Chapter 3

Not long after Charlene left that day, she eagerly moved Travis in to live with us. She even went so far as to arrange for him to work as her personal assistant.

Afterward, she feigned innocence while explaining it to me, "Travis is new to the company, and it'll be easier for him to get up to speed if I guide him myself."

Now, standing before Dad, Charlene's face flushed with a mix of anger and embarrassment. She drew a deep breath, as though she'd run out of patience for arguing, and said flatly, "Travis is outside. I had him come here to drop off an urgent document."

Without waiting for Dad or me to respond, she turned and opened the door.

Dressed in a clean white shirt that made him look clean-cut and honest, Travis followed behind her.

When he saw Dad, he instinctively hid behind Charlene.

Charlene immediately grew defensive. "He's just here to drop off a document. Don't look at him like that—you'll scare him," she said to Dad.

I looked at Charlene as though she were a fool.

Beside her, Travis spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. "Ms. Downing, it's not really appropriate for me to be at your family gathering. I think it'd be best if I go."

Yet, his feet seemed rooted to the floor, as he didn't move an inch at all.

"You must be tired from running the errand, so why don't you stay for dinner?" Charlene insisted, not even giving him a chance to refuse as she steered him firmly into the empty seat beside her, the very seat that was meant for me.

The atmosphere at the dining table froze over.

Dad watched coldly with a smirk as Travis put on his act.

"Mr. Roach, we're both men. There's no need to put on a performance for me." Dad set down his fork and continued ruthlessly, "I can see right through the little game you're playing."

Travis' face instantly drained of color. "Mr. Downing, I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't?" Dad chuckled lightly. "Back when you and Charlene were dating in college, the first time she brought you home, your eyes never left the decor from the moment you stepped through the door.

"And when you heard the scale of our family business, the greed and calculation in your eyes were practically written across your face."

Travis trembled all over, visibly fighting to hold back his emotions.

Seeing this, Charlene slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly.

"Enough!" she roared, glaring at Dad. "It's been years, and you're still harping about the same old thing! You don't actually care about what's good for me—you just want to control my life.

"When you forced us to break up back then, it actually drove Travis into depression! Don't you feel even a shred of guilt? Now that he's finally pulled himself together, why are you using such vicious words to hurt him again?"

Dad was so furious that he couldn't stop shaking. "I just want to control you? If I really wanted to do that, I would never have let Javier suffer alongside you when you went bankrupt! You ungrateful child—have you forgotten who it was that crawled through hell with you?"

"I haven't!" Charlene shouted, her eyes red. "I will spend the rest of my life repaying Javier for everything he did for me. But that doesn't mean I can't make amends to Travis too!"

With that, she grabbed the still-trembling Travis by the arm and stormed out without looking back.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dad called after her.

"I can't stay in this house another minute!" she snapped, pulling Travis along as she left in a huff.

Throughout it all, she never once glanced my way, nor did it even cross her mind to take me with her.

"Javier, don't mind her. She can get lost if that's what she wants." Dad was breathing heavily with anger. He patted my back and added, "Stay here tonight. I'll have a couple of drinks with you."

I shook my head and stood up. "Dad, I should head back."

This was between Charlene and me. I couldn't let him completely sever ties with her because of me.

Charlene's car was still parked in the courtyard, and she was leaning against the car door, glancing impatiently at her phone. Clearly, she was waiting for me.

So, she remembered she'd left me behind, after all.

I walked slowly toward her.

The streetlights stretched my shadow long and thin, making it look lonely and desolate.

At the sound of my footsteps, Charlene looked up. When she saw it was me, her impatience only deepened.

"What took you so long? Let's go," she said, pulling open the driver's side door and getting in.

I walked around to the passenger side. But before I could even reach for the door, I heard Travis' muffled groans coming from the back seat.