Chapter 5

Half an hour later, as Caelan wheeled his suitcase out of the villa, Shane stopped him and handed him a family portrait of him with Christian and Chloe. "I'm sorry. Everything happened so suddenly. I only had time to save this one."

He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "...Mr. White Senior asked you not to hate Ms. White; she's only doing this to repay a debt of gratitude."

Caelan lowered his gaze and forced a faint, bitter smile. "I don't hate her." However, he didn't love her anymore, either.

He accepted the photo and got into the car. On his way to the airport, he casually pulled up his social media feed and came across Ezra's latest post. The collage was made up entirely of screenshots of conversations between Ezra and Misty.

As it turned out, when Ezra whined about being worried that his wound would leave a scar, Misty would track down the best plastic surgeon in the country to make sure he received the finest cosmetic sutures. When Ezra ran a high fever from his injury, Misty would stay up all night, tending to him without a moment's rest.

Ezra hadn't lost his job. Misty had invested 100 million dollars in Portside Press Holdings, and Ezra had been promoted directly to a news anchor position at the television station owned by the company.

Misty remembered that he loved the most popular fine-dining restaurant in the south end of the city, and she knew he was allergic to mangoes. Even when she was away on a business trip, if she received a text saying that he had nicked his hand while chopping vegetables, she would immediately cancel her plans and rush back to take him to the hospital...

The tenderness Caelan had believed was meant exclusively for him had, in fact, been given to someone else ages ago. It turned out that, whether in his past life or this current one, without even realizing it, Misty had fallen for Ezra.

Caelan had simply been too foolish—too blind to recognize the truth—to think that he could destroy their relationship. He laughed until tears quietly trickled down his face.

Likes and comments were piling up beneath the post. Some of them were left by mutual friends who had previously stood up for Caelan. "Wishing you two a lifetime of happiness!"

All of them were Misty's close friends—the same women who had treated Caelan like unwanted baggage when he first joined their group. Yet now, in the span of only a few days, they had already accepted Ezra.

Tears blurred Caelan's vision as he raised his hand and tapped the like button, too. "Misty, in this life, I'll set you free," he thought.

…

Half an hour later, the car pulled up beneath a riverfront apartment building. It was the 12th birthday gift Christian and Chloe had given him.

When Caelan pushed open the door to the apartment, a dull ache flared up in Caelan's chest. Christian had personally painted the walls, while Chloe had handpicked all the furniture.

At the time, Chloe had looked at 12-year-old Caelan with nothing but love in her eyes and said, "This is our Caelan's safe haven. Even if we're no longer around in the future, no matter when or where, no one can ever take this haven away from you."

In the living room, which still held the last traces of Christian and Chloe left behind in this world, Caelan curled up on the couch and fell into a deep sleep. In the days that followed, he made no effort to think about Misty again. Perhaps influenced by his state of mind, the previously active comments also fell silent for several days.

…

The following day, Caelan met up with his best friend, Marcus Montgomery, who had just returned from abroad for drinks. Marcus teased him, "What's going on with you? You haven't brought up your precious Misty even once today!"

His expression finally shifted when he noticed Caelan's phone wallpaper was no longer a picture of him and Misty. He instinctively reached out to feel Caelan's forehead, muttering to himself, "You're not running a fever… You've had that wallpaper for almost ten years. When your old phone with that picture on it accidentally fell into the ocean, you jumped in without a second thought to get it back. Why did you—"

The rest of his words died in his throat when he saw Misty and Ezra's engagement photo on the giant screen outside the window.

Marcus' expression instantly darkened. His blood boiled, and he prepared to storm off and demand an explanation from Misty right then and there.

Caelan, however, merely smiled as if he didn't care. "Forget it. I'm getting married to someone else, too."

Marcus was dumbstruck. His face cycled between red and white, and it was a long while before he finally regained his composure.

"The woman who loses you is definitely going to regret it, Caelan!" he gritted out.

When Caelan laughed at his theatrical antics, Marcus breathed a sigh of relief. "I heard there's a new oceanfront restaurant that's been really popular lately. Let's go check it out!"

Yet, when the duo arrived at the restaurant, they found Ezra and Misty chatting with an elderly couple, with several reporters gathered around them.

Marcus' expression immediately turned grim. He yanked Caelan and turned to leave, growling, "What rotten luck. I just lost my fucking appetite!"

Caelan had no desire to interact with them either. However, before they could make it out of the restaurant, Misty called out to them from behind.

Her voice was soft and melodious, tinged with a hint of surprise. "Caelan? What are you doing here?" But Caelan didn't utter a single word.

Ezra led the elderly couple over. When he saw Caelan, his smile was especially warm. "Caelan, you're here as well! Let me introduce you. These are my adoptive parents. During all those years when I was separated from my biological parents, they treated me very well."

He paused and cast a loving look at Misty. "Misty was worried I'd miss them, so she opened this restaurant for them. Honestly, I'm the luckiest man alive to have a fiancee like her. There was already another business here, but because I mentioned that I loved looking out at the sea, Misty paid nearly ten times the usual rent to force them to lease the storefront to her."

His tone was gentle, but his gaze was filled with triumph and provocation.

Caelan didn't lose his temper. He merely nodded calmly. "Congratulations. I hope your business is a success!"

However, that wasn't the reaction Ezra wanted. His eyes darted around, and he casually said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Misty said my previous apartment isn't suitable for my post-accident recovery, so my adoptive parents are moving into the White residence with me for a while. There's just one thing... my mother has asthma, so she really needs a spacious, south-facing bedroom with plenty of sunlight. Caelan, could you give up your bedroom for her?"

As soon as his words fell, the corners of his lips curled almost imperceptibly as he waited for Caelan to lose his temper like he always did.

Marcus couldn't help but frown and snap back, "Who the hell do you think you—"

Caelan, however, stopped him and calmly met Ezra's gaze, smiling generously. "Of course. Be my guest."

The moment those words left his mouth, not only did Ezra's expression stiffen, but a flicker of unreadable emotion crossed Misty's stunning face.

Marcus' eyes burned red, and he hissed, "They're walking all over you!"

Caelan merely smiled as if he didn't care and walked away with Marcus.

Misty, however, hurried after them, a hint of guilt creeping into her voice. "It's only temporary. I know you don't like Ezra, and as it happens, your parents left you a property of your own. Why don't you stay there tonight? I'll have someone pack up the belongings you left at my house and send them over to you."

After hearing that, Caelan belatedly realized that he had already been living elsewhere for nearly a week. Yet, she still thought he was living at the White residence.

He almost laughed out of sheer frustration, his tone turning biting and sarcastic. "I packed up my luggage and moved out of the White residence a long time ago..."

However, Ezra's excited voice completely drowned him out. "Misty, it's time for our interview!"

Misty immediately turned on her heel and rushed back to his side. They interlaced their fingers.

It was only then that Caelan noticed the matching couple's ring gleaming on Misty's fair ring finger. It was identical to the one Ezra wore.

Was this part of repaying her debt of gratitude, too? Caelan withdrew his gaze and turned to leave.

On the way home, Misty finally remembered to text him. "What did you say earlier?"

He typed out two words. "It's nothing."

The indicator showed that she was typing for a long time, but in the end, no further message ever came.