My Wife Replaced Me With My Son’s Teacher

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That day, during the parent-child event, I was sweating buckets inside that heavy mascot costume, jumping around just to get a few more laughs out of my son.

When I stepped off stage, Chloe handed me a bottle of water, saying casually:

While you were bouncing around up there for half an hour, Liam and I were making out backstage.

"He said he felt bad seeing me struggle with Leo alone."

Liam was a struggling student I'd sponsored for four years.

Just ten minutes earlier, he'd clapped me on the shoulder, his face earnest as he promised:

"Ethan, don't worry. If Chloe ever betrayed you, I'd be the first to stand against it."

Chloe stood in front of me, her voice dripping with contempt:

"Choose now. Are you going to finish this act with your son, or are we going to fight about divorce again, like always?"

I watched my son, who'd just been calling me Dad, now clinging to Liam, whining and calling him "Mr. Liam." A wave of pure disgust washed over me.

This toxic wife, this ungrateful son C I wanted none of them anymore.

"Why him, of all people?"

I clenched my fists, asking in a low voice.

Chloe just chuckled.

"Ethan, what are you pretending to be clueless about?"

"Liam is young, smart, and understands me... not like you, who spends all day either fussing over Leo or nagging about trivial details and endless chores."

This self-righteous arrogance was even more repulsive than the infidelity itself.

"Dad!"

Seven-year-old Leo rushed over, clutching a handful of colorful candies.

He stuffed the candy into his pocket, then pointed at the insulated lunch box in my hand and complained.

"Dad, your homemade lunch is so gross. It's all vegetables, no flavor at all."

Leo pouted, then proudly held up the candy in his hand like a trophy.

"Mr. Liam gave me this candy, and it's so sweet! He even said he'd bring me some every day from now on."

I looked at the cheap, artificially colored candies in his hand, preparing to take them away.

"Leo, your cough isn't gone yet. You shouldn't eat anything this sweet..."

Leo pushed my hand away, his little face scrunched up. He hid behind Chloe, muttering softly.

"Dad, are you going to start fighting about divorce again..."

"Today's a school event, can you just let me enjoy it?"

Even my son had started calling my pain a "fight."

I froze, a chill running through me.

Just then, Liam walked over, his eyes red-rimmed.

"Ethan, I'm so sorry..." He lowered his gaze, his voice timid.

"Chloe and I just made a mistake. Don't blame her, it's all my fault."

As he spoke, he naturally squatted down, hugged Leo, and gently patted his back.

"Don't worry, Leo. Adults will sort out adult problems. Mr. Liam will always be on your side."

Leo hugged his neck tightly, nodding repeatedly.

Chloe, in front of several other parents, reached out and patted Liam's shoulder, shielding him.

"Ethan, it's a school event today. Don't embarrass our son in front of the whole school. If you want to fight, do it at home."

I held back, not wanting to make a scene, until the crowd gradually dispersed.

I reached out to take Leo's hand and lead him home.

But he forcefully pulled away, turning to run towards Liam.

He looked up, his eyes full of anticipation, and asked.

"Mr. Liam, can you come to our house for dinner tonight?"

That evening, Chloe actually brought Liam home.

Liam changed into a pair of dark blue slippers that Chloe had bought just a few days ago.

I had asked her why she bought men's large, and she'd said they were on sale at the supermarket.

He walked into the kitchen as if he owned the place, pulling fried chicken and sweet sauce out of a bag.

"Leo, come wash your hands! Your favorite fried chicken is here!"

He smiled brightly, a hint of challenge in his eyes.

"Chloe specifically told me Leo's been craving this lately, so she asked me to bring some."

I stood in the entryway, watching him naturally open the cupboard and take out plates and forks.

I suddenly realized that Chloe had already prepared this home for another man.

At the dinner table, Leo ate, his mouth greasy, not even glancing at the vegetables I'd made.

"Dad's food has no flavor. Mr. Liam's takeout is so much better."

He loudly declared, gnawing on a drumstick.

I frowned, looking at the dipping sauce: "Leo is allergic to peanuts. Is there any peanut in this sauce?"

Liam immediately put down his fork, frowning as he looked at Chloe.

"Ethan, I checked the ingredient list. Absolutely no peanuts."

"Are you being too sensitive, or do you think I would intentionally harm Leo?"

Chloe reached out and ruffled Leo's hair, her tone clearly annoyed.

"Ethan, stop being so dramatic."

