Chapter 2

Vincent's POV

"Get out then, since it has nothing to do with us," Vanessa said coldly. "We're not going the same way anymore."

The corners of Dorian's lips curled into a smile as he offered me an umbrella.

I didn't say anything else as I opened the door and got out of the car. The car zoomed away after I grabbed my luggage, causing the puddles on the road to splash all over me.

The umbrella was broken. I couldn't open it no matter what I did. It didn't take long before I was completely drenched.

The rain was coming down heavily, making it impossible to hail a cab. I looked utterly pathetic as I searched for shelter. I called my friend, Tristan Blackwood, and asked him to pick me up.

I unlocked my phone as I waited for Tristan and noticed my wife, Charlotte Shaw, had sent me a voice message an hour ago. My daughter Cora Finch's voice echoed from the receiver when I tapped play.

"Mommy says that my visa will be ready soon, Daddy. I just have to wait ten more days. Mommy and I can go back to the country and look for you then!"

A tender smile stretched across my lips as I listened to Cora's sweet voice. It was currently late at night in Goldcrest. Charlotte and Cora must already be tucked in bed, so I didn't video-call them. Instead, I replied with a voice message of my own.

I casually tapped on my social media app after exiting my chat with Charlotte. Dorian had uploaded a new post.

"Vince being back in the country should be a happy occasion. But I don't know why I feel a little upset."

He had attached a photo of my sleeping side profile in the car with the post.

Chaos erupted in the comments section.

"Oh my God! Vincent is back? He's so thin now. Why did he come back now of all times? Don't tell me that he's planning to crash the engagement party?"

"All of his efforts will be in vain. Nessa has already let him go. It doesn't matter that he lost all that weight. He came back far too late."

"I feel sorry for Dorian. He looks up to Vincent since he's his elder brother, but he came back to steal Vanessa from him. How shameless."

The very last comment was Vanessa's response. "Don't be upset. You're the only one I'll take as my husband."

Dorian replied to her comment with a heart emoji.

A vein pulsed in my temple as I scrolled through the comments. In the end, I decided to just lock my phone to save myself the headache.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Soon, Tristan came to pick me up. It was obvious that he had also seen Dorian's post. He couldn't stop complaining about it during the car ride.

"I wonder if Dorian ever gets tired of putting up an act all day and all night? He actually had the nerve to say that he was glad that you're back.

"He must have forgotten that he and his mother were the ones who chased you out of the Finch family all those years ago. Didn't he also try to take your place in your engagement at the time?

"Fortunately, the Shaw family wasn't blind and decided to just call off the entire thing when they found out that the marriage partner had changed.

"But Vanessa is truly blind. I thought she spent five years in the convent because she loved you too much. I never would have imagined that she would accept Dorian as her fiancé in the end," he said, rolling his eyes.

I felt a little amused by Tristan's reaction. "Vanessa never harbored any genuine feelings for me. The one she wanted to marry has always been Dorian."

Tristan's eyes widened upon hearing my words. "What do you mean? Vanessa treated you so well when the two of you were together."

Did Vanessa treat me well when we were together? The answer churned in my heart, stirring up the pain of the past.

Mom found out that Dad was cheating on her when I was 13. She couldn't accept the truth and jumped into the ocean to end her own life. She didn't even leave a corpse behind.

My life became a nightmare from that day on. After Mom's funeral, Dad brought Dorian and his mother, Gemma Mercer, back to the house. They took my room away, pawned off Mom's keepsakes as they pleased, and intentionally framed me until Dad kicked me out of the house.

I was forced to live in a damp and old residential area. It didn't take long before I was diagnosed with a severe mental illness. I rapidly gained weight due to the medication I took, going up until I was 220 pounds.

Dad shunned me for embarrassing him and left me to fend for myself.

Victoria appeared in my life out of the blue and pulled me out of that nightmare. She was the successor of the Sterling family and was famous for being an unreachable beauty.

However, she was willing to move to the old residential area for my sake, becoming my neighbor. She would also shield me behind her whenever anyone made fun of my figure.

She accompanied me to the psychologist. When she found out that my illness was partially caused by lack of love, she opened her arms without hesitation, saying, "Be with me, Vincent. I'll love you."

It was the first time I felt a trace of warmth after Mom's death seven years ago. I fell madly in love with Vanessa. I didn't hesitate for even a second when Dad told me to give up my spot to Dorian in my engagement to the heiress of the Shaw family.

I didn't care because having Vanessa was enough for me.

One day, I was in high spirits when I returned to the old residential area. I came across Vanessa, who was heavily intoxicated. She grabbed my hand and pulled out a ring from her pocket. Her words were slurred as she mumbled, "Marry me, Vincent."

A sweet sensation spread through my chest. However, she passed out before I could give her my answer. I was just about to help her to her room when I noticed that her phone was lit up. Her best friend, Yelena Quinton, had sent a message to her.

"Are you really going to marry that pig, Nessa? Even if you can't marry Dorian, you shouldn't chain yourself to that pig for the rest of your life."

I was stunned, belatedly realizing that the "pig" that Yelena was referring to was none other than me.

I was rooted to the spot. My hands trembled as I picked up Vanessa's phone and scrolled through her earlier messages.

"Dorian thinks his existence is disgraceful because he's an illegitimate child. He thinks he's not a good match for me. Well then, I'll just have to find a man who's even more disgraceful than him to prove I don't care about any of that."

"I found someone. His name is Vincent Finch. He's fat, poor, and utterly disgraceful. Dorian is ten thousand times better than him."

"I may have overdone it. That fatty is madly in love with me. I'm worried he'll keep clinging to me after I dump him."

"I can't believe Vincent is Dorian's brother. He keeps bullying Dorian. He also forced his unwanted engagement on Dorian. I really want to tear him to shreds, but Dorian doesn't want me to hurt him. He hopes I'll treat him kindly because he's his brother."

"Treat him kindly? Tch. We might as well just get married then. That way, I can still be a family with Dorian even if I'm not married to him."

I felt as if my entire body had been plunged into a pool of freezing water.

It turned out Vanessa had never loved me. Her gentleness and protection had been a complete farce. I was just a tool for her to prove herself—her backup after she gave up on pursuing Dorian.

The scene of Mom throwing herself into the ocean when she found out about Dad's betrayal flashed through my mind. I pressed a hand to my aching heart as my eyes stung hotly.

That same night, I bought a plane ticket and flew out of the country. I changed my name and completely cut ties with Vanessa from then on.