I'm Done Raising My Cheating Ex's Son

When my son turned ten, I found out he was the biological child of my wife, Chloe, and her ex-boyfriend. I divorced Chloe immediately. But to my surprise, she cleaned out all our valuables and ran off, leaving the boy behind. Looking at the boy crying, clinging to my leg and begging me to be his dad... My heart softened. I gritted my teeth and raised him anyway. But I never expected that once he grew up, he would choose to go back to his mother. "Mom, John Davis isn't related to me at all. You're my only real family." When I learned the truth, my heart gave out, and I died of a sudden heart attack. But then, I opened my eyes again. I had regressed back to the day Chloe abandoned Toby and ran away. This time, as the boy clung to my leg, crying and begging, I kicked him away without a shred of mercy. And then, I called the local orphanage. Since his biological parents didn't want him, why on earth should I raise this ungrateful leech? But right after I sent the kid to the orphanage, Chloe burst through my door like a madwoman: "John Davis! Who gave you permission to send my son away?!" In my past life, I accidentally found a blood test report for Toby in Chloe's purse. Chloe and I both had Type B blood, but Toby’s was Type O. I didn't confront Chloe right away. Instead, I secretly took a strand of Toby's hair for a DNA test. The results proved that the son I had raised for ten years wasn't mine. Furious, I threw the paternity test right in Chloe's face. She stared at it, completely stunned. Then, with tears in her eyes, she whispered: "I'm sorry." That night, I smoked an entire pack of cigarettes. The next day, I filed for divorce. "I'm keeping the house and the savings. Take your bastard and get out!" I never expected Chloe to sneak back in the middle of the night, steal every valuable in the house, and run away—leaving her son behind. In my past life, I couldn't get ahold of Chloe. And Toby cried so pitifully. My heart softened. After all, I had raised him for ten years. So, I kept him. I didn't tell my parents the real reason for the divorce because I didn't want to break their hearts. They still treated Toby like their own grandson, showing him endless love. They were even worried Toby would get depressed after losing his mother, so they spent a lot of money buying him gifts to comfort him. I thought Toby would be grateful. But I was dead wrong. The moment he graduated from college, he blocked my number and my parents' numbers on everything. My parents couldn't reach him. They asked me if we had gotten into a fight. They even told me not to be too hard on him. They said he had just graduated and still needed our financial support. I pulled every favor and used all my connections to track Toby down. When I finally found him, I accidentally overheard him talking to his mother. Chloe said, "I knew John was soft-hearted and cared too much about his reputation. As long as I abandoned you, he would definitely take care of you." "See? Not only did he pay for your college, but he didn't even dare to tell his own parents!" Toby replied, "Don't worry, Mom. I'm definitely not going to take care of John. Sure, he raised me, but he didn't give birth to me. Why should I support him in his old age?" Only then did I realize that this was their plan all along. Chloe knew I cared about my reputation. She knew I wouldn't tell anyone Toby wasn't my biological son. And she knew I was too soft-hearted to send a child I raised for ten years to an orphanage. She simply waited for me to raise her son into a successful adult, and then she came to reap the harvest. Thinking back on my past life, I let out a cold laugh. In this life, I will never raise another man's child.Toby was still crying. My mom wrapped her arms around his shoulders, trying to comfort him. "Your mother is gone. She abandoned you!" "But even if she doesn't want you, your grandparents do." "Come on, sweetie, Grandma will take you to get some snacks." I grabbed my mom's hand, stopping her. "Mom, Toby isn't my son." My mom's hand froze mid-air. My dad, who had been sitting in the corner silently smoking, froze too. Both of them turned to look at me, their eyes filled with utter disbelief. My mom's lips trembled. "W-what did you say?" I repeated, "I said Toby isn't my son." "He's not mine." "The only reason I divorced Chloe was because she cuckolded me." Toby froze too. A ten-year-old kid is old enough to understand what "not my biological son" means. He looked up at me, his eyes a mix of confusion and disbelief. My mom immediately let go of Toby. "This..." "How... how could this happen?" my mom stammered. "You raised him for ten years. How could he not be yours?" "Is there some kind of mistake?" "What mistake could there be? I did a paternity test, and Chloe admitted it." My mom's eyes instantly welled with tears. "How could she be so shameless? How could she do this to us!" Muttering to herself, my mom walked back into her room. My dad's face was as dark as thunder. He gave Toby one long, deep look. Without saying a single word, he went into his room too. Toby stood in front of me, looking incredibly awkward and lost. He softly called out, "Dad." I cut him off. "I'm not your dad." His lip trembled as he tried to cry, but I didn't give him the chance. "Do you have your mom's number?" I asked. Toby didn't understand what I was trying to do. I asked again, "Do you have her number? I'm calling her to pick you up." Toby lowered his head, his tears splashing onto the floor. He shook his head. I said, "Fine, then I'll call the cops." I pulled out my phone, dialed the police, and explained the situation. I expected the police to help me find Chloe. But after the officer heard the story, and looked at Toby's red, teary eyes, he suddenly said, "Well, since his mother abandoned him, why don't you just keep raising him?" "Even if he isn't yours biologically, you've raised him for ten years. There must be some bond there." I was flabbergasted. "Officer, I'm not his father." The officer replied, "He's called you 'Dad' for ten years. He can keep calling you that." "If you pay to raise him, there's no way he won't take care of you when you're older." Oh, he absolutely would. I asked, "Can I drop him off at an orphanage?" The officer fell silent