New Year New Life

On New Year's Eve, I went to court for the last time.

The judge asked if I still wanted to file for custody of my daughter.

I shook my head and said, "I'm here to withdraw my case. I'm going to stop fighting for custody anymore. I agree with the divorce."

Vivian and I had been married for nine years, and the divorce had dragged through six hearings.

I spent six New Year's Eve in court.

There had been no joy, only hysterical accusations.

I was tired.

My daughter was tired, too.

So, I finally stopped holding on.

I had already booked my flight home for the year.

The judge didn't ask anything else as he simply handed me a divorce agreement.

I had just signed it when the door opened. Vivian and Nancy walked in.

Maybe Vivian thought I was still going to fight her in court, just like I had the last six times. Her voice was cold as she said, "This will be the seventh time you dragged me to court, Landon. You really don't know when to quit."

Then, she sneered.

"But you're going to lose this time. Nancy's already eight. She has a say about who she wants to live with."

Nancy hid behind Vivian, and the way she looked at me was distant and cold. She didn't even hesitate when she said, "I want to live with Mom and Jason."

I suddenly thought of the video Jason Reed had sent me the night before. Apparently, they celebrated New Year's Day early and already had dinner together. With how happy they looked, they were like a real family of three.

At the table, Nancy had frowned and said, "This is all Dad's fault! He makes us celebrate New Year's Day early every year."

I wanted to explain to my daughter that it wasn't true. The hearings had been pushed back to New Year's Eve every year because Vivian claimed she could not get away from work. I hadn't done it on purpose.

But then Nancy rambled on, "After all these years, he's still so attached to us like some crazy person. I hate having a dad like that… It would be so much better if Jason were my dad."

At that moment, I stopped wanting to explain.

Everything I did for the trials in the past six years felt like a joke. As it turned out, the daughter I fought for didn't want to stay with me, and she certainly didn't see me as her dad.

So, when Nancy said to my face that she wanted to live with her mother, all I could feel was a dull ache in the chest.

"It's fine," I said. "I'm here to withdraw my petition anyway. I don't want you anymore, either."

Nancy's eyes instantly reddened with anger as if she didn't expect me to say that.

"You're lying! If you really didn't want me, you wouldn't have brought Mom to court!"

I took out the signed divorce agreement and then pointed to the line where I had voluntarily given up custody.

"I just signed it," I said, my voice cold. "I forgot to tell you that you didn't need to come to court today."

Vivian clearly had not expected me to have already finished signing the agreement. It took her a long time to speak.

"Have you thought this through? Once we're divorced, it won't be easy for you to see Nancy after this."

I nodded.

Vivian and I had been married for nine years. By the third year, we were already arguing about the divorce because of Jason.

I had fought for six full years for Nancy, all because she had cried and begged me to stay in her broken voice when she was two.

However, so much has changed in the past six years. My daughter was not the only one sick of it. I was tired, too.

So now, I handed the divorce agreement to Vivian.

"Sign it."

I'm giving you your freedom back.