Chapter 2

Abram's POV

Caitlyn was shocked. Madeline was shocked as well.

"Abram, you—"

I interrupted Madeline and said, "There's no point in forcing two people who don't love each other to get married, Mrs. Murray Senior. I do not wish to marry a woman who has another man in her heart."

I then turned to Caitlyn and said, "You're free now."

Her expression turned extremely dark at that moment. She never thought that I would give her up that easily. She stepped forward and grabbed my wrist.

"What the hell are you playing at this time, Abram Darrow? Playing hard-to-get?

"You know very well that Adrian is about to be thrown in prison. And now, you're saying that you're breaking off the engagement? Are you trying to drive him to his death?"

My heart squeezed. She would always think that I was the villain, no matter what happened.

"If he doesn't go, then I'll have to. Are you implying that I deserve to die instead?" I asked her back coldly.

Her gaze darted away, but she still stubbornly said, "Adrian has a weak body. He can never survive prison, but you're different! You…"

She didn't finish the rest of her sentence, but I knew that she wanted to say, "You're healthy. You can survive prison."

I chuckled self-deprecatingly. So, it seemed that I deserved to suffer just because I was stronger and healthier.

"I will pay off the debts that my family owes with my own means, Caitlyn."

I flung off her grip and made every single word clear as I said, "As for you, I don't want you anymore."

"Abram Darrow!" she yelled hoarsely.

I didn't look back and continued walking out of the door. I couldn't stop my tears from streaming down my face anymore.

I hoped that she could be with her beloved Adrian for the rest of her life this time.

…

I began packing up my things after going home. There wasn't much for me to pack anyway, since I couldn't bring anything with me to prison. I just wanted to keep myself busy, so I wouldn't look as broken as I felt.

I didn't sleep a wink the entire night.

It would be a lie if I said that I wasn't afraid of going to prison. After all, I was going to have to spend the next decade or more there. I'd already heard about all the terrible things that happened to Adrian the last time he went in, and I sincerely didn't know how long I could hold out this time.

I got up early the next morning and went to Dad's grave to say my proper goodbyes.

Just as I'd stepped out of the villa, a dark figure suddenly rushed out and delivered a tight slap to my face before punching me in the gut. Then, I smelled a strong smell of alcohol as I watched Caitlyn glare at me hatefully, as if she'd just crawled out of hell.

"Abram Darrow! Are you seriously not going to do anything and just watch Adrian be thrown into prison like that? You don't care that he's going to die in there?"

The pain and shock from the punch had me reeling so hard that I couldn't even reply for a long while. However, she continued screaming at me at the top of her voice like a madwoman.

"You've always been like this! You've always been bullying Adrian for ages! And now, you're going to rob him of his life too?

"You're such a damn bastard, Abram! You're a jerk! You belong in hell! You should have been the one going to prison instead of Adrian!"

I stiffened. She'd said the same thing in my past life.

After Adrian died last time, she also screamed at me and said that I should have been the one who died instead. At once, I felt tears slipping down my cheeks.

Caitlyn seemed to sober up a little when she saw my tears. She frantically stepped back and stared at me.

I coughed slightly as I clutched at my stomach in pain.

A hint of remorse flashed in her eyes. She reached out to hold me steady.

"I'm sorry, Abram. I… I had too much to drink. I didn't mean to…"

I pushed her hand aside without saying anything and got into the car. I knew that she wasn't feeling sorry for me out of love. It was only because Dad used to be extremely kind to her.

She kept thinking of me as a close sibling whom she had to take good care of because she had no other options. I was the one who misunderstood her feelings and got entangled with her for too long in the past.

It was high time I woke up.

…

I returned home from the cemetery later and saw a warm scene in the living room.

Caitlyn and Adrian were both seated on the couch. She was holding the first aid kit while carefully applying antiseptic to Adrian's wrist.

Adrian's eyes were reddened. He looked like a pitiful little rabbit.

"I'm fine, Cait. It doesn't hurt. You don't have to worry about me," he said, sounding weak and breathy.

Caitlyn frowned, yet her actions were still as gentle as could be. "How could you have been so careless? You even cut into the skin."

The doting tenderness in her eyes was something that I had never seen in my ten years of marriage to her. I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

Adrian looked up just then and saw me. A hint of smugness flashed in his eyes, but it was very quickly replaced with another pitiful expression.

"Abram's back," he whispered before looking at Caitlyn. "I'm sure that he wouldn't have wanted me to get hurt either. Please don't blame him for it."