Chapter 2

I checked the time. If I did not get back soon, there would be no one at home to look after my mother. Then, I looked at the recently chilled drinks on the table. There were at least ten bottles.

I was not sure if my stomach could take that much alcohol. If I drank it all, the pain caused by the alcohol would be unbearable. But at this point, whether I wanted to drink or not was no longer up to me.

When I still did not move, Samantha spoke again in a cold tone. "What? You don't want to drink? If you don't want to drink, that's fine, too. Get on your knees and beg me. Beg me to forgive you!"

Her voice suddenly became ice-cold, and her dark eyes locked on me. I had never seen Samantha like this before. Back then, she had been adored by everyone. She was innocent, kind, and had a soft, sweet voice. Yet now, she had become someone hardened with nothing but coldness in her eyes.

Someone spoke up for her. "Arthur, if you're a man, apologize to her properly. What you did back then was disgusting. She's already letting you off the hook, so don't act like she still owes you something. If it were me, I wouldn't let you off this easily."

Everyone kept pressuring me.

Then, Samantha stood up with impatience written all over her face. "If you won't do either, then answer me. Was 'that' the reason you really left me back then?"

Did the truth really matter that much?

I looked up at her. I was not going to tell her.

Not even if I were to die.

I picked up one of the cold bottles on the table. "I'll drink. When I'm done, we're even, and you let me go."

Samantha had not expected me to choose drinking over telling the truth. She glared at me in anger. "Fine! Since you'd rather drink than explain yourself, then finish everything on this table! Bring another bottle of vodka! Now! If you can still walk out of here after that, I'll let you go!"

The people around us gasped. This was going too far. With that much beer and the vodka, I would probably end up in the hospital.

Jackson quickly stood up and said, "Samantha, maybe just let him drink a little. If he finishes all of this, he's going to..."

Samantha cut him off. "What is this compared to what I had to drink back then? I drank even more than this, and I still survived! How do you think my family managed to get back on its feet? I earned it one drink at a time."

Her eyes burned with anger as she said that. I knew she had not had an easy life these past few years. Her life was enough to turn a fragile princess into the woman standing in front of me. She had sacrificed a lot.

Samantha then said, "If any of you feel sorry for him, then drink for him."

Her family now had enough influence in Riverton to keep everyone quiet. Jackson had no choice but to sit back down.

I looked at the woman I had once loved with everything I had. Her dark eyes held nothing but bitterness.

That bitterness was hate, down to the bone.

I took a breath. "Thank you, Jackson. I'll drink it myself."

Then I opened the bottles and forced them down, one bottle after another. The cold spread through my whole body, and I could feel the chill in my bones. My stomach twisted so hard it felt like it was wriggling in on itself, the pain unbearable.

As more alcohol went down, I could feel the coldness and burning heat inside my stomach. The pain made me start to sweat cold sweat, but there were still so many bottles left on the table. I could only grit my teeth and keep going.

In the end, some of them could not bear to watch and tried to stop me, but Samantha shut them down at once. "I'll consider anyone who speaks up for him an enemy."

What should have been a cheerful reunion had turned into this, and no one felt comfortable staying. "Samantha, it's not our place to interfere since this is between you and Arthur. We're leaving."

One by one, they all left.

In the end, only a few people remained.

My stomach was churning from all that alcohol, and I nearly threw up more than once. I knew that if this kept up, I might end up in the hospital.

Still, I could not stop.

When she saw how bad I looked, she walked over and grabbed the front of my shirt. "Why can't you just apologize and admit you were wrong?!"

I pulled her hand away. "If you're talking about the dress, then I'm sorry. I'll say it again. I'm sorry."

She grabbed a bottle from the table and smashed it on the floor. "You know that's not what I meant!"

I forced down the pain and said, "I don't know what you mean. There's one bottle left. Once I finish it, you let me go."

It was a bottle of vodka. Just looking at it made my chest tighten.

The burning liquid scraped down my throat, and I coughed so hard my face turned red.

Just as I raised the bottle again, Samantha knocked it out of my hand. "Get out! As far away from me as you can!"

I staggered and fell to the floor. Broken fragments of glass sliced both our hands.

When I saw the blood running down her hand, my chest tightened, but I could only pretend not to care. I watched her find something to wrap it with as I stood there without moving. Then, I got to my feet and hid my own bleeding hand behind my back.

"Thank you, Ms. Scott. I've finished the drinks. Does that mean I don't have to pay for the dress anymore?"

She laughed coldly, but after a long silence, she said, "You don't have to pay for the dress, but I won't let you off this easily. I'll make you pay for what you did back then!"

Just as I turned to leave, the door opened, and someone walked in.

It was Harry Parker, my younger brother.

He looked surprised when he saw me, then a strange smile appeared on his face. "Arthur? What are you doing here?"

Everyone was stunned.

I said nothing and turned to leave, but Harry had no intention of letting it end there. He stepped in front of me and blocked my way. "Don't you know today is Samantha's birthday? Since you're already here, why not stay and celebrate with us? Speaking of which, where have you been all these years?"

I glared at him. He knew perfectly well, yet he still asked. I shot back, "None of your business!"

Harry looked disappointed. "Alright. That's a shame. You insisted on running away from home back then and went looking for your adoptive parents. Mom and Dad were also so heartbroken. How have you been?"

My stomach was already in agony. Hearing that only made me clench my fists tighter. "I'm doing very well. Thank you for worrying about me so much."

"Of course, I'm worried. You're my older brother, after all." Harry looked at me with an innocent expression on his face, then turned to Samantha.

"Oh, right. Samantha and I are getting engaged soon. You have to come."

Engaged?

Harry's words stopped me cold.

Not because they were getting engaged, but because she should never marry the man standing in front of me.

I knew exactly the kind of person he was.