Chapter 2

I asked, "Why do you want to marry me?"

Irene countered, "Don't you want to know what actually happened in your past life, Xander?"

I recalled the scenes from the past two days as joyous music for Calvin and Julia's engagement celebration echoed from downstairs, while everyone kept congratulating them.

I remained silent for a few seconds before replying, "I'll marry you, then."

Irene clearly hadn't expected me to agree so easily. She remained silent for a while before she hummed in assent.

I was prepared to end the call after seeing that she had nothing else to say.

"Hold on!" Irene spoke up, stopping me from hanging up.

"Is there something else?"

"You didn't hurt a single person in your past life."

Irene sounded totally calm, almost detached, but that one simple statement made my heart race.

In the past two days, everyone had believed that I was responsible for the fire that killed them. I didn't want to believe it myself, but when everyone kept insisting that it was true, I started to doubt myself. Yet, at this moment, Irene finally told me I hadn't hurt anyone in my past life.

That sheer feeling of being trusted brought tears to my eyes all over again.

"What actually happened in our past life?"

If I hadn't been the one who set the fire that killed them, then there had to be another explanation for their deaths. What really happened in our past life?

I figured Irene wouldn't answer me when she fell silent on the other end again, but then she finally spoke up, "You'll find out the whole truth once we get married."

"Alright…" I figured Irene probably had her reasons for keeping it to herself. I was willing to wait until we got married to find out the truth if she wasn't ready to tell me now.

Calvin and Julia's wedding was only a month after the draw, so the whole family was busy getting everything ready for the big day.

I knew how much they hated me and kept their guard up around me, so I kept to myself in the attic and hardly ever went outside.

Calvin probably couldn't stand seeing me living peacefully, so he took it upon himself to stir up trouble with me. He came to the attic while I was painting—one of the few hobbies I had, as I hoped to become a painter if given the opportunity.

He scowled the moment he walked in. He then spoke with obvious ridicule and spite in his voice, asking, "Do you really just spend your days in a place like this, Xander? You're living in a total dump!"

Though the attic was small—and cluttered with all kinds of things—and clearly inferior to the other rooms in the house, it wasn't nearly as bad as Calvin made it out to be.

I knew Calvin wasn't there to pay me a friendly visit, so I set my paintbrush down and waited for him to get to the point.

Calvin seemed annoyed when his taunt fell flat. He adopted a delicate, vulnerable tone, making it seem as though I had bullied him even though I hadn't done a thing.

"What's with the long face, Xander? Do you not want me around?"

"Not at all," I replied flatly.

Calvin grew annoyed when he couldn't get a reaction out of me. "I came here today because I want the villa in the western part of the city, Xander. It's got great vibes and a fantastic layout, perfect for newlyweds like Julia and me."

He stared fixedly at me, a look of sheer determination in his eyes.

Mom and Dad had given me that villa for my 18th birthday. They had carefully chosen the property because they planned for Julia and me to live there after we got married. Yet, now that Julia was no longer going to be my wife, the villa no longer felt like it belonged to me either.

Calvin let out a mocking laugh after seeing that I didn't respond immediately. "You don't seem very keen on giving me the villa, Xander. I'll just tell Mom and Dad that I don't need the villa, then."

I watched Calvin leave, fully aware that Mom and Dad would take his side if he brought them over. I couldn't help holding onto a sliver of hope, though. What if they stood up for me this time? They had loved and favored me for so many years, after all. What if they still cared about me somewhere deep down?

That lingering flicker of hope vanished the moment Mom walked into the attic, as one glance from her was all it took for me to know she was backing Calvin. She slapped me hard across the face the moment she walked in, not even bothering to say anything.

I could feel the stinging sensation spreading across my cheek, as if my skin were being peeled off alive, but that pain was nothing compared to the ache in my chest. Mom used to be the one who had loved me the most, after all.

"Go transfer the ownership of the villa to Calvin this instant, Xander!" Mom ordered coldly, making it clear she expected me to obey.

"I don't want to," I said firmly, looking directly at Mom.

Mom's expression instantly hardened. "What's wrong with us taking back the property your father and I gave you? You can get the hell out of this house if you refuse to hand it over to Calvin!"

That threat would have meant something if Mom still cared about me.