My Future Dad Admitted He Abandoned Me Chapter 01

My Future Dad Admitted He Abandoned Me Chapter 01

After Elara Macy succeeded at her quest to win over Vaughn Hale, she chose to stay in this alternate reality.

She gave birth to me shortly after, yet the system contract binding never lifted.

On my fifth birthday, I begged Mom to video call Dad, who was supposed to be on duty at Fort Hale Military Base.

The second the call connected, the face that popped up on screen belonged to Dad, but thirteen years older.

Mom pulled me tight against her chest and smiled softly.

“Thirteen years from now, Hazel’ll be all grown up. Did you throw her a huge eighteenth birthday party?”

Dad’s tone was cold and sharp, edged with the unyielding grit only military men carried.

“She fought constantly with Seraphina’s daughter for my attention. I sent her off to Frontier Military Academy. She didn’t come home after a field assignment gone wrong.”

All color drained straight from Mom’s face.

A low, bitter laugh rumbled through the speakers.

“Elara, you told me your soul would vanish if your quest failed. I believed every word.”

“I walked away from Seraphina and her kid just to marry you.”

Mom’s body shook uncontrollably. I stretched my small hands toward the screen.

“Dad, when are you coming home for my birthday?”

Dad let out a quiet sigh, his gaze flat as it locked onto Mom.

“I wasn’t on duty that night at all. I was throwing Seraphina’s daughter her birthday party.”

“You know everything now. The choice is yours.”

A cold mechanical voice echoed in our heads out of nowhere.

“Host, do you wish to abandon your original reality and remain here forever?”

…

I swiped away the tears streaming down Mom’s cheeks, my young mind barely grasping what was unfolding.

“Mom… does Dad not want us anymore?”

“Can we stop wanting him too?”

Dad’s expression hardened instantly on screen. His lips curled into a mocking sneer.

“Elara, is this how you raise Hazel? No wonder she grows up sensitive and bitter. No one can stand being around her.”

Mom squeezed me so tight, her voice trembling violently.

“Vaughn, Hazel waited for you all day long. And now you admit you were with that woman and her daughter the whole time?”

Dad scoffed, his tone casual and dismissive as he spoke.

“That woman? Her kid? Elara, have you ever actually read your marriage license?”

“Yours is a fake. I’d already filed official paperwork with Seraphina while you were carrying Hazel.”

Mom went rigid, and her face went pale instantly.

Dad watched her crumble, amusement glinting in his eyes.

“If we’re being honest, Elara—you’re the one who stepped between our legal marriage. Hazel’s the illegitimate child hidden away from everyone.”

Mom trembled so hard she could barely stand, but a tiny flicker of desperate hope still burned in her eyes.

“I don’t believe you, Vaughn. You wouldn’t do this to me. Not after what happened when I had Hazel.”

“I hemorrhaged so badly during delivery, you nearly drained every drop of your own blood to save me. I refuse to think all of that meant nothing.”

Dad shook his head slowly, a weary exhale slipping past his lips.

“I know this is impossible for you to accept, but it’s the truth.”

“If you won’t take my word for it, check the encrypted laptop in my study.”

Mom let go of me and strode quickly across the room.

Her eyes turned hollow and dead. Her shaking fingers clicked open the locked folder pinned to the top of the screen.

The first file pulled up wedding reception footage.

Seraphina leaned into Dad’s side in a white wedding gown, a gentle smile spread across her face. Every officer and spouse from Fort Hale stood surrounding them. Dad’s face held a rare softness, but his words carried a cold warning.

“None of you breathe a word of this. Elara’s pregnant, and she can’t handle the shock.”

White jasmine petals drifted all through the frame. The ceremony was held inside the base’s private hall, witnessed and blessed by every one of his fellow soldiers.

Mom clicked to the next file, a photo of two official marriage licenses.

The filing date was clear as day—an entire year before the wedding ceremony she’d shared with Dad.

Scrolling down was a fully notarized last will and testament.

It read: [All military and personal assets under my name shall pass exclusively to Seraphina Cross and her child upon my passing. Elara Macy holds no claim to any property, shall not contest asset distribution, and waives all rights to dispute this document.]

Dad’s voice drifted through the speakers, lazy and indifferent.

“You’ve seen all the proof now, haven’t you?”

“Will you finally believe me?”