Chapter 4

The dinner was set at Bayshore Grand.

I did not treat it as anything special, so I showed up in the same stain-resistant work clothes I always wore. Adrian, on the other hand, was dressed to impress.

It was hard to believe that the man whose family had gone bankrupt overseas, who had been forced to come back with nothing, had clawed his way to the top by stepping on me. He had latched onto both the Monroe and Nash families and never looked back.

My gaze landed on the designer watch on his wrist, easily worth over a million. I had seen the same one in Cecily's online shopping cart once. She had never mentioned it, and at the time, I had been foolish enough to think it was an anniversary gift meant for me.

Looking back, they had probably been carrying on behind my back even then.

Adrian lifted his wrist with a deliberate flourish, pretending to check the time. The overpowering stench of hair gel coming off him nearly made me gag. He mistook my reaction for jealousy and leaned in close while keeping his voice low.

"Even if you tried to come back, no one would welcome you. For all you know, Cecily might already be carrying my child."

He was buzzing around me like a fly. I raised my hand and waved him off near my face, nothing more.

Adrian immediately clutched his face and staggered to the floor, as though I had hit him. "Vincent, if you're angry, take it out on me. Just please, don't lay a hand on Cecily or the kid."

Cecily saw the scene and rushed over. She shoved me aside, dropped to one knee, and helped Adrian up, her face full of concern. "What the hell is wrong with you, Vincent?"

Adrian tugged at Cecily's sleeve, putting on a wounded look. "It's okay. It's all my fault. Vincent already went to prison for me. The least I deserve is a beating."

Lydia shot to her feet. After checking on Adrian, she turned to me with open disappointment. "Vincent, didn't you understand a word I said last night?"

I scoffed. "Here we go again. You really can't see through something this obvious?"

After our parents died in an accident, Lydia had taken over the family business at 18. Distant relatives with hidden agendas kept sending men her way, trying to drive a wedge between us.

Whether it was false accusations or drugged drinks, Lydia always saw through it and dealt with them without blinking.

She had held me when I was a boy, looked me in the eye, and told me plainly, "Vincent, you are the one person in this world I trust the most."

Now, her heart had long since shifted to Adrian. She could see through his pathetic acting, but she played along willingly all the same.

Ruby was too small to keep up. By the time she reached us, panting for breath, she hurled her cup of tea at me. "Who said you could bully my daddy? You're a bad person!"

She did not have much strength behind it, and I stepped back in time, but the hot water still splashed across the back of my hand. My skin, already covered in old scars, broke out in angry red welts on contact.

Cecily frowned and snapped at me. "Apologize to Adrian. Now."

I let out a dry laugh. "Last time, you all sent me to prison because I trusted the wrong people. I've already cut ties with every one of you. What's the plan this time? Run the same play and send me back in?"

Cecily looked away, unable to hold my gaze.

My phone buzzed. I glanced at the message on the screen, and the weight that had been pressing down on me lifted in an instant. I had no interest in arguing with them any longer and turned to leave.

Cecily caught my wrist.

"What happened back then was my fault. But you just got to take your anger out, so consider us even. Adrian and I are legally married now. If you want back in, the most I can offer is keeping you on the side, and seeing you every now and then. Don't expect anything more."

I ripped my arm free and let out a sharp laugh. "That's a nice little fantasy you've got, Cecily. Two husbands for one wife. Too bad for you, I've already remarried. My wife just landed at the airport, and she's waiting for me."

I walked out of the restaurant without looking back, only to come face to face with the victim's family. They were just as furious as the last time.

"You murderer! No wonder we couldn't find you after you got out. You've been hiding in Bayshore this whole time!"

"You killed my wife! Today, you're going to pay for it!"

The man threw a punch. They had numbers on their side. Even though I had spent the last few years getting my body back into shape, they overwhelmed me and put me on the ground.

Bystanders moved to step in, but the group stopped them cold.

"He's a quack who killed a patient because he didn't know what he was doing. Are you sure you want to help someone like him?"

The stares that settled on me were full of contempt. It felt exactly like the most desperate night of my life, playing out all over again.

I looked instinctively toward Adrian. His eyes were bright with smug certainty, just as I had suspected. He had brought them here.

Lydia and Cecily froze at the sight. They shouted for it to stop and started toward me. For a moment, I let myself believe that this time would be different.

Then Adrian clutched his throat and coughed, and that alone was enough to stop them both in their tracks.

"Adrian, I'm taking you to the hospital right now!"

"Daddy, are you okay?"

They fussed over him and hurried away without a backward glance.

I watched them go. I had known how it would end, but the ache found me all the same. They talked about making things right with me, but the moment Adrian was involved, they would abandon me without a second thought.

This time, though, I was not going to accept it. Someone who loved me was waiting for me to come home.

I curled into myself, bracing for the next blow. It never came. Someone had wrapped themselves around me, shielding me completely.

A voice rang out from behind me, ice-cold and trembling with fury.

"Who gave you the nerve to lay a hand on my husband?"