Three

CHAPTER 3

“I gave you this job! We spent millions on this movie, and now the audience says the story is confusing. On top of that, the lead actress is involved in scandals and people are complaining!” My father shouted loudly in his big office.

“Fix it!” he yelled again while throwing papers at me that had been neatly placed on his desk just a moment ago.

I tightened my fist and walked out of his office.

Problems kept happening again and again at Luminary Productions, and every single time my father pushed all the responsibility onto me.

This had become normal between us at work. Even when he was the one who created the problems, he still blamed me because I was supposed to become the next president of production. According to him, it was my duty to see problems before they happened.

But when would he finally give me that position?

I had already been learning under him for two years, yet nothing seemed to change.

Most days I almost lived inside the office. I worked hard just to satisfy everything he wanted. Even so, I knew I would probably never receive the love I wanted from my father.

The way he treated me felt like a heavy stone pressing on my chest.

Yes, I knew I had made mistakes sometimes at work. I had missed a few things and made wrong decisions before. But I had worked hard for a long time.

I deserved the position that should belong to me.

Feeling upset, I buried myself in work and tried to forget my father’s anger.

But a few hours later, my father suddenly walked into my office again.

This time he blamed me because a movie made by another company was ranking higher than ours.

“You failed to bring that celebrity to our company! If he had joined Luminary, we would not be losing to StellarScape right now!” he shouted angrily.

He pointed at the news on his iPad and threw it toward me.

I had already lost count of how many iPads had been broken because of his temper.

Today I was the one standing in front of him, so I became the target.

I stayed quiet even though his words made my head hurt. My eyebrows tightened slightly, showing how heavy his accusations felt. Alex stood quietly at the side of the room and avoided looking directly at my father.

When the CEO finally left my office, anger slowly rose inside me.

“Check the ranking of that movie,” I told Alex in a cold voice.

“Understood,” he replied quickly. Then he added carefully, “Boss, we also have a dinner meeting tonight.”

I stayed silent for a moment while calming myself before slowly getting ready to leave.

At the dinner event, everyone treated me with great respect. Business partners and acquaintances greeted me politely. Even though my father treated me badly, I still stood tall and confident.

I was not just Bradley Cornell.

I was the future heir of Luminary Group.

After several stressful days, I could not resist drinking again. The pressure inside my mind pushed me to pick up a glass of whiskey again and again until I lost control.

When I woke up the next morning, my head felt heavy.

I saw Mercy sleeping beside me.

For some reason, seeing her always made my mind feel calmer. When I was near her, the noise inside my head slowly became quiet. Her gray eyes always looked soft and innocent.

In the middle of my complicated life, she was someone who stayed beside me without asking for anything.

She never demanded more of my time.

She never complained about what I could or could not give her.

That night we had been close with each other before falling asleep.

The next morning I woke up again with the same worries in my head.

Even though I had a painful hangover, I still had to go to the office.

While I was standing under the cold shower, water falling over my head, my phone suddenly showed a new message.

It was from my mother.

Mom: Mayra has come back. Son, we should help her. Life abroad was not good for her. Even after everything, she is still like family. She told me her boyfriend treated her badly and did not even take care of her properly. If you can, please buy her a gift to cheer her up.

I read the message quickly and continued getting ready for work.

Mayra had always been close to my family. We had known each other since university. At first our relationship was relaxed and casual.

When she ran away with another man years ago, I was not truly heartbroken. I was mostly annoyed because it hurt my pride.

When I was twenty-seven, one of our investors asked why I was still not married. He said many people my age already had wives and families.

They believed a man like me should have a wife to attend events with and show that I was responsible.

Even my father agreed with that idea.

That was the reason I finally accepted marriage.

Back then my thinking was simple.

Getting married did not seem like a big problem.

I simply followed my parents’ wishes like a machine that obeys commands. I believed that when I finally became president of the company, everything would become easy.

But today was already my third wedding anniversary with Mercy.

While remembering that, I picked up the box containing the necklace and placed it with my things.

For a moment I looked at Mercy lying on the bed. Her presence made me want to stay beside her longer, but I still had work waiting for me at the office.

Later that evening, I unexpectedly saw Mayra at the restaurant.

She smiled brightly when she saw me, but I felt confused.

“I thought tonight’s dinner was with Dad and Mercy,” I said to my mother calmly.

“Ah, Mayra is still like family. She suffered for three years in another country. Show some kindness,” Mom said as she scolded me gently.

“Bradley, I… I’m sorry. I just happened to meet Auntie outside,” Mayra said softly.

I was not sure if she was telling the truth, but I simply shrugged.

While they talked together, I checked my emails on my phone. Their conversation started to bother me because I still had many office matters to handle.

If I delayed answering, my father would get angry again.

When I stood up, my mother asked, “Where are you going?”

“I need to call Alex,” I said.

Then I looked at the clock.

Mercy still had not arrived.

If my father could not attend dinners like this, he usually did not come at all.

“Mom, can you call Mercy? She’s late,” I said with some irritation.

“What is she even doing? She does not even help pay for anything!” my mother complained.

I let her call Mercy while I stepped aside to phone Alex, who was currently attending a meeting for me.

Too many problems were filling my mind.

After I finished the call, Mayra walked toward me.

Her hair was shorter now, and she looked more stylish than before.

“Bradley…” she said quietly without looking at my eyes.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I just want to say sorry,” she said while tears filled her eyes.

I remembered what my mother said about how badly her boyfriend had treated her.

“It’s alright,” I told her. That happened three years ago, and honestly I had already moved past it. My father’s anger at the office hurt more than that old memory.

“Um… Auntie said you bought a gift for me?” she asked shyly.

My eyebrow lifted in surprise.

I remembered my mother telling me to buy Mayra a gift, but with everything happening in my head I had forgotten.

“I’m sorry,” Mayra said again. “I should not expect anything.”

Tears rolled down her face.

I felt slightly annoyed, but I could not scold her.

Over time we had become friends.

I sighed and hugged her lightly. “It’s fine,” I said.

Then I took out the beautiful box that held the necklace meant for Mercy.

Maybe giving it to Mayra would not matter much.

Mercy was not here anyway, and I could always buy another necklace later.

I placed the necklace around Mayra’s neck before we went back into the restaurant.

Later, when we were leaving, I suddenly realized how much time had passed.

“Oh, I forgot something at Serenity Pines Estate earlier,” my mother said.

So I decided to ride home with her while my driver followed his usual routine.

Heavy rain poured from the sky as our car drove through the streets.

During the ride, I started wondering where Mercy was.

When we arrived home, I noticed a pair of dirty rubber shoes near the door.

They were not mine, and they were much bigger than Mercy’s size.

I felt confused.

Did she invite a worker into the house?

“I knew it! That Mercy must have another man!” my mother suddenly said.

Her words made my face darken.

Just then Mercy’s scream came from the bedroom.

I quickly ran toward the room.

But when I opened the door, I froze.

Mercy was there.

And beside her was a strange man I had never seen before.

At that moment anger exploded inside me, and all I wanted was to hurt them.