My Alleged Husband

Chapter 945: Chapter 838: Relatives

Zhang Zhentian simply couldn’t accept the words his father said to him. After all, no matter what, he was still his father’s son. How much bitterness and hatred did his father harbor against him to say such ruthless and heartless things to his own child? He himself, as a son, was also a father—how could he possibly bear hurting his own child? Why did they always fail to see the good in him or their own family and only ever focus on the pain and harm he brought time and again? Why did everyone push all the suffering and responsibility onto him? Was he born into this life just to take all the blame for them?

”Dad, no matter what, I am your biological son. You have no right to say such things to me. You know that I’m not the kind of person with a heart of stone. How could I possibly disregard my own son? What you’re doing is too hurtful and heartbreaking for me. I never imagined that one day the bond between us as father and son would deteriorate into what it is now. Do you think this is the kind of life we wanted?”

”You always think that everything I do is wrong. But have you ever considered why I’ve done so many things the wrong way? Am I destined to be kicked out of the family time and again? I genuinely don’t understand what kind of reason has led you to be so cold toward me, what kind of incident has made you so distrustful of me. Is it because I made mistakes in the past that, no matter what I do now, I cannot earn even the tiniest shred of trust from you?”

”I hope that, no matter what happens, the trust between us as father and son can endure forever. Only if we trust each other can we go the distance together.”

”Look at us now—it’s no longer a home. Endless arguments, endless disruption, leading us to this ending. Do you think this is the outcome we ever wanted?”

Old Master Zhang knew full well that none of this was what he wanted. But things had developed to this point, and even if he wanted to take it all back now, it was too late. He vividly remembered every word he had ever said.

Back when his son left the family, he made lofty promises, never regarding any of the family as truly one of his own. Given that, why should he demand so much now? Request after request, excess after excess—he was driving himself step by step into a corner. He had never envisioned enduring so much suffering and torment in this life. He originally thought that as long as he could be happy, could hold on, he would persevere to the end despite hardships. What did a bit of suffering matter? But now, he realized that what he had done, in his son’s eyes, was nothing but a joke. After all the sacrifices he had made for his son, receiving gratitude was out of the question; all he felt from him was hatred. What kind of son did he bring into this world? Remembering everything he did for him back then, it all now seemed so unworthy.

”Deep in your heart, you know you’re my son. No matter what you’ve done, how many mistakes you’ve made, you can never change that fact. I’ve told you this more than once. How else do you want me to explain it? Did you even consider the consequences of all your actions and errors? Did you ever think about how much pain and suffering they would bring to those who love you? All you ever wanted was the fleeting joy deep in your heart. Instead, you dismissed the genuine sincerity of everyone around you, failing to understand that people need your care too. Did you forget that you have a son of your own, a family of your own, relatives who care for you?”

”It’s precisely because I know I have loved ones that I’ve kept sacrificing for you all over and over again. Why won’t you ever take a moment to see things from my perspective? And the result? Am I not living a life of misery, of exhaustion? You kick me out of the family time and again, you hurl hurtful and heartless words at me time and again. Do you think I’ve remained unaffected, that I deserve all this?”

”You all think everything I do is wrong. But have you ever considered that maybe everything I’ve done was for you? Why do you treat me this way? Why won’t you give me even just an ounce of genuine sincerity? Is it really that hard to give me your true heart?”

”Now you talk about family, about loved ones. But have you ever thought about how much hardship each person in this family has endured? Reflect on the things you’ve done—has there been a single deed worthy of forgiveness? Time and again, we forgave you only because you are family. But you? Time and again, you’ve hurt us over and over. Have you truly treated us as family? In reality, you haven’t. You don’t even know what you’re doing all this for. All you’ve been chasing is that little bit of freedom deep within yourself. You believe that freedom will bring you joy, will let you soar through the skies. But you’ve forgotten—no matter how high you fly, the harder you’ll crash in the end. Do you understand now what you’ve gotten in return? You kept yearning to fly, but now?”

”Can you truly say that the life you’re living now is happy, joyful, satisfying? You’ve forgotten all those who were hurt time and again because of you, just how much pain and sorrow they’ve endured.”

”For the sake of bringing you all back to a peaceful home and a happy life, they paid so much, bore so much public scrutiny, withstood so much ridicule and mockery. But you’ve never cared about any of it.”

”Perhaps in your eyes, everything you want is nothing more than an illusion. But you? What have you gained from doing this time and again? You abandoned your family, repeatedly hurt every person who truly loved you. And in the end? You ended up with nothing. On the contrary, you caused harm to more people. Time and again, you acted without waking up to reality. Time and again, you hurt everyone around you. Deep down, what are you even thinking? What kind of justification or cause could make you behave so obstinately over and over again?”