Chapter 4

Joanne’s eyes turned red instantly. "Vincent, you are bullying him. That boiler room is hot enough to kill someone. How can Lucian possibly go in there..."

"Mom!" Lucian shook his head bitterly and agreed without hesitation.

If this had been him in his previous life, he might have hesitated.

After everything he endured, including the stench-filled cellar and the scorching heat of the summer fires, there was nothing left for him to fear.

Minute by minute, the skin on Lucian’s body felt as though invisible hands were tearing it apart.

The stench from the garbage and the swarms of flies made his head spin.

He knew he could not stop. His father was still waiting for him.

By nightfall, he finally found it.

The moment he got a good look at the watch, his pupils contracted. It was one of the most expensive watches sold at the department store.

In his previous life, even when he and Bianca were at their closest, she never gave him anything like this.

She gave it to Vincent so easily. She loved him that much.

Suppressing the bitterness rising in his chest, Lucian was about to take the warehouse key when Vincent’s voice came from behind him.

"Idiot. There is no special medication in the warehouse. I was buying time. They cannot manufacture the medicine that quickly."

Furious, Lucian slapped Vincent across the face and clamped a hand around his throat, squeezing hard.

"You bastard. Why did you lie to me? You are the reason my father ended up like this."

All the grievances he bottled up since being reborn, along with the resentment from his previous life, erupted at once. Amid the chaos, a sharp pain exploded through the back of Lucian’s head.

He turned and saw Bianca standing there, gripping a brick.

Pain exploded through his skull, stars flashing before his eyes. His mind had never been clearer.

Bianca was exactly the same as she had been in his previous life. She always jumped to conclusions, and she always assumed Vincent was innocent.

He once fell in love with a woman who could not tell right from wrong.

…

After lying unconscious for three days, Lucian finally woke up.

His forehead was wrapped in thick bandages, and even breathing sent a deep, bone-aching pain through his body.

He had no time to worry about his own injuries. He grabbed his mother’s hand tightly.

"Dad? How is he?"

His mother’s tears fell even harder. "Lucian, your father woke up, but he never got the special medication. He will be bedridden for the rest of his life."

Lucian’s eyes widened. His lips moved, but no sound came out.

He pounded his fist against the wall in fury. Bianca walked in with a complicated look on her face.

"Lucian, I already hired someone to take care of your father. I only hit you because I was trying to help. I could not watch you make a mistake and do nothing. You need to stop torturing yourself over this..."

Lucian almost laughed in disbelief. What a perfectly righteous excuse.

"Why do you not ask me why I did it in the first place? Bianca, you are biased."

"Lucian!" Embarrassment and anger crossed Bianca’s face. Then, as though remembering something, she lowered her voice.

"Vincent was joking. If you had not reported the ceiling fan incident, none of this would have happened. Even though your father is paralyzed now, our wedding is still happening. If you do not have time, I can have Vincent stand in for you and try on the groom’s suit."

Stand in for him. Lucian almost laughed, but he could not bring himself to.

"Whatever. You might as well serve Vincent’s favorite dishes at the wedding banquet too. I would rather die than marry you."

Before Bianca could respond, Vincent’s voice came from outside. "Bianca, I need to talk to you."

Bianca instinctively looked at Lucian, as though hoping he would stop her.

When she saw the cold expression on his face, something in her chest seemed to sting, leaving her irritated. "Fine. Stay here and rest."

From where Lucian stood, all he could see were the two of them walking away together.

Anyone looking at them would have thought they were a perfect match.

The nurses whispered among themselves, every word grating on his ears.

"I do not understand Bianca. She says she is going to marry Lucian, but she is always with Vincent. The moment Vincent’s face got swollen, she had one of her factories produce medicine to bring down the swelling. Meanwhile, her future father-in-law was beaten into paralysis..."

"Keep your voice down. I heard Lucian shamelessly peek at Bianca while she was taking a bath. That is why he broke up Bianca and Vincent, those two poor lovers."

Lucian’s heart grew colder and harder in the silence, the pressure in his chest making it difficult to breathe.

So, in everyone else’s eyes, he was the one in the wrong, the man who came between them.

'Lucian, what a failure you are.'