Chapter 2

I gazed into Candace's eyes, which always held a sort of watery gleam to them that easily roused another's protective instincts.

My mind drifted to years ago, when she first came to the university. As someone from a small town, she was timid and shy, so I had immediately taken pity on her.

At the time, I had just sworn independence from my family, and my financial situation was rather dire. It was Candace who had always shared her breakfast with me, claiming that she couldn't finish it. Later on, she used the money that she had saved up to buy me a new phone on my birthday.

I had been more than happy to return the favor, to repay her for all that she had done for me. Since she wasn't used to the cuisine here, I had decided that I would cook for her every day.

After two entire semesters of this, Nathan finally couldn't stand it anymore. "Are you her housekeeper?"

I had replied, "I'm not just her housekeeper, but also her bodyguard."

Once, while we were out together, we encountered some thugs. Candace told me to run first while she covered my escape. In the end, she suffered a terrible beating that left her with broken bones for three months.

I had thought myself incredibly lucky to have met Nathan and Candace in this life.

Who knew that things would come back to bite me, and in the format of buy one, get one free, too!

"Whatever."

With that chilly response, I snatched my phone up and left the room.

Behind me, I heard Nathan and Candace start playing their game.

"Nate, you've brought your girlfriend along to climb the ranks again, huh?"

The jeering of Nathan's group of friends came through his laptop's speakers.

"Hot damn! Isn't that the couple's skin that's on promotion? Nate, stop flaunting your relationship in our faces!"

I walked away as the faint sound of Nathan's pleased laughter rang out in the room behind me. It would seem that they felt even more at ease when I wasn't around.

I loitered around outside for hours and didn't return till it was already midnight.

As I neared our room, I heard Candace on the phone.

"Nate already told me that he has a high chance of getting into the R&D division at Japerton, and if he's able to bring one person along, he'll definitely put my name in. I'm different from Liana. She's so capable and strong, while I have nothing…"

I abruptly threw the door open and entered.

Candace clamped a hand over her phone as she stared at me in shock.

"Lily, where did you go? Nate and I were looking everywhere for you."

When I brushed past her, I spotted the messaging app open on her screen. There was a little number at Nathan's photo showing that she had 20 unread messages.

In stark contrast, I had absolutely zero messages from him.

Unpinning her and Nathan from the top of my messaging app contact list, I took a shower before climbing into bed, not once saying a word to her.

The next morning, I woke up bright and early, only to discover that Candace was already gone.

I headed out to meet with my dad, who had come to the city on business and insisted on looking around my university.

On the way there, I called Nathan. "Nathan, my dad and stepmother are going to be here soon. Where are you?"

My stepmother was a snob and elitist who often mocked me for playing out of my league. She thought that Nathan was too good for me.

Half a year ago, Nathan happened to overhear her sarcastic comments and vowed over the phone that he would marry me immediately after we graduated.

Back in the present, there was a moment of silence on the other end of the call.

"Maybe you should go back and spend time with Lily. I can handle this myself," came Candace's voice, sounding thick and nasally.

Nathan told me in a tight voice, "Liana, Candace sprained her ankle, so I'm going to keep her company for now while she sees the doctor. Try to delay things a little, okay?"

At that moment, the nurse called Candace's number, and he swiftly hung up.

I checked Candace's Instagram account and saw that her newest post was a photo taken of a puddle that reflected two figures, standing shoulder to shoulder on a hiking trail.

The caption read, "A certain someone keeps teasing me, calling me a little girl, so I'm going to prove to him today that I'm a big girl and untouchable! Hmph!"

He had the free time to hike a mountain with Candace, yet he couldn't even spare a glance at the restaurant address I had sent him last night.

At the restaurant, my stepmother kept sniping at me, either mocking me for being so useless that I couldn't even keep hold of Nathan or saying how I definitely wouldn't be able to find a man with my horrible temper.

I slammed my glass of water down with a loud thunk, got up, and turned to leave.

Her cold laughter reached my ears before she insulted me loudly. "Weren't you the one bragging about how capable you were? About how you could survive on your own and that you had found a rich boyfriend? Well, you're just like your deadbeat mother—no talent, but always pretending otherwise!"

Spinning on my heel, I dumped the pitcher of water over her head, which netted me a harsh slap from my father and a declaration that I was no longer his daughter.

I only allowed myself to burst into tears once I had left the restaurant. The last person I wanted to look down on me was the stepmother who had stolen my father from me. Nathan had said he would be my support, that he would help me show them that I could thrive in life.

Yet, where had he been?

Throughout the meal, I had sent him over 30 messages asking for help, yet every single time, he had simply told me to wait a little longer.

I headed straight to Nathan's dorm to find him, but the sight that greeted me as I opened the door was of Candace's leg placed in his lap.

Upon seeing me, she hurriedly pulled her leg back, though Nathan didn't set down the tube of ointment he was holding.

"Why didn't you come for lunch?"

I swept a gaze across the room, noting that the curtains were drawn tightly even though it was the middle of the day.

Candace scrambled to explain. "Lily, I left my insurance card back at school, so Nate had to make an extra trip, and that's why—"

"You shut up!" I glared at her.

That instantly made her eyes redden. Shoving Nathan aside, she limped out of the room at a fast pace.

Nathan took two steps after her before turning back to wrap me in a hug.

"Candace is your best friend. How could you be jealous of her? I just think of her as a younger sister. You know how much of a ditz she is. If I had left her alone at the hospital, she would've gotten herself lost.

"Anyway, you were rather harsh on her earlier, so you'd better apologize to her later when you return. As for your parents, I'll treat them to a meal tomorrow, okay?"

Nearly every single sentence out of him bore mention of Candace.

I pushed him away from me, briefly weighing the words I wanted to speak in my mind. At last, I couldn't hold them back any longer.

"Nathan, let's—"