"You can't do this." Daehyun told her on the phone as he stared down at the preliminary divorce papers.
"It's for the best." she argued.
"No it's not. This is selfish."
"Selfish?!"
He closed his eyes and swallowed. Not the best choice of words to say out loud but still true. "Please." he tried again with a softer tone. "You can have everything else. The house and everything in it. Just not this."
She scoffed. "I don't want any of that. I want this."
He his lips and said something he never said to her before, "No."
"You're never around! How can you possibly think you can raise her? You're never there for her just like you were never there for me."
"Don't." he begged. "You can't do this. You can't take her from me."
There was a moment of silence on the line before she spoke. "I can and I will. Then you'll know what it's like to be alone." Then the line disconnected.
He stared at his phone in shock until his hand started shaking. Then he set it down on the coffee table and saw the papers again. The one part on it that seemed to be glaring at him and mocking him. 'Full custody'.
This was the breaking point. He ended up giving in to the divorce like she wanted but this he couldn't give her. Not his baby girl. Not Jaylie.

He did everything he could think of. His friends and family wrote letters, vouching that he was a good father and able to provide for his daughter. He registered her for a daycare that was considered one of the best in the city. Child services came to his house for an inspection and he showed them around the house. Including the nursery and the items he had bought to replace what his wife had taken with her.
She did the same thing though and that was how he learned about the guy she left him for. And how rich he was so she could stay home once more and be with Jaylie all day. He was home every night.
That tipped the tide in her favor and Daehyun felt crushed when the judge made his decision. She got full custody. He got visitation.
That night he sat at home on the couch in the dark with nothing but a bottle of liquor to keep him company. And a little, pink blanket.


"You got to be kidding me." he angrily hissed at her.
"No I'm not." she told him without a hint of anger in her voice. Instead she spoke sweetly. "It'll be so much easier on everyone. On you. Jaylie will be able to get on his insurance so you don't have to pay for her anymore. You also won't have to pay child support. I know it's not much with since he makes so much money but wouldn't it be nice to have that extra bit every month?"
Daehyun scoffed. "It also means no more visitation."
"I'm not going to do that to you. You can still see her every other weekend."
"The whole reason I can only see her every other weekend is because you wanted to keep her from me." he countered. "Why should I trust you?"
She sighed and he noticed the twitch in her jaw she did whenever she got angry. Instead she smiled at him. "I promise Daehyun. She's your daughter, I won't keep her from you."
He shook his head and the papers back at her, unsigned. "I will not give up my rights."
She took a deep breath and took them from him. "Fine." she said and stuffed them back in her purse. "See you next visitation."
Daehyun picked Jaylie up and gave her a hug. Then he kissed her on the cheek and made her giggle.
"Love you baby girl." he told her and she jabbered back at him like she was answering him.
He couldn't help but smile. "Next time you come over, you'll say 'Dada'. Right?"
She giggled again and then did more baby talk. Then Daehyun begrudgingly handed her over to his ex-wife, feeling the sadness already filling him at the thought of having to wait yet another two weeks to see his daughter again.
"Love you." he uttered one more time at her before the front door closed.


The weekend of his next visitation, Daehyun knew something was wrong when they didn't show up on time. He kept waiting though and stared at the clock. Nervously fidgeting on the couch and biting his thumb. When it was thirty minutes past, he grabbed his phone and called her.
"Hello."
"Where are you?" he asked, forcing the panic to stay out of his voice.
"Oh Daehyun, I'm sorry. I forgot to call you. My father fell seriously ill and we're driving out to see him." she told him.
"But it's my weekend." he argued.
"I know but this is a family emergency. Visitation can be ignored in the case of emergencies." she reminded him. "I'll make up the weekend when we get back in town."
He hid a frustrated growl. "And when will that be?"
"I have to go now. I'll call you." Then she hung up.
Daehyun didn't hide his frustration this time as he slammed his phone on the coffee table. "Damn it!"
He ran his hands through his hair before rubbing his face as he felt his eyes watered. There was nothing he could do though. He just had to wait until they came back to see Jaylie again.

Next weekend came and went. Then the next weekend. And the next one after that. And the next. Weekend after weekend of tense phone calls. When she did answer.
He begged. He threatened. He pleaded. He screamed. He broke down. She stopped answering and he knew for certain.

'Love you' were his last words to her. His world was gone.