Chapter 1

My friend, Gordon Palmer, came over with a cup of hot coffee, grinning. "Come on, get on your knees and beg, Patricia's boy toy. Then serve Marvin his coffee."

I stared at the man I'd known for the past ten years.

I'd once stepped between him and a bully wielding a knife. I'd even helped him take legal action against relatives who had tried to steal his parents' inheritance.

On countless nights, Gordon had broken down and grabbed onto me. "Brad, I swear, anyone who lays a hand on you will have to answer to me first."

But in the end, he was the first to betray me.

Amelia Ferguson, Patricia's older sister, stood nearby with her arms crossed.

"They're married. You're the other man. Marvin is willing to put up with you, so what's so hard about getting on your knees and begging him?" she urged impatiently.

Her voice was sharp and contemptuous, nothing like the woman who had once been driven to attempt suicide.

Back then, Amelia's ex-husband had cheated on her and kept a mistress, driving her into severe depression.

Time and again, I'd stopped her from hurting herself. I'd taken the blades from her hands and helped her find her way out of the darkness.

And now, Amelia had kept Patricia's betrayal from me and was pushing me to become the other man.

At that moment, it felt as though my heart were being torn apart. Fighting back tears, I grabbed the cup of coffee and hurled it at the screen where the intimate video of me was playing.

Then, I fixed my gaze on Patricia and said slowly, "I never came between two people who were in love!"

Patricia gently wiped away my tears, but her words were cruel. "Under the law, you're the other man. The marriage certificate we got yesterday was fake."

My half-brother, Marvin Sawyer, let out a mocking laugh and held up his own marriage certificate. The sight of it made my stomach twist.

"I can't believe you were stupid enough to actually fall for it. Patricia said I was too sensitive to handle people talking about me being the other man.

"Last year, on your birthday, she told you she had to work late. But she actually went to the courthouse with me and married me."

My chest clenched painfully, and my voice came out hoarse. "Patricia, he can't handle people talking about him, but somehow I'm supposed to?"

Patricia chuckled, as though I'd said something ridiculous.

"Brad, your mother put up with it. So why can't you? Besides, whether I make our relationship official or not doesn't change how much I love you."

At the mention of my mother, tears immediately welled up in my eyes.

Mom had been driven to suicide.

Janet White, Marvin's mother, had been Dad's mistress before taking Mom's place as his wife. But she played the victim, turning everyone against Mom and painting her as the homewrecker.

For three years, people had cursed her to her face, splashed paint across our door, and spat at her whenever she went outside.

No one would listen to Mom's side of the story, and the police did nothing when she reported the harassment.

In the end, she locked every door and set the house on fire. Tears streamed down her face as she made one last call to me.

"Brad, I'm not what they say I am."

That was when Patricia came into my life.

She stayed by my side as I gathered Mom's remains and laid her to rest. She made everyone who hurt Mom get down on their knees and apologize.

She even found the best doctors she could for Grandma, who was seriously ill and heartbroken after Mom's death.

Patricia knew this wasn't just about being acknowledged as her partner. It was the thing that hurt me the most.

That was why she'd knelt before Mom's grave and sworn she'd never make me hide our relationship or let anyone else's judgment hurt me.

But now, she took my hand and said, "Brad, I've done everything I can to make this respectable. We had a wedding, didn't we?

"I only invited our closest friends. Even if you get down on your knees, beg, and serve Marvin coffee, no one else will ever find out."

Something inside me finally snapped. So she figured that as long as not many people knew, it didn't count as degrading.

Another cup of coffee was brought over, and this time, Patricia handed it to me herself.

"The doctor said Marvin's condition is still unstable. We have to humor him. Brad, just give in this once."

I refused to meet her eyes and began pulling off my ring, my eyes red-rimmed.

Seeing that, Patricia pressed her lips into a thin line. Her voice took on a warning edge as she added, "Bradley Sawyer, think about what you're doing.

"Your grandmother still needs the medication my family developed to save her life. Even as they wheeled her into surgery, she was hoping we'd get married. Are you sure you want to set her off at a time like this and pick a fight with me?"

Tears blurred my vision. I stood frozen, unable to pull my hand free from Patricia's.

For Marvin's sake, she was willing to use my grandmother's life to make me give in. Whatever feelings I still had for her died right there.

I stopped expecting anything from her. So, I booked a one-way ticket out of the country for three days later.

Once Grandma's final surgery was over, I'd take her with me and never come back.