Chapter 5

Larry soaked up the flattery, grinning from ear to ear.

By the time it was my turn, the gift cards and chocolates were gone. He spread his hands in mock innocence, then pulled a few flowers out of nowhere and shoved them into my hand.

"Looks like I ran out of gift cards and chocolates, Mr. Shore. You can have these instead. I