Chapter 2

I booked a flight scheduled to take off three days from now, bound for the other side of the world.

After selling the watch my father left me, I had quite a bit of money left. It would be enough to buy Mom a decent plot at the cemetery and still leave me with enough to start a new life abroad.

Five years ago, I had to give up on my plan to study abroad. Now, I could finally dust off the folder filled with all the notes and information I'd gathered back then.

I found an old note from Mom wedged in the folder. After Dad passed away, she often consoled me by telling me that we had to keep moving forward in life.

Now that she was gone as well, I used her words to comfort myself once more.

I stayed up that night, too scared to fall asleep. I was afraid I'd dream of Mom—that I'd hear her chew me out again.

But I was also afraid that I wouldn't see her—that she'd be too angry to even appear in my dreams.

So I stayed awake all night, packing everything up.

Around 9:00 am, I heard a commotion downstairs, but I didn't bother to see what it was. After all, this villa belonged to Suzanne. I also had an appointment this morning to check out a cemetery plot for Mom.

I had packed most of my things and was just about to drag my suitcase downstairs when a male voice suddenly came from behind me.

"Calvin, you packed up so fast!"

I turned around. It was Nathan. He raised his left hand to show me the gleaming ring on his finger, his expression smug.

"Sorry about this. Suzy proposed to me last night. She said she wanted us to have the wedding as soon as possible, so I had to move in as quickly as I could.

"After all, a certain someone had been her fiance for five years and still couldn't get a ring on his finger. I've only known Suzy for a few months, and she's already willing to let me become a part of her family, so I had to show her just how much I cherish her love for me! Thanks for stepping aside for me."

I merely glanced at him, then withdrew my gaze without a word. Honestly, I despised Nathan, so I didn't even want to show him the most basic of courtesy. I simply headed downstairs with my suitcase.

Alas, young men were often hot-headed. My indifference had failed to satisfy his ego.

He stood in my path and asked, "Does the ring look good, Calvin? I heard it cost millions! Even when Suzy had that financial crisis at her company, she didn't even think about selling it off. I never realized just how much she loves me.

"You have to come to our wedding, Calvin. I'll save you a seat in the front row!"

I glanced at the ring on Nathan's finger. What a coincidence. It was the exact same one I'd kicked away yesterday.

Truth be told, I had half a mind to inform him that the only reason Suzanne didn't sell off the ring was that diamond rings had poor resale value. It had nothing to do with love or affection.

For someone like her, love was the last thing on her mind.

Suzanne told me she loved me, but all she gave me was the title of fiance. She said she needed novelty and excitement in her life, so she cheated on me with someone like Nathan, kissing him and taking him to bed with her right in front of me.

At the end of the day, the only person she had ever loved was herself.

"Sure. When the time comes, do remember to send me an invitation," I said.

My indifference made Nathan feel like a clown. He stamped his foot in anger before grabbing the handle of my suitcase.

"Hold it! You can't leave just yet. How do I know you haven't stolen all the valuables in the house? Now that I'm going to be the master of the house, I'm the one who stands to suffer a huge loss if you turn out to be a thief. Open up the suitcase! Let me see what's inside!"

I couldn't be bothered to entertain his hissy fit, so I brushed his hand away and tried to leave. He grabbed onto me, and we were mid-tussle when Suzanne abruptly came back.

I was a little taken aback. At this hour, she should have been at the company for her usual morning meeting. When she saw Nathan and me grabbing at each other, she instinctively shielded Nathan behind her and confronted me.

"Have you been picking on Nathan?"

The wary suspicion in her eyes filled me with nothing but weariness.

"He wants to search my suitcase," I replied.

Nathan explained, "Suzy, I just wanted to see whether Calvin secretly took the house key with him. After all, this is going to be our marital home. I wouldn't want any unwelcome guests dropping in on us to disturb us. Is that really too much for me to ask for?"

His voice was soft and aggrieved, tugging on Suzanne's heart, so she targeted me instead.

"Open up your suitcase, Calvin."

Frowning, I shook my head with a look of exasperation. "This villa uses a fingerprint lock, Suzanne. You've never even given me a key. I know you want to stick up for your beloved fiance, but you should at least be reasonable. At least let me keep the last of my dignity after our breakup."

I didn't know what part of those words had struck a raw nerve with Suzanne. Her expression suddenly darkened. She summoned her butler, Denise Graham, and the rest of the household staff.

In a warning, threatening tone, she demanded, "You'd better cooperate with me. I'm just doing what Nathan wants to keep him happy. Why should your dignity matter to me? Now open it up. Don't make me force you."