Chapter 4

Edison's POV

A profile picture among the likes on Rowan's post caught my eye. It was Jayne.

It wasn't hard to recognize her. We had spent five years together, and many of her habits were etched into my bones. She always liked adding little personal touches to her usernames.

As I dug deeper into Rowan's posts, I stumbled across Jayne's parents' accounts. They were high-society elites, and she looked just like them.

It turned out that she hadn't been away on a business trip for the last few days. She had traveled to celebrate Rowan's birthday.

I headed out to search for a job again. Maybe because I was getting older now and, at 27, had lost much of the drive I once had. Nothing seemed to go right for me, and I just wanted to go home.

But before I could, my parents called.

Mom didn't state why she called right away. Instead, she asked, "How are things on your end, sweetheart? Is it tough finding a job?"

My heart sank. Something about her words felt completely off.

Mom was busy taking care of Grandma, so she wouldn't call to check in out of the blue, unless something had happened.

Under my relentless pressing, she finally confessed. Both she and Dad had been abruptly laid off, and their modest monthly thousand-dollar pay was wiped out.

To make matters worse, Grandma collapsed from worry and was admitted to the ICU.

Mom hadn't wanted to burden me or make things harder.

"It's fine. You and Jayne are getting married soon, so keep your savings for yourself. Your dad and I will figure something out."

Tears instantly spilled over. I tried to wire some money home for the emergency, only to find that my bank account was frozen.

I immediately knew that Jayne was behind this. Furious and bitter, I pulled up our old location-sharing app to track her down.

But before I could open the door, cruel, mocking laughter drifted out from within the room.

"You're brutal, Rowan. Getting the kid fired was one thing, but I can't believe you got his parents laid off, too. That ought to teach him a lesson. He won't dare appear in front of Bianca again."

"Rowan, you were too harsh. Bianca probably just wanted a casual relationship back then to keep social climbers from getting any ideas, but you hid your identity and played him for five years."

It felt as though a knife was driven deep into my chest. The pain radiated through my limbs and left me completely paralyzed.

Mom and Dad had treated Jayne like their own flesh and blood.

The mocking laughter followed.

It was the same story five years ago. Fresh out of college, I had incredibly fragile pride back then and even thought about ending it all just to prove I wasn't a gold digger.

Now, listening to the same insults, I was surprised by how calm and detached I was.

It was a long time before Bianca finally stood up and fought back.

"Enough. We were together for four years. He never tried to leech off me, and he never asked me for anything. I was the one who had made my advances on him."

She glared dead at Jayne and continued, "And you, too. Stop interfering in our lives. Rowan and I are doing perfectly fine, and we don't need you to meddle. Just mind your own business and stop treating people like they don't matter."

Jayne met her gaze dead-on. Fury flared in her eyes.

"What? Do you still have feelings for Edison?

"I'm warning you—stay away from him. He belongs to me now."

The room plunged into a dead silence, and the rest of their friends dared not say a word. The tension between the two women was explosive, as if a physical fight could break out at any second.

Some were already backing toward the door. "Well, we actually have somewhere to be. We'll head out first."

They opened the door, only to stop dead in their tracks, stunned to see me standing right outside.

Digging my fingernails into my palms, I bypassed the crowd and walked straight into the room.