Chapter 2

When I heard Lydia claimed half the house belonged to her, my fingers tightened around the phone. "Did you ask for my permission before letting Evan move in?"

The other end went silent for a moment before she let out a cold laugh.

"So that's why you're making such a scene. This is all about Evan."

She spoke again, her tone clear.

"You're vicious, James. You went to all this trouble just to make things hard for a great medical researcher."

Vicious. Just because I hadn't died by their hands and had taken back what belonged to me, I was vicious.

I said nothing and hung up.

I went down into the garage and stopped in front of my parking space, but I found it empty.

I opened the location tracker on my phone. The brand-new BMW I had bought for seventy-two thousand dollars was in the next city.

That was Evan's hometown.

I didn't hesitate to mark the car as stolen in the app before calling the police.

The police moved faster than I expected. The car was driven back, and a young man got out of the driver's seat. It was Zack, Evan's brother.

He glared at me viciously, snarling, "My older brother gave me that car! Who do you think you are to call the police on me?"

Soon, hurried footsteps came from the entrance.

Evan rushed in wearing white and went straight to Zack as he choked out a sob. "Zack has never set foot in a police station, and now, you have him treated like a thief..."

Lydia came in behind him and grabbed my wrist without a second thought. "Apologize!"

I pulled free. "This is my car. You gave it to him without my permission."

"This is our car for the wedding!" Lydia snapped, cutting me off. "I have the right to give it to anyone!"

I picked up the car a month ago. She chose the model and the color, then I paid for it.

On the day it was registered, she took Evan out for a test drive while I sat alone at the Department of Motor Vehicles for three hours.

My chest tightened, and I said, "I paid for it in full."

Before I could finish, she slapped me. My head turned to the side from the force, and I froze.

I had known Lydia for a decade and dated her for five years. Before Evan appeared, she would feel so guilty if she even spoke to me a little too harshly that she couldn't sleep.

Now, she had slapped me in front of a room full of people for another man.

Lydia's fingertips trembled. She stepped forward by instinct, but Evan immediately let out another sob.

She stopped, and the coldness returned to her face.

"James, every single word from you is about money now. You're full of greed. You disappoint me! That slap was a lesson. From now on, don't embarrass me by arguing about money in front of outsiders."

I touched my face. "We don't have a future."

I didn't cry or throw a tantrum. Instead, I followed police procedure, signed every document, and closed the case.

When I walked out of the mediation room, a hand grabbed my wrist.

Lydia's tone softened. "I booked a restaurant. You have low blood sugar, and you can't go hungry."

I stopped.

Her voice stayed gentle. "Apologize to Evan at dinner, buy the house back, and let Zack drive the car. Listen to me, and we can still go back to before."

My hands slowly went cold as I pushed her hand away.

"Lydia, we can't go back to how we were."

She frowned, and I gave her a faint smile.

"I'm getting married."