"It's because you're so paranoid all the time that you've made the child so spoiled."

"Liam is a professional preschool teacher. Wouldn't he know these things? Stop making such a big deal out of nothing."

Watching Chloe's self-righteous expression, seeing their "happy little family" scene, I found the meal impossible to swallow.

After dinner, Liam voluntarily offered to do the dishes.

When I walked into the kitchen to get water, he had his sleeves rolled up, deliberately exposing an old silver watch on his wrist.

The watch was a distinctive style, with a small star engraved on its face.

It was the wedding anniversary gift Chloe had given me three years ago.

I loved it back then and wore it for a long time, only putting it away when the clasp broke.

"That watch..." I stopped at the kitchen doorway, my voice tight.

Liam continued washing dishes, speaking softly.

"Chloe said you don't like these little things, and it was just gathering dust in a drawer, so she gave it to me."

Every word sounded like an apology, but every syllable declared his claim over her.

"It's fine, you can keep it."

I walked out of the kitchen with my glass of water. Chloe grabbed my arm and pulled me onto the balcony.

She closed the sliding door, lit a cigarette, and looked at me coldly through the smoke.

"Ethan, I'm warning you, don't keep bringing up divorce."

"Do you think divorce is some kind of fun game?"

She exhaled a smoke ring, then began to list our three previous reconciliations.

"The first time, Leo had a high fever in the middle of the night, and you couldn't handle it alone. You called and begged me to come back."

"The second time, your dad collapsed with high blood pressure and was hospitalized. Who ran around paying bills and dealing with everything?"

"And the third time... you can't leave this home, and you can't leave me."

"Liam is sensible and obedient, he won't threaten your position. You'd better be smart and not mess things up."

Every time I softened, every compromise I made for the child and the family, became her leverage to humiliate me today.

Back in the bedroom, I pulled open the bottom drawer.

Neatly stacked inside were three divorce decrees, and three photos from our reconciliations.

In the photos, Chloe smiled lovingly every time.

And I, every time, foolishly believed she had truly changed for the better.

But it turned out, she was just increasingly convinced that I would never leave.

Late that night, I got up for water. Passing Leo's room, the door was ajar.

Liam's hushed voice came from inside: "Leo, if Mom and Dad really separate, who do you want to live with?"

I stopped, holding my breath.

The room was silent for a long time.

Then, I heard the son I had raised from infancy say:

"I want to be with Mom, and Mr. Liam."

The next morning, I took my transfer request to Principal Thompson's office at the kindergarten.

I didn't want Leo to stay in Liam's class. I was afraid he'd be a bad influence.

But the principal looked at my application with a troubled expression.

"Mr. Miller, actually, Mr. Liam is usually very attentive to Leo."

"And, I've heard from other parents that you're too strict with your son, and he's under a lot of stress."

I was stunned: "Other parents?"

As I walked out of the office, several parents who were usually active on the SnapChat group immediately gathered around.

"Mr. Miller, it's normal for young teachers to be close to kids. You shouldn't be so sensitive."

"Exactly. What dad isn't stressed about raising kids these days? You should be happy a teacher is willing to help out more."

It was then I understood: Liam had already painted me as an overly controlling man to everyone.

At the end of the hallway, Liam suddenly emerged from a storage room and cornered me.

"Ethan, do you know why Chloe likes me?"

I looked at him coldly: "Because you're a jerk."

He didn't get angry, instead he said softly: "Chloe says I'm like you when you were younger. But she also says you're too boring now."

He took a step closer.

"Chloe has actually told me a lot about you."

"Like your college roommate, and the person who took care of you after your surgery, and your old gym buddy."

"Chloe says every single one of them knew how to please her, how to make her happy, better than you did."

Liam chuckled scornfully, "Ethan, you're a real failure as a person."

My mind exploded.

All those years, what I thought were misunderstandings and coincidences, were actually all humiliations Chloe had carefully arranged for me.

I went home at noon, slamming my bag onto the couch, and confronted Chloe, who had just gotten off work.

"Is what Liam said true?"

"My college roommate suddenly moving abroad, my post-surgery caregiver bringing you soup in the middle of the night, and my gym partner leaving the group... was it all because of you?"

Chloe paused, her hand on her jacket, and frowned impatiently.

"Ethan, what's wrong with you? Those are all in the past, do we really need to dig up old dirt?"

She stepped closer to me.

"Didn't you already know what kind of person I am?"

