Left in the Flooded Kindergarten for His Childhood Sweetheart Chapter 05

Left in the Flooded Kindergarten for His Childhood Sweetheart Chapter 05

Tristan looked like he hadn’t processed the words. He stared blankly for a long beat, then let out a bitter, mocking laugh.

“A divorce? All because Kylie and Paige spent one night here? All because your parents don’t get the guest bedroom?” His voice was thick with sarcasm. “Nova, you’ve become completely irrational lately.”

I held Anna securely against my hip and met his gaze with perfect calm. “It’s not just tonight. It’s every single time.”

“It’s when Anna waited alone in the preschool through a hurricane while you prioritized Kylie. It’s when Anna ran a dangerous fever, and you dropped everything to answer Kylie’s panicked call.”

“It’s when my parents waited three hours at the train station in pouring rain, while you ran over to fix Kylie’s burst pipes. It’s when you sent my own parents to sleep in a cramped storage closet, and handed the guest bedroom over to her and her daughter.”

I spoke each sentence slow and deliberate. “Tristan, one single incident didn’t destroy this marriage. You’ve spent years proving, over and over again, that Anna and I don’t matter to you at all.”

Tristan’s expression shifted, faint panic flickering across his features. He’d never expected me to list every wound so plainly.

Kylie’s eyes welled up instantly, and she rushed to interject. “Nova, all of this is my fault. I never meant to come between your marriage. I’ll pack Paige’s bags and leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks on cue. “Tristan, don’t fight with Nova over me. Paige and I can just book a hotel room tonight.”

The second she finished speaking, Tristan’s brows crashed together in frustration. “It’s coming down in sheets out there—where would a single mother and her young daughter go to stay in a hotel?”

He turned back to me, accusatory. “Look how upset you’ve made her now.”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

Even now, he couldn’t acknowledge his own mistakes. All he could think was that I was too petty, too unforgiving, too unwilling to sympathize with his poor childhood friend.

I didn’t waste another breath arguing. I finally understood: there was no point reasoning with a man who refused to see his own cruelty.

I booked two nearby hotel rooms for my parents and Anna. My dad didn’t utter a single word the whole walk over. My mom held Anna tight, wiping silent tears from her cheeks again and again.

Anna’s fever still lingered. She clung to my hand and asked, “Mommy… are we never going back to that apartment again?”

I stroked her damp hair gently. “That apartment’s ours, not theirs.”

Anna blinked, confused. “What about Daddy?”

A sharp ache pierced my chest. “Daddy has to take responsibility for every choice he’s made.”

She fell quiet for a minute, then whispered softly. “I won’t wait for Daddy anymore from now on.”

I leaned down and kissed her warm forehead. “Good. Mommy won’t wait either.”

Early the next morning, I got my parents and Anna settled, then drove straight to a family law firm. The attorney was my college best friend, Sophia Quinn.

I walked her through every detail of the past twenty-four hours, and her forehead creased deeper the longer I spoke.

“Who holds the deed to the apartment?”

“My parents paid cash for it before we married, and the title’s solely under my name.”

“What about the car?”

“I bought it, all payments under my name—Tristan’s just been driving it every day.”

Sophia tapped her pen against her desk, relieved. “Since there’s been no commingling of assets, this simplifies everything.”

She locked eyes with me, steady and calm. “Do you want full physical custody of Anna?”

I didn’t hesitate for a heartbeat. “Yes.”

“Gather all proof of his consistent neglect: parent group chat screenshots, preschool teacher’s calls, hospital medical records, train station arrival times, all the missed calls and text exchanges you two shared. Keep every document organized in one folder.”

I nodded. I’d stayed up all night sorting every piece of evidence into digital folders already.

Sophia scanned through my files, her expression growing colder by the page. “This isn’t an isolated incident—this is consistent, chronic abandonment of his parental and spousal duties.”

She lifted her gaze to me. “Nova, are you one hundred percent certain this is what you want?”

I glanced out the office window. After the storm, New York’s sky cleared for once, bright sunlight glinting off glass skyscrapers, sharp enough to sting my eyes.

I spoke quietly, firm in my resolve. “I’m certain. I want the divorce finalized. I want full custody of Anna. I want them both out of my apartment for good.”

Sophia nodded once. “We’ll start the process immediately.”

Tristan didn’t call me until noon the next day. I ignored his incoming call. He texted instead.

[Where’d you take our daughter?]

[Your parents are elderly—dragging them around like this is unfair to them.]

[Kylie cried nonstop this morning, saying she’s the reason you two fought.]

[Nova, just calm down. Don’t throw our family away over a momentary fit of anger.]

I stared at the word “family” he’d typed. It struck me as bitterly ironic. I didn’t send a single reply.

That afternoon, I returned to my apartment with Sophia and a building property manager. Tristan was at work. When we unlocked the front door, Kylie sat at our dining table having a late brunch.

Anna’s custom kids’ plate sat in front of her, filled with fried eggs and cherry tomatoes. Paige wandered the living room wearing Anna’s tiny nightgown, sprinting back and forth across the carpet.

When she spotted me, she spoke without a hint of shame. “I want this! Tell Anna it’s mine now!”

Before I could respond, Kylie forced an awkward smile. “Paige, don’t be rude.”

She stood and faced me, voice soft and placating. “Nova, you’re home at last. Tristan texted that you’d cool off and come back eventually.”

I set printed copies of the property deed and a formal attorney’s letter down on the tabletop. “This is my property title, and this is a legal demand letter.”

Kylie’s smile vanished completely. “What does this mean?”

Sophia stepped forward, tone crisp and strictly professional. “This residence is Ms. Scott’s sole separate property acquired prior to her marriage. Ms. Scott demands all unauthorized occupants vacate the premises within twenty-four hours.”

Kylie’s face drained pale. “I’m only staying temporarily.”

“Then your temporary stay ends now.” I locked eyes with her. “Leave.”

Kylie pressed her lips together, tears flooding her eyes again. “Nova, are you really going to be this ruthless with me? I’m a single mother going through a messy divorce—I have nowhere else to go.”

Her tears didn’t stir an ounce of sympathy in me. “Your hardships don’t grant you the right to take over another woman’s home and steal her child’s belongings.”

Her gentle facade slipped for a split second. “I didn’t steal anything! Tristan invited me here himself.”

“Then you should go stay at Tristan’s place instead.” I reminded her flatly. “Unfortunately for you, he doesn’t own any property at all.”