Chapter 3

Everyone stared at him in shock.

"You! You ungrateful brat!"

His stepmother quickly stepped forward, trying to smooth things over.

"Joe, calm down. Whatever it is, we can talk about it. There's no need to upset your father."

"Stay out of this!" Joe snapped. "You're just some actress who started out as his mistress and wormed her way into this family. What makes you think you have any right to lecture me?"

His stepmother's face turned red, then pale. On the verge of tears, she looked helplessly toward his father.

George was furious, but one look at his son's expression told him Joe was ready to tear the whole place apart.

He forced down his anger and waved his wife upstairs with the frightened children.

"What the hell is your problem this time?"

Joe stared straight at him.

"Did you use that medication to force Fiona to marry me?"

George's eyes flickered.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" Joe stepped closer. "George Kingston, answer me! Did you or didn't you?"

Seeing his son on the verge of breaking down, George realized there was no point denying it anymore.

Finally, he admitted it with an irritated scowl.

"So what if I did? I did it for your own good! Fiona Spencer is talented, capable, and has an incredible future ahead of her. Do you have any idea how many families would kill to have a daughter-in-law like her? I found you an amazing wife. What exactly did I do wrong?"

He grew more indignant.

"You're my son! Do you really think I'd do anything to hurt you? Fiona is the only woman who can keep you in line! She's the only one who can make you happy!"

"Happy?"

Joe let out a bitter laugh.

"You call a marriage built on lies and a dirty deal happiness? George Kingston, let me tell you something. I've got plenty of women chasing after me. Plenty who'd jump at the chance to marry me! I don't need some disgusting scheme to trap a woman into being my wife!"

He drew a deep breath, then tore straight through his father's pretense.

"And stop pretending you did this for me! You've been sick of me fighting with you over what happened to Mom all these years. You just wanted to marry me off so I'd finally leave you alone!"

His eyes burned with anger.

"You knew I had high standards and wouldn't settle for just anyone, so you picked Fiona. You wanted me to fall for her, marry her, and have kids with her. Then, once I was settled down with a family of my own, you'd have her convince me to stop fighting over the family fortune!"

He took another step forward.

"That way, you could leave everything to the children you had with that woman you love so much. Isn't that right?"

George's expression shifted several times, but he stubbornly refused to admit it.

"You! That's complete nonsense!"

"Nonsense?"

Joe laughed until tears filled his eyes.

Still, he clung to the last shred of his pride.

"Fine. Whether that's what you intended or not, I'm telling you right now. I don't want a single cent of the Kingston fortune!"

George froze.

For a split second, unmistakable delight flashed through his eyes.

It was brief, but Joe caught it.

His heart sank even further.

"But I have two conditions," he said coldly. "First, give Fiona the medication. Second, use every connection you have to get Fiona and me divorced as quickly as possible."

George had been furious just moments earlier, but the instant Joe declared he was giving up his inheritance, his expression softened considerably.

He even put on a show of being a concerned father.

"Well, there's no point forcing a marriage that isn't working. If you want a divorce, then get one. I only ever wanted you to be happy."

Then his tone changed.

"But as for the medication, I can't give it to her just yet."

He called for a servant to bring him some paper and a pen.

Right there at the table, he wrote up an agreement and pushed it toward Joe.

"Once your divorce is officially approved, you'll go back overseas and stay there. No more coming home and causing trouble. You'll also put it in writing that you're voluntarily giving up any claim to the Kingston family fortune."

George tapped the paper.

"Once all that's done, I'll give Fiona the medication."

Joe stared at the agreement.

His chest felt as though someone had driven a knife straight through it.

This was his father.

A man who had no real affection for his own son.

Every move he made, every scheme he came up with, was for himself and his new family.

Joe picked up the pen.

His hand trembled slightly, but he pressed down hard and signed his name, one deliberate stroke at a time.

"Get the divorce handled as soon as possible."

He set down the pen and looked his father straight in the eye.

"And if I find out you haven't given her the medication..."

He paused.

His voice turned deadly.

"I'm not like Fiona. I don't play by the rules. I'll blow this whole place up. You, that woman, and every one of those kids will pay for it."

With that, he turned away.

He didn't bother looking at his father's furious, stunned expression.

Keeping his back straight, Joe walked out of the house that now disgusted him.

He didn't return to the Spencer residence either.

Instead, he went straight to one of his old favorite nightclubs.

For three days straight, he practically lived there.

He drank. He danced. He surrounded himself with deafening music and crowds of people, hoping the alcohol and noise would numb him.

But the more he drank, the emptier he felt.

And the colder his heart grew.

Several of his closest friends heard what was going on and came to find him.

They couldn't stand watching him destroy himself like this.

One of them grabbed his arm as he reached for another drink.

"Joe, seriously. What the hell happened?"

Joe looked at him through bleary eyes and forced a smile that was more painful than crying.

"What could've happened? Same as always. Just having fun, enjoying myself."

"But you haven't partied like this since you got married!" another friend said worriedly. "Doesn't your major general wife want you in bed with her practically every night?"

"Want me?"

Joe gave a hollow laugh.

"Do you guys know why she's so desperate to sleep with me?"

His chest hurt so badly he could barely stand it.

He threw back his drink in one gulp.

The liquor burned down his throat, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.

He couldn't hold it in anymore.

He told them everything.

By the time he finished, his friends were furious.

They cursed Fiona for being too blind to appreciate him and George for being a shameless bastard.

Joe merely smiled, his expression full of bitterness and self-mockery.

"I'm Joe Kingston. I can have practically any woman I want. Why the hell would I settle for one who's in love with someone else?"

"Exactly!" one of his friends declared. "You've got the looks, the money, the family name. Women would line up from Hemsouth City all the way to Paris just for a chance to marry you! And Fiona Spencer doesn't even appreciate what she's got!"

"Damn right! And knowing you, Joe, once you're done with someone, you're done for good. Even if she comes crawling back on her knees begging you to take her back, there's no way you'd give her another chance!"

Joe laughed.

But there was nothing happy about it.

Beg him?

Fiona would never beg him.

Once he went overseas and the medication was handed over, she'd finally be free to be with Xavier.

She'd probably be thrilled.

Why would she ever come begging for him to come back?

Another sharp ache twisted through his chest.

He made an excuse about needing the restroom, wanting a moment alone.

But as he stepped out, he accidentally bumped into a man who reeked of alcohol.

The drunk immediately flew into a rage.

"Watch where you're going, asshole! You got a problem? I'll teach you a lesson!"

He raised his hand, ready to hit Joe.

Joe was already in the worst mood imaginable.

His eyes turned cold, and he was just about to strike back when a sickening crack rang out.

A man's agonized scream followed.

"AAAH!"

Joe looked up.

Standing in front of him was a woman with a beautiful, cool expression, her face now dark with fury.

Fiona Spencer.