Chapter 3

It was Monday night when Joanie took me to her dad's place. It was her father Wyatt Halter's 60th birthday.

Before we left, she reminded me, "Tommy, Dad's been eyeing that vintage wine for ages. Remember to pick it up and bring it over. Consider it a gift from both of us."

That rare bottle of vintage wine cost 15,000 dollars. I spent a month's salary and dipped into my savings to buy it.

When we arrived at the Halter residence, the living room was already packed with relatives.

Joanie took my hand as we walked in, putting on the perfect loving-couple act. "Dad, happy birthday."

She handed him the wine box. "Tommy picked out this rare bottle of vintage wine for you. See if you like it."

Wyatt opened the box and took a look. The smile on his face looked almost forced. "You shouldn't have spent so much, Tommy. This looks… average."

I stood there without saying a word. A ten-thousand-dollar wine was just average to him.

The doorbell rang. Joanie's cousin went to answer the door.

"Forrest? Oh, my gosh! What are you doing back?"

The living room fell silent. I turned toward the doorway.

Forrest walked in wearing a white cashmere coat, a green paper bag in his hand and a bright smile on his face. "Happy birthday, Mr. Halter. I took time off and flew all the way back to celebrate with you."

Wyatt immediately got to his feet, his face lighting up. "Oh, Forrie! Come here and let me get a good look at you. You've lost weight. Life must've been hard for you abroad."

Forrest walked over and affectionately put his arm over Wyatt's shoulders. "Not at all. Mr. Halter, why don't you see what I brought you?"

He set the gift box on the coffee table and opened it. Inside was an exquisite Rolex watch. Just a look at the workmanship revealed that it was worth a fortune.

The relatives around us broke into excited whispers.

"Wow. A Rolex watch."

"Forrie really went all out. He treats his godfather better than a real son would."

Forrest's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He glanced shyly at Joanie. "Actually… I didn't pay for it all myself. Joanie covered most of it. I just helped pick it out."

The living room fell silent again. Every pair of eyes turned toward me.

Joanie had spent over 50,000 dollars on a Rolex watch for Forrest's gift to Wyatt, yet she had asked me to spend 15,000 dollars on a bottle of vintage wine that Wyatt had dismissed as mediocre.

The smile on Wyatt's face grew even wider. "Joanie really is such a thoughtful child. And Forrie, you have great taste. I love this watch."

He pushed the wine bottle aside and carefully picked up the watch.

Joanie stood beside him, never once looking at me. She only smiled and nodded. "I'm glad you like it."

I watched them laughing and chatting together, feeling like an outsider.

At dinner, Forrest sat to Joanie's left, while I sat to her right. He kept piling food onto her plate.

"Joanie, these are your favorite ribs. Have some more… Joanie, do you need more sauce?"

The relatives watched them and somehow found nothing strange about it. If anything, they were amused.

"Forrie and Joanie are still as close as ever. They're practically siblings."

"Exactly. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were a couple."

I lowered my head and quietly ate my mashed potatoes.

Suddenly, Forrest picked up a bowl of hot soup and stood. "Tom, this is a little something from me. Thanks for always taking such good care of Joanie."

He handed me the bowl. I was about to grab it, but he let go as soon as my fingers touched the porcelain.

"Oops!"

The scalding soup splashed across the back of my hand. A sharp, searing pain shot through me. I jerked my hand back. The skin was already turning red.

"How could you be so careless?" Joanie snapped.

She was the first to get up, but she didn't look at my hand.

Instead, she grabbed a stack of napkins from the table and hurriedly wiped the few drops of soup that had splashed onto Forrest's coat.

"Forrie, are you okay? This coat can't get wet."

Forrest's eyes reddened, as if he were the victim. "I'm fine, Joanie. It was my fault. I didn't hold it properly. I'm sure Tom didn't do it on purpose."

"He's always so clumsy," Joanie remarked. "Ignore him."

She then turned to me with a frown. "You couldn't even catch a bowl, Tom? It's my dad's birthday. Did you really have to ruin the mood for everyone?"

The entire dining room went frighteningly quiet. Everyone was staring at me, their eyes full of blame and barely concealed amusement.

I looked at Joanie's familiar face, yet in that moment, she felt like a stranger to me.

"Yeah, how careless of me."

I grabbed a napkin and casually wiped the soup from the back of my hand. Then I stood. "Mr. Halter, I'm full. I've got some work to take care of, so I'm going to head out."

Wyatt didn't even bother to look up. "Go ahead. Work comes first."

I picked up my stuff and walked toward the door. Joanie didn't follow me. She didn't even ask if my hand hurt.

When I stepped out of the Halter residence, the cold wind hit my hand and made the burn sting even more. I didn't cry. She wasn't worth the tears.

I pulled out my phone and checked my flight information—only 36 hours until departure.

"Joanie, consider this the last time you humiliate me."