Chapter 3

It was Yale’s father!

Yale’s ears started ringing.

He had kept everything about Moon from his father. Daniel Xander still believed that Yale and Moon were as happy together as ever.

“Does Moon have another boyfriend besides me?

“Where did this beggar come from? He must be delusional! Moon, look at him!”

Justin happened to walk through the foyer. He immediately put on a hurtful expression.

Daniel froze. He looked helplessly at Moon, who stood behind Justin.

Moon looked at him as if she did not know him and said coldly, “Old man, you’ve upset my fiance. Apologize to him.”

“Moon? How could you—”

He had not even finished speaking when Liam kicked him in the knee. Daniel fell to the floor.

Liam grabbed him by his hair and forced him to apologize. “Didn’t you hear her? Apologize! Do you know who Mr. Mercer is? If you upset him, you and your son will pay with your lives!”

“Dad!”

Yale could not take it anymore. He stumbled downstairs and shoved Liam away.

Liam tried to go after Daniel again. Yale looked straight at Moon. Tears glistened in his eyes. “When your enemies hurt you and left you seriously injured, my dad risked his life to take you in.

“He was so careful with money that he wouldn’t even buy himself new clothes. All of it went toward gifts for you and Cody.

“He’d spend dozens of hours on a train just to bring the two of you food he’d made himself.

“What did my dad ever do to you? How could you humiliate him like this?”

Moon stopped for a moment. She lowered her eyes and laughed bitterly. “He never did anything wrong to me. You’re the one who betrayed me.”

“What?” Yale did not hear her clearly.

“Take your father and leave. Do not ever show your face in front of me again.”

Yale did not have time to ask what she meant. He helped Daniel back to his tiny room in the servants’ quarters.

Daniel stared blankly at the room.

It was small and stuffy. The paint had started to peel from the walls. It looked completely out of place in the luxurious mansion.

His lips trembled for a long time before he finally managed to speak.

“Moon and you—”

Several servants outside the door interrupted him.

“Yale, are you slacking off again? Go clean the bathroom! Take a condom upstairs for Ms. Xavier and Mr. Mercer!

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Did you lose your voice along with your hands?

“Seriously, did you really think sleeping with Ms. Xavier would make you someone important?

“I heard what happened that day. Ms. Xavier, Mr. Xavier, and Mr. Mercer had figured out that you were up to no good. They even voted on how to punish you.

“In the end, they decided to push you down the stairs and leave you with permanent damage to your legs. What a joke! You really make a pathetic excuse for a lover.”

Yale froze.

They had pushed him down the stairs and left him with permanent damage to his legs just for their amusement.

He suddenly realized something. He turned to Daniel in a panic.

The old man’s eyes immediately filled with tears.

He did not ask anything but looked at Yale’s hands tearfully. “Yale, I… I’ll take you home.”

A wave of bitterness spread through Yale.

He fought back a sob and said, “There are only a few days left on my contract with the Xavier family. I’ll leave as soon as it expires.”

He racked his brain to find ways to calm Daniel down. Then, he saw his father out of the mansion.

When Yale returned to his room, he could barely move from exhaustion. Then, he stopped in surprise.

The lights were off.

Cody stood there with a birthday cake. Moon was lighting the candles.

“Why are you just standing there? Yale, it’s your birthday today!” Cody looked a little guilty. “I’m sorry about your hands. I begged Moon so much until she agreed to celebrate your birthday.”

Moon said in her usual detached voice, “Come. Have some cake.”

Yale’s eyes stung.

They used to make birthday cakes for him before and get drunk while singing for him.

They would always say, “It’s a Xavier family tradition! You have to eat it, even if it tastes terrible.”

How could it have tasted terrible?

But those delicious cakes and those happy days were gone.

Yale’s emotions lifted. He accepted the cake and took a bite.

The next second, an intense tingling sensation spread through his body. He could barely breathe.

His eyes were red, and he collapsed to the floor. He struggled in panic as his body reacted violently.

A harsh, strained sound escaped his throat. “Help…”

Only one thought filled his mind. ‘Help me!’

Moon did not move.

Cody clutched his stomach and laughed until he could barely stand.

“I told you he’d eat it! Justin, you owe me!”