Chapter 2

Emma's expression darkened. "All this over a ring?"

She glanced down at the ring box in her hand. After letting out a scornful snort, she tossed it carelessly back onto the bed.

I said nothing.

Emma drew a deep breath, her tone laced with impatience. "All these years, I've given you a villa to live in and bought you the best cars. Name one thing you wanted that I didn't give you."

She looked down at me from above, all the tenderness in her eyes completely drained away.

"And now you're giving me attitude over a ring?"

I lifted my head to look at her, my eyes red-rimmed. "Emma, is it really so hard to love just one person?"

She furrowed her brows irritably. "What did I do? Is cheating against the law? Which law says cheating is illegal? Vince, stop being so dramatic, alright?"

The word "dramatic" hit me across the face like a slap. I couldn't stop my whole body from trembling.

And yet, I was still hesitating and wondering if she might try to keep me from leaving.

Emma had clearly decided she wasn't going to waste any more time. She turned around and picked up the shirt draped over the back of the chair. Then, she put it on and buttoned it up one at a time.

"Vince, let's be clear about one thing—you're the one who can't live without me. If you try to use a breakup to manipulate me again, don't blame me when I'm not so nice about it."

Without so much as a glance at me, she slammed the door and left.

As I watched her leave, I remembered how she had appeared out of nowhere that year.

At the time, Mom was drunk, and a single phone call from Scott's father, Malcolm Barlow, had provoked her into a blind rage. She grabbed a wine bottle and hurled it at me and my father, Russell Cline.

Dad had yet to recover from a serious illness and could barely even walk. We huddled in a corner of the house, with nowhere to run.

The neighbors had long since grown accustomed to this kind of scene. The only person who could protect us was my sister, Bernadette Cline. But she was still studying abroad at the time.

Dad shielded me in his arms, taking several blows to his back until blood poured from his mouth.

I was dragged out by Mom and kicked viciously several times.

Just when I thought we would die there, Emma burst in with her bodyguards. She pinned Mom to the ground and stood firmly in front of me.

"Vince, don't be afraid. I'm here now."

Later, she helped Dad find the best lawyer to fight the divorce case.

On the day we won, she took my hand in front of Dad and made a promise to him. "Mr. Cline, you can rest assured leaving Vince with me. I will never betray him, and I'll be good to him for the rest of my life."

I finally couldn't hold back the tears, and they fell in streams onto the back of my hand.

I took a shower and changed into some clean clothes, getting ready to go to the nursing home to visit Dad.

The hallway of the nursing home was very quiet.

I pushed open the door to the room. Dad was leaning against the headboard.

Bernadette happened to be there too, keeping Dad company and chatting with him.

"Vince, you're here." Dad smiled and waved me over. "Come quick. It's rare to have both of you here at the same time."

I stood in the doorway, and my eyes reddened instantly.

Dad's smile faltered for a moment. He looked at me carefully and asked, "What's wrong? Why are your eyes so red?"

Despite myself, a sob escaped me.

"Dad, I'm going to break up with Emma."

The room fell silent.

Dad was too dumbfounded to speak, but Bernadette got angry. She grabbed my sleeve and pulled me toward the door.

"What nonsense are you saying?"