It turns out, it wasn't that he disliked taking photos, nor that he didn't know how to express fatherly love; it's just that his gentleness and patience were never meant for Leo and me. Our son, from birth, was superfluous in his eyes.
My fingertips trembled slightly as I scrolled through the jarring photos, and I stumbled upon a video from the night before my birthday party. The moment I clicked on it, Leo's innocent cries pierced my ears—in the video, my son was being pinned down on the carpet by Zeke, his little hands flailing helplessly, his face flushed red, while Vanessa stood by, not only not intervening, but also crying pitifully at the camera: "Liam, look, Clara's son is so young and he already fights back. Today he almost scratched Zeke. When he grows up and his mind is more mature, who knows what kind of bullying he'll do to our children!"
At the end of the video, Liam's cold voice can be heard: "Don't worry, I won't give him a chance to hurt Zeke."