Chapter 1

My cousin, Bobby Foote, had been pretending to be mentally impaired and freeloading at my house for five years.

Five years ago, he was in a minor car accident. After he was discharged from the hospital, he claimed the trauma had left him mentally impaired.

As his father had once saved my dad’s life, my parents paid for everything Bobby needed and let him live with us. They treated him better than they treated their own son.

He had scared off both of my ex-girlfriends.

He would bang on the guest bedroom door in the middle of the night and slip dead worms into their purses. Then, he would turn around and cry to my parents, claiming that I thought he was disgusting.

My parents always gave me the same answer.

“Your uncle saved your father’s life. Bobby has had a hard enough time. Just cut him some slack.”

For five years, that debt of gratitude had been a weight I could never shake off.

It was not as though I had never suspected that Bobby was faking it.

I had even secretly filmed him sneaking out in the middle of the night. But when I showed the footage to my parents, they only accused me of looking for something just to get rid of Bobby.

I put up with it for five years. I did not even dare bring a girlfriend home anymore.

My current girlfriend, Lara Winchester, was the president of a tech company. We had been dating behind my parents’ back for six months.

I had kept our relationship hidden because I did not want to drag her into my family’s mess.

Then this week, she suddenly told me she wanted to meet my parents.

I panicked and told her everything about the situation at home.

I even showed her the footage I had secretly taken and was sure she was having second thoughts about visiting my parents.

Instead, she leaned back in her office chair, idly twirling a limited-edition fountain pen between her fingers. She tapped the desk lightly. There was a faint, almost amused smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

“Interesting… Now, I really want to meet him.”

There was no talking her out of it.

That weekend, she dragged me to the mall. She said that she wanted to pick a gift for my mother.

She chose an elegant mother-of-pearl bangle and had it placed in a navy velvet jewelry box. She said that it would look perfect on my mother.

We had just paid and turned around when we ran straight into Bobby.

He was carrying a milkshake. The moment he saw Lara beside me, his eyes locked onto her.

The next second, his gaze shifted back to that vacant, childish look. Drool hung from the corner of his mouth as he shuffled toward us in his slippers.

“Kyle… pretty lady… hehe…”

He deliberately stumbled and threw himself toward Lara.

I reacted quickly and stepped forward to shield her.

Lara was even faster. She sidestepped him before he could touch her.

His arm swept hard across the jewelry box in her hand. It hit the marble floor with a sharp crack.

The box sprang open. The mother-of-pearl bangle inside snapped clean in two.

My temper flared instantly, and I pointed at Bobby.

“You did that on purpose!”

My mother came looking for him.

She first saw the broken mother-of-pearl bangle on the floor and Bobby cowering in fright. Her expression immediately darkened. She jabbed a finger against my forehead.

“Kyle, what’s wrong with you?! Why can’t you just cut Bobby some slack? You know he isn’t mentally well. He bumped into you. Big deal! The bracelet broke. So? Bobby could’ve gotten hurt.”

I had heard the same excuse for five years. Every time, it hurt just as much.

I clenched my fists and was about to argue when my mother noticed Lara standing beside me. She looked at her intently, clearly sizing her up.

“Who might this be?”

I was just about to introduce her, but Lara smiled and spoke first. Her voice was so gentle that it did not sound like her at all.

“Hello, Mrs. Pride. I’m Lara, a friend of Kyle’s. I was the one who lost my grip on the box just now. It wasn’t Bobby’s fault, so please don’t be upset with him.”

Mom paused. Seeing how well-dressed and polite Lara was, her expression softened a little, and she offered an embarrassed explanation.

“Oh, I’m sorry you had to see that! My nephew has some mental issues, so he can be a little clumsy.”

Lara kept smiling sweetly, but I saw it clearly.

When her gaze passed over Bobby as he lowered his head, her eyes turned ice-cold.

From where I was standing, I had a perfect view of Bobby’s profile.