Chapter 3

I had quietly joked to myself that Clara was an NPC, completely devoid of emotion.

After that, I nearly ruined the notes she had spent half a month copying, but she still wore that same expression. I even went online and memorized a bunch of cheesy pickup lines just to flirt with her, yet she still barely reacted.

I truly believed she had transcended all worldly desires. But now, she was actually angry, all because of one remark I made about Caleb.

Dad, incensed by my words, lunged forward and struck me again. "You don't call the shots in this family!"

Then, he ordered the maids to throw out everything that belonged to Mom and me. I tried to stop them, but Dad grabbed my arm and shoved me outside.

"If you can't stand the sight of Caleb and me, then you and your mother can move out!" he yelled.

The door slammed shut, and Mom crouched on the ground, sobbing.

Soon, the door opened again.

Caleb came out with my belongings in his arms, looking smug. "Lucas, why put yourself through all this? Look at you now, kicked out of your own home."

I instantly noticed a ceramic jar in his arms. My eyes narrowed as I demanded, "Give that back!"

When Caleb saw how desperate I was, a smirk played on his lips.

Then, he simply let go. The ceramic jar fell out of the box and shattered on the ground.

My eyes went red with fury. I lunged forward, grabbed Caleb, and punched him in the face. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

He shrieked, instantly switching to a pathetic, apologetic tone. But all I wanted to do was to tear him apart.

That ceramic jar was a school project Grandma Arlene had made with me when I was in elementary school. It was the only thing I had left of her.

The door flew open. When Clara saw Caleb's bruised and swollen face, she stormed forward and yanked me away.

The steps were right behind me. The force sent me tumbling down the steps and onto the ground.

A piercing pain shot through my ankle, but Clara's gaze stayed ice-cold. "Lucas, Caleb is innocent."

When her gaze landed on the shattered pieces on the ground, she didn't even react. "It's just a worthless trinket. Who cares if it's broken? Did you really have to hit Caleb over it?"

The pain had me breaking out in a cold sweat, and I couldn't even get a word out to defend myself.

Clara didn't spare me another glance. Her eyes filled with concern as she helped Caleb back inside.

Mom rushed over, weeping as she held me. I forced a strained smile, pulled out my phone, and called a taxi.

It started raining.

After who knew how long, the front door creaked open once more. Clara stood in the doorway, an umbrella in hand.

"I've already put in a good word for you. As long as you go inside and apologize to Caleb, you can come back in."

I lowered my eyes and stayed still.

After a moment, she walked down the steps and pressed a tube of burn cream into my palm. Then, she handed the umbrella to Mom before turning around and getting into the Winslow family's car.

I looked down at the tube in my hand for a moment, then threw it into the trash without hesitation.

Once we were in the taxi, Mom's sobs finally began to subside. She pulled out her phone, and not long after, she turned to me.

"Luke, the Shaws have agreed to the marriage alliance. They want to set a meeting as soon as possible."

Mom took me back to her parents' house.

After laying out everything that had happened, she looked at me. "Mom, Dad, I've decided to get a divorce. I endured everything for Luke's sake, but now, I don't want to put up with it anymore."

Upon hearing this, we shared another round of tearful embraces.

Uncle Nathan's eyes were bloodshot. "Angela, Luke, don't worry. I'll make sure they pay for this."

He immediately got up to call his lawyers.

My injured foot kept me at home for more than a week before I recovered.

During that time, the Shaws and Mom had already settled the details of the marriage alliance. Once my foot healed, all that was left was to hold the engagement party.

That weekend, I made plans to go suit shopping with my best friend, Dylan Cross.

The moment we met, Dylan took my hand with a pained look. Only after he confirmed that I had really made up my mind to let Clara go did he start ranting angrily.

"You have no idea how insane the rumors have gotten these past few days. Everyone in our circle is saying you were ousted by a bastard and that Caleb is the only son of the Quinn family now.

"And that's not even the worst of it. Clara's spoiling him rotten. She's practically at his beck and call. The people who always hated you are having a field day watching the fallout."