Chapter 1

Josie Collins' lipstick stain was still on William Locke's face. Before she could wipe it off with her fingers, William grabbed her wrist. "Leave it. My grandmother would love to see this."

She smiled and nodded gently, but her smile vanished right away when she realized I was staring at her wedding dress. "I'm only wearing this to cheer his grandma up. I'm not really going to marry William. Your mom has been gone for six months. Stop comparing the living with the dead."

My grip on the steering wheel tightened gradually. After I calmed down, I turned off the engine and pulled out the car key. "Fine. Go ahead and cheer her up. Our wedding next month is off."

Josie was taken aback, and her face fell. "Don't be this way, Sam."

I said nothing and got out of the car. The moment I got out, Josie's mother, Maude Collins, came running over to grab me by the arm. "You've always been a good boy, Sam. Why must you create trouble today?"

She glanced inside the car and tried to talk me into cooperating. "Josie explained everything to you, hasn't she? This is just to cheer up an old lady, and Josie will only be with William for today. You'll have the rest of your life with her."

I looked at Maude. "Did all of you know about this?"

Her grip on me relaxed, but it quickly tightened again. "What's wrong with us knowing about this? Everyone has an elderly person at home that they care about. This is just a small issue. Can't you just give in to it?"

Josie's father, Arthur Collins, stood on the steps, looking more upset than I was. "You shouldn't be embarrassing Josie on a happy occasion like today. We can talk about this in private at home instead of making a scene in front of all our friends and families."

"Whose friends and families are you referring to?"

My question rendered him speechless.

The car door opened, and Josie came out while carefully lifting the skirt of her wedding dress. "You can leave the car keys behind if you don't want to drive the car, Sam. I'll get someone to be the wedding driver."

William followed behind her. "Josie, I think Sam's really mad about all this. Maybe I should talk to him."

Josie sneered, "When has he never been mad? He'll be fine after two days."

William laughed. "You're right. He always gives in to you. When he was taking care of his mother, he didn't sleep for two whole days, and when he was finally able to get some rest when his relatives took over care duty, he still came running to you when you called him at 2 am, and even waited several hours for you downstairs."

I did not want to argue with them and turned to leave, but the path outside was crowded with friends and relatives of the Locke and Collins family.

"Didn't you hear them telling you to leave your car keys?"

A few muscled men surrounded me. One of them grabbed me by the arm, while the other bent my wrist, and they snatched the car keys. They pushed me, and I fell onto the steps, hitting my forehead on the corner of a rock. It hurt so much that all I saw were stars.

Blood dripped from the corner of my forehead onto the back of my hand.

Josie was only a few steps away from me, but she did not come over to me or ask if I was hurt. William opened the car door for her, and she held his arm and bent over slightly to enter the car. They drove away right in front of me.

A notification popped up on my phone. It was a text from Josie. [Be good. I'll only be with him for a day. Wait for me. I'll come to you tomorrow."

I used to calm down whenever she said this to me, and I would wait for her to see me, but this time I did not reply. Instead, I scrolled through my phone and called a number. "Mr. Sampson, can I still apply for the overseas project we have?"

He sounded surprised. "Aren't you about to get married? When the company wanted to transfer you there, you told us that you couldn't bear to let your future wife be in a long-distance relationship with you."

I stared in the direction where the convoy of cars left. "It's not a concern for me now. I'd like to apply for the transfer."