for a moment, then nodded. I said, "Fine. I'm taking him to the orphanage."Hearing the word "orphanage," Toby panicked completely. He sobbed and screamed, wrapping his arms tightly around my leg. "Dad, please! I don't want to go to the orphanage! Please!" I said coldly, "Your mother abandoned you, and I am not your father. The orphanage is your only option." I pried Toby's hands off my leg. But he kept begging. "Dad, I don't want to go to the orphanage. Please don't throw me away!" His loud cries attracted the next-door neighbors. When the neighbors heard I was sending Toby to the orphanage, they frowned. "John, what are you doing?" "If you didn't want the kid, why did you fight for custody in the first place?" I replied flatly, "Oh, because he's not my biological son." The neighbor's lecture died in their throat, replaced by instant curiosity. "What? He's not yours? What do you mean?" I said, "Exactly what it sounds like. Chloe cheated on me and had another man's kid." "I've already wasted ten years of my life raising another man's bastard. I'm not doing it for another second." In my past life, I would have never dared to say these words out loud. I wanted to save face. I was terrified of what people would say behind my back. But in this life, I didn't care about any of it. Someone in the crowd muttered, "How could Chloe be so shameless?" Another said, "But the kid is innocent. How can you take your anger out on him?" And someone else chimed in, "You've already raised him for ten years. Why not just keep going?" I glared at that person. "If you want him so badly, you take him." He shut his mouth instantly. I dragged Toby into my car. I slammed on the gas and drove straight to the nearest orphanage. Toby refused to get out. He clung to the car door for dear life. "Dad, please don't leave me at the orphanage!" "I'll be good, I promise! Please don't abandon me!" In my past life, after Chloe ran away, Toby indeed became very obedient. He would wash the dishes and sweep the floors. He would buy birthday gifts for me and his grandparents. His grades were always excellent. At every parent-teacher conference, his teachers praised his responsibility and diligence. Even during the summer after he got into college, he proactively took a part-time job. He even used his first paycheck to buy a $50 massager for his grandma. I truly believed Toby was a filial, sensible boy. Back then, I thought to myself: Raising him was the right choice. But I never, in my wildest dreams, expected that the child I spent twenty years of hard work to raise would block every single one of us on social media the very second he graduated from college.The staff at the orphanage came out. Seeing this scene, they were completely shocked. "This is an orphanage. How can you just abandon your own child here?" They stepped forward to persuade me. "If the kid misbehaved, just discipline him. How can you actually dump him at an orphanage?" My voice remained perfectly calm. "He is not my child. His mother abandoned him, and I have no idea who his biological father is. The orphanage is the only place for him." Toby clung to the car door, tears streaming down his face. "Dad, I'm sorry! I'll be good! Please don't leave me!" He sobbed so hard he could barely breathe. He looked so small and pitiful. If I hadn't lived through my past life, maybe my heart would have softened again. But I had already died once. No matter how pitiful this ungrateful viper looked, I would never raise him again. I pried Toby's hands off the car. And pushed him straight into the staff member's arms. "Since your parents don't want you, you'll live here from now on." Toby wailed, trying to throw himself back onto me. But I shoved him away. He stumbled and fell to the ground, scraping his hands on the rough pavement. Seeing this, the orphanage staff rushed over to check on him. An older woman glared at me, pointing a finger. "How can you be so cold-blooded!" "He's calling you 'Dad'! Even if he's not biologically yours, you raised him for years! You must have some feelings for him!" "How can you just throw him away like trash?" I shrugged. "If you love him so much, raise him yourself." With that, I turned around and drove off. No matter how loudly Toby screamed "Dad" behind me, I didn't look back once. To say it didn't hurt at all would be a lie. After all, I had raised him until he was over twenty in my previous life. But the moment I remembered how he blocked all of us, and the conversation he had with his mother, my blood boiled with pure rage. When I got back, my parents saw me alone. They didn't ask a single question. They just told me to wash my hands and eat dinner. With two people suddenly gone, the house felt completely empty. That night, my mom came into my room. She asked when I found out and why I hadn't said anything sooner. So, I told her everything from start to finish. My mom wiped her tears. "It's good you found out early. At least you won't waste your life raising someone else's kid." In my past life, my mom died without ever knowing Toby wasn't my biological son. The next day, I hired a lawyer. I was going to sue Chloe. I wanted back every single penny of child support I spent on Toby over the last ten years. In my past life, I cared too much about my reputation. I let Chloe leave with nothing, but I didn't push further. Yet she still plotted against me. In this life, I wanted everyone to know. Chloe Evans cheated on me and made me raise another man's bastard! The court summons was delivered to Chloe three days later. When she received it, she was utterly dumbfounded. The honest, submissive John Davis was actually suing her? Was she dreaming? Ten years of child support was no small sum. Clutching a bag of gifts, Chloe knocked on my door with a fake, sweet smile. My mom opened the door. Seeing Chloe, my mom's face turned icy. Chloe smiled nervously. "Mom, uh, where are John and Toby?" I walked out of my room. Seeing her, I let out a cold sneer. "Weren't you the one who didn't even want her own son?" "Why are you back?" She gave a stiff laugh. "I was in a rush last time. I forgot him." "John, where is Toby?" I replied nonchalantly, "Oh, I sent him to the orphanage." The smile wiped clean off her face. Then, she shrieked, "What did you say?!" "You sent Toby to the orphanage?!"