Chapter 4

Upon returning late that night, Christine gently pressed a warm towel to my face and coaxed, "Don't be mad, Tim. Mom just wants what's best for me."

I pushed her hand away coldly and asked, "What exactly is going on between you and Edison?"

Her eyes flickered as she explained that she was about to be transferred to Regalton and needed the Whitman family's help, so she had to get close to Edison for now.

"He's got a powerful family background. In fact, they're distant relatives of the Carrington family in Regalton. It'll be a huge boost for my career."

I let out a mocking laugh, not bothering to call her out. "Distant relatives of the Carringtons? Are you sure?"

Christine's expression darkened with annoyance. "If you can't help me out, the least you can do is not hold me back. Once I make something of myself, we can live a good life.

"At the end of the day, all that I'm doing is for you and our family!"

So her fooling around with other men was for my sake?

I couldn't be bothered to argue and turned to leave.

…

The next afternoon, I went to the HR department to hand in my resignation. Unexpectedly, the staff member there sneered at me with contempt.

"Ms. Blackwell has already terminated you."

I was stunned. "Terminated? When?"

She waved me off impatiently. "The termination notice was sent to every department this morning. Now get lost! I can't stand people like you who don't know your place and are out to ruin other people's families."

I gritted my teeth and decided to go meet Christine to get to the bottom of things. But on the way, Edison and his men blocked me.

Before I even knew what was going on, rotten vegetables and eggs started raining down on me.

Edison strode toward me arrogantly with a smirk. "Christine and I have already gotten our marriage certificate, and the wedding is in three days. Why are you still harassing her? Have you no shame?"

I roared, "We got—"

"Shut up!" Christine rushed over and cut me off, a clear warning flashing in her eyes.

The people around pointed and jeered, all of them seemingly filled with righteous anger.

"How shameless he is to go after someone else's wife!"

"That's disgusting! He's downright filthy!"

Edison added, indignant, "He even showed up at Christine's house late at night and refused to leave."

That added to the crowd's fury, and they all hurled more insults at me, along with rotten vegetables, stones, and crumpled-up paper.

Unable to dodge all of them, I ended up with cuts on my face and forehead from the stones that were thrown at me. Blood streamed as I fell to the ground in a sorry state.

Edison smiled smugly and fanned his nose in disgust. "I've heard that people who misbehave and wreck marriages should be locked up in prison."

I glared at Christine with hatred.

She frowned and averted her gaze. "Forget it. Just lock him up in the detention cell for a few days. I'm sure he'll come to his senses."

I paled. If I was locked up, then there was a chance I wouldn't be able to make it to the designated meeting spot when Dad came for me.

But the men ignored my struggles, grabbed my arms, and roughly threw me into the detention cell.

It was a small, dim, rundown space with cold drafts blowing through. Rats and insects scurried and fluttered around freely.

I didn't bother taking in my surroundings and hurriedly hid the things in my pocket inside my clothes.

…

I had no idea how long I'd been locked up in the room before the door suddenly opened.

Christine slipped in and whispered, "Tim, just stay low for a couple of days. I promise I'll make it up to you once I come and get you out of here."

I merely spat at her.

As I tried to get to my feet, she pushed me back down. Her tone turned impatient and threatening.

"If you don't behave, I'll have someone break your legs and send you back to the countryside! Then you can kiss your chance of coming back to the city goodbye."

With that, the door was slammed shut and locked behind her.

I huddled in a corner, shivering from the cold in the middle of the night.