he felt his stomach twist. He did not want to do this. Confrontations was not something that he played well at. Often times than naught, he ran from confrontations.

"Is this a new bottle?" Andrew asked, trying to be civil as he nodded his head the the wine bottle on the coffee table before taking the free wine glass and sitting down on the couch that was opposite to Talia's.

She couldn't meet his eyes. "Simon got it," she said quietly. "He thought maybe getting some wine for tonight would help ease things."

"Wow," Andrew cackled, his laugh hollow. Fuck being civil. "Simon knows how to work his way into literally everything, doesn't he?"

"Andy, it's unfair—"

"Don't you dare tell me what's unfair. I was not the one that cheated. I'm not the one that's lying to my daughter about who this little friend of yours is or what's going on with Mummy and Ba." He gulped down the glass in one go, the adrenaline pumping within his veins. His livid eyes caught hers.

"Simon doesn't deserve to be given the silent treatment. At least hear him out," Talia started, setting down her wine glass on an empty coaster.

"Hear him out?" Andrew echoed. "Do you hear yourself?" Andrew grabbed the bottle, pouring the delicious red wine almost to the brim of his glass. Taking a couple of large gulps, he built up his courage, let his anger reign over his words and actions.

"You remember how we met, right? You'd just broken up with your boyfriend because he was cheating on your with your best friend and being away from Porte Orlands to go to uni in London was no excuse for him to cheat. But he still cheated. With your best friend. And you were absolutely gutted."

"Andy," Talia started, the strain in her voice clearly said she was not ready for this, "This is different..."

"How is it different?" he burst. "You're a hypocritical bitch. Cheating is so unforgivable in your books. Then why did you fucking do it?"

"Things were not great—"

"They weren't either with your ex boyfriend and it was not okay for him to cheat but it's perfect fine for you?"

"Would you let me get a whole fucking sentence out?" Talia snapped.

Andrew scoffed. Leaning back against the couch, he sipped at his win. "Go ahead, Talia. You made sure to destroy my entire life. I have nothing else better to do."

She closed her eyes in exhaustion. If his plan to make her feel guilty was working she wasn't showing any signs of it.

"Our marriage has been falling apart for years now. I'm not saying what I did was right or was wrong. But Simon has been there for me, in some of the same ways he's been there for you. He was a confidant and I'm sorry I came between that but he did not steal me away from you, Andrew. I was no longer yours. And I don't miss the way you get attracted to other women—"

"I sure as hell never acted on it."

Her eyes flared. Ignoring his rude input, she continued, "And I'm done, Andrew. I'm completely done with this bullshit. I can't continue like this. I want a divorce. You want it too. Why is this such a big deal?"

This time it was him that couldn't meet her eyes. He was grateful that Talia didn't expect an immediate answer because he needed time to sip his wine, to not break down.

"You know why," he finally said, lifting his head to meet her eyes. There was no anger. Just plain sorrow.

"Aurora." The lone name was enough.

"Yes, my daughter. Our daughter," he reinforced.

Talia shook her head. "That's no reason to stay together. It's not healthy."

"I know it's not healthy but what will happen to Aurora?"

"She'll be just fine," Talia shot back, finally getting fired up.

"With you lying to her?"

"I am trying to protect her!" Jumping to her feet, she walks to him and grabs his arm, trying to haul him out of the couch. "She'll be all right."

"Tell me," Andrew resigned, giving up and rising to his feet. "What happens when I sign those papers."

"We're finally free."

"What happens to Aurora?"

"She gets to see her parents not fight all the time."

He raised his eyebrows, no trace of amusement on his face. "Give me a straight answer, Talia," he demanded, "What happens to Aurora?"

"Nothing changes. You'll get to see her often and she could have lunch with you on the weekends. It won't change much really."

"That's a huge change, Talia. I want her on weekends—"

"Andy, that's not going to work—"

"Don't you dare try to separate me from my daughter." Looking her dead in the eyes, he said, "Promise me. You won't take her away from me."

The pregnant silence sat between them like a giant elephant in the room. "I won't," she said at last. Perhaps Andrew should have known then that her hesitance meant she was lying.