My millionaire father valued his suit more than us until we soaked him with the hose as revenge for his absence, and he shouted, “I’ll send you all away!” but ended up crying on his knees in the mud.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!” Ethan snapped, his voice cutting through the air like ice. “You’re out of control. No discipline, no manners—this is unacceptable!”

Lily’s eyes filled with tears. Lucas dropped the hose, which continued spraying water into the grass, turning it into mud. Ethan stepped forward, furious, grabbing Lucas harshly by the arm.

“That’s enough. I’m sending both of you away—to a boarding school where someone can teach you how to behave!”

Before anything else could happen, Rosa rushed outside. Her face was tight with anger, and without hesitation, she stepped between Ethan and the children.

“Let go of him. Right now,” she said firmly.

Ethan released Lucas, surprised, but his anger remained. “Stay out of this. They’re my children.”

“And they need a father, not a stranger,” George’s voice came from behind them as he stepped onto the lawn, Margaret close behind, clearly shaken. “You show up once in months, spend fifteen minutes on your phone, and think you can talk about discipline?”

Ethan clenched his jaw. His phone vibrated again in his pocket, but this time, he ignored it.

“I work to give them everything,” he said defensively. “I don’t have time for this.”