"All these years, haven't you been the one clinging to this family, insisting on giving Leo a complete home?"

All those years of what I thought were misunderstandings, what I thought were friendships falling apart, were actually all chronic humiliations Chloe had inflicted on me.

In the evening, Leo returned from school.

He was carefully holding a handmade award medal made of colorful construction paper.

As soon as he walked in, he shouted excitedly.

"Mom, look at my medal, isn't it pretty? The class is having a parent-child event on Friday!"

I walked over, wanting to see his artwork.

But he stepped back, hugging the medal tightly to his chest.

"Don't touch it! Don't mess up the little flower on it, Mr. Liam helped me glue it."

My hand, suspended in mid-air, slowly withdrew. On the back of the medal, clumsily written in English, were the words:

Mom, Me, Mr. Liam.

Leo hugged the medal to his chest, looked up at me, and added softly.

"Dad, can you not come to the event on Friday?"

"I'm afraid you'll get upset again and make Mr. Liam angry."

I still went to the parent-child event on Friday.

The classroom was decorated warmly and festively. Each child was on stage, displaying their drawing of "My Family."

When it was Leo's turn, he proudly held up his drawing.

I wasn't in the picture.

Only him, Chloe, and Liam.

The parents in the class politely applauded.

Liam, sitting in the front row, had red-rimmed eyes, nodding repeatedly with emotion.

The teacher hosting the event seemed a little awkward and asked softly: "Leo, who did you draw? Why isn't your dad in the picture?"

Leo clutched the corner of his shirt, his voice clear.

"Dad always scolds me, won't let me eat candy, won't let me watch TV."

"Mr. Liam plays with me and buys me yummy food. I want Mr. Liam to be my dad."

Kids are brutally honest, and sometimes their honesty cuts deepest.

A few embarrassed laughs rippled through the classroom, and some parents tried to smooth things over, saying children don't know any better.

I stood up, striding to the front of the stage, wanting to take Leo home.

Chloe suddenly grabbed my wrist from the side.

"Ethan, what are you doing?"

Apparently, in her eyes, even my disappointment and sadness had to be timed so she wouldn't lose face.

I forcefully pulled my hand away from hers and stormed out of the classroom.

Just as I reached the stairwell, Liam *pretended* to follow me out.

"Ethan, don't be mad at Leo..."

He mumbled apologies, but forcibly shoved a photo from the parent-child event into my hand.

In the photo, Leo was standing on tiptoes, hugging Liam's neck, while Chloe stood beside them, smiling gently and indulgently.

Liam leaned close to my ear.

"Ethan, children are actually more honest than adults. They know who is better to keep around."

"Staying in this family will only make everyone miserable."

I crumpled the photo into a ball and tossed it into a nearby trash can, leaving the kindergarten without looking back.

Soon after I got home, Chloe returned with Leo.

She walked directly to the coffee table, pulled a document from her briefcase, and pushed it heavily towards me.

It was a divorce agreement.

"Ethan, since no one is happy, let's just get divorced."

She leaned back on the couch, her tone as calm as if discussing the weather.

"You can stay in this house for now, but I must have custody of Leo."

"You've seen how unstable Leo is right now. He can't be without Liam's care."

I looked at the neatly printed agreement and suddenly found it utterly absurd.

"Chloe, are you asking me to give my wife and son to a homewrecker?"

She frowned, her voice full of impatience.

"Don't say such nasty things!"

"We've gotten to this point because you weren't good at managing a family. Even our son rejects you, so don't blame anyone else."

"Just sign it. Let's part ways amicably."

Leo hid behind Chloe's legs, tightly hugging the teddy bear Liam had given him.

I squatted down, looking at the son I had raised from infancy, my voice tight.

"Leo, do you want to come with Dad? Dad promises that from now on..."

"No!"

Leo hugged the bear even tighter, tears welling in his eyes.

He backed away repeatedly, crying and shouting at me.

"Dad, can you stop pushing me!"

"I don't want to choose you! I want to be with Mom and Mr. Liam!"

In that moment, I suddenly didn't want to fight anymore.

I stood up, walked to the bedroom, and retrieved the three divorce decrees.

And a cross-district school transfer application form I had already stamped.

I pushed all these documents towards Chloe.

Chloe's face finally changed when she saw the transfer application, her brow deeply furrowed.

"Ethan, what do you mean? What game are you playing now?"

I picked up the pen on the table and swiftly signed my name.

"It means that this time, I'm not looking back."