Chapter 4 The Night the Truth Came Out

The taxi stopped in front of Haiden's apartment, and I used the access code he had given me earlier that night to enter.

When I reached his study, warm yellow light spilled across the desk.

My document envelope was sitting exactly where I had left it, except someone had opened it.

I walked closer and immediately saw the damage.

The property transfer agreement had been torn cleanly in half. Both pieces were wrinkled and drenched with water, and dark stains had spread across the pages. The ink had bled so badly that the official seal and signatures were almost impossible to read.

I carefully picked up the two pieces. My fingers trembled when they touched the torn edges.

The agreement was supposed to transfer ownership of our family home in my hometown from my mom to me.

My mom had originally planned to mail the paperwork straight to my place. Haiden had changed her mind after he found out about it.

"Have her send the documents to me instead. I know someone at the property office, so I can help you with the paperwork. Your mom won't have to keep making trips."

I had believed he was helping us.

Now, everything my mother had spent the past two months arranging had been ruined.

Starting over meant she would need to return to the notary office in our hometown, complete the paperwork again, and mail me another set of original documents. After that, we would have to wait at least another month for the process to be completed.

My mom was no longer in good enough health to keep traveling back and forth for paperwork like this.

I stared at the ruined agreement in my hands and noticed a faint shoeprint across one of the pages.

Someone had not merely spilled water by accident.

I took out my phone and called Haiden.

The phone rang for a long time before he finally answered. Exhaustion and impatience were obvious in his voice. "I'm at the ER. Kendall is on oxygen. What is it?"

I looked down at the torn papers. "My property transfer agreement was on your desk. Someone tore it in half and poured water all over it."

Haiden went quiet for a couple of seconds before responding, "I don't have time to deal with this right now. The doctor says Kendall could've been in serious danger if we got here any later."

"That agreement came from my mom—"

He interrupted me before I could finish.

"Do you seriously have to talk about this right now?" His voice turned colder. "Kendall just had an asthma attack. She could've been in real danger. Do you understand that?"

I remained silent.

"Just get another copy of the agreement. Stop blaming everything on her." He paused briefly before continuing, "She's still on oxygen. Try to be reasonable."

The call ended before I had a chance to respond.

A notification appeared on my phone almost immediately afterward.

Kendall had posted an update, writing, 'Asthma attack. Haiden brought me to the ER. Thank God he was here.'

Someone had already left a comment underneath. 'Haiden playing hero again?'

I stared at the screen and realized I no longer had the energy to feel heartbroken or angry. I was simply exhausted, and the feeling seemed to have settled all the way into my bones.

I turned off my phone and began collecting the damaged pages so I could place them back inside the envelope.

While reaching across the desk, I accidentally bumped the computer mouse.

The monitor lit up.

A hotel booking site was still open on the screen, and an unread notification under "My Reservations" immediately caught my attention.

'Your stay is complete. We hope you enjoyed your visit and would love to hear your feedback.'

I clicked on it, and the reservation details appeared.

Three months earlier, Haiden and Kendall had stayed together in a king room at a hot spring resort outside the city, with a private hot spring included in the booking.

The date was painfully familiar.

It was the exact weekend Haiden had told me he was away on a business trip.

I went completely still as a heavy pressure tightened around my chest.

I did not close the reservation page. Instead, my attention shifted to the bookmarks along the top of the browser.

One of them led to a food delivery app.

I clicked it and opened the order history.

An order from the same weekend appeared on the screen.

The delivery location matched the resort. The time was 10:47 p.m.

The order included two hot mulled wines, a fruit platter, and a box of condoms.

Haiden had placed the order.

My eyes remained fixed on the word "condoms" until the screen eventually dimmed from inactivity.

My reflection appeared in the black monitor.

That was when I remembered the message I had sent Haiden that same night. 'Are you tired from the business trip?'

His reply had been simple.

'Not too bad. Go to bed early.'

I had listened to him.

I had actually gone to sleep believing he was away on business while he was sharing a king room with Kendall and ordering condoms to their room.

I quietly put the mouse back down.

I did not cry, and my hands did not shake. I felt no urge to scream or destroy anything.

Instead, I walked to his closet, pulled out the suitcase I had left there, and packed everything that belonged to me.

Once I finished, I carried the suitcase out of the apartment.

The door closed behind me, and the electronic lock chimed through the silent hallway.

"Door locked."

I kept walking without turning around.

There was nothing left inside that apartment that I wanted to look back at.