Chapter 1

When Suzanne Harper heard what I said, she finally looked up from the document in front of her and met my gaze.

"I heard from the doctor that your mother's condition has finally improved. She'll be able to undergo a bone marrow transplant soon. If you're breaking up with me now, does that mean you don't care whether your mother dies anymore?"

I didn't answer. I simply tightened my grip on the document I was holding—my mother's death certificate.

"Are you the one who told Nathan Lloyd which ward in the hospital my mother was in?" I asked.

Suzanne snorted, a knowing smile appearing on her face. "So that's why you suddenly want to break up with me. I was wondering what had gotten into you. Yes, I did. He heard she was sick, so he wanted to visit her.

"Based on your reaction, I'm guessing he said some unpleasant things to her. Well, he can be a little childish at times. If it's such a big deal, I'll just talk to her myself in a few days and explain things to her. You—"

She didn't get to finish before I tossed a newspaper onto her desk. The headline read, "Harper Group CEO's New Beau Dumps Fiancee for Her; Suzanne Harper's Discarded Fiance Reduced to Housekeeper and Backup Lover."

The photo under the headline showed me helping Phoebe Quentin, Nathan Lloyd's ex-fiancee, out of the hospital. The tabloids didn't hold back with their words.

According to them, Phoebe had miscarried, and I—Suzanne's fiance in name—was so desperate for money that I willingly degraded myself, waiting on Phoebe like a dog so that Nathan and Suzanne could focus entirely on their whirlwind romance.

Nathan had shown this article to Mom. Having spent her entire life working as a teacher, she cared more about dignity than anything else—and my actions had shattered it.

She refused to accept further treatment. In fact, she even lost her will to live.

The doctors rushed her into the operating room for emergency treatment. The light stayed on all night. When they finally wheeled her out again, a white cloth had been pulled over her.

I held out Mom's death certificate and said, "You owe me an explanation, Suzanne."

However, Suzanne had lost her patience. She couldn't even be bothered to look at the death certificate. She simply frowned, as if irritated by my refusal to know my place.

"You're demanding an explanation from me? Calvin, have you forgotten your place? First of all, we're not married. And even if we were, you wouldn't have the right to dictate what I could and couldn't do. But since you did help me out, stop acting up and pick up the ring.

"Once things at the company settle down, I'll explain the situation to your mother.

"As for Nathan, I'll handle things with him. Anyway, I'm busy, so you can head back first."

She lowered her head and went back to her documents. Her indifference chilled me to the bone. My hand was still outstretched, with the death certificate hanging in the air.

With a bitter laugh, I recalled Mom's last words to me.

Outraged, she'd slapped me across the face. Tears spilled down her face as she shrieked, "I refuse to accept that I ever gave birth to a son as pathetic as you! I'd rather die than have you whore yourself out like some filthy gigolo!

"And what's worse, you even fell in love with your sugar mommy? Can you be any more shameless, Calvin?"

She was right. I had no shame at all.

I put the death certificate away, turned around, and walked toward the door.

"The ring," Suzanne reminded me without even looking up.

I turned back to look at her. Her head was bowed, her attention fixed intently on a document.

I remembered how, when we had first started dating, Suzanne had looked just as serious when she said to me, "Your mom is my mom, too. So what if her medical expenses cost millions every year? I can afford that.

"I'll donate my bone marrow to her. I'll donate whatever she needs to save her. I'm going to marry you someday, Calvin. We'll be together for the rest of our lives."

She made all the promises one could make, but after all these years, I came to the painful realization that promises meant nothing.

Withdrawing my gaze, I looked down at the ring box. It was open, and the diamond-studded wedding band shone so brightly it almost hurt my eyes.

With a swift kick from me, the box went flying. I didn't wait around to see where it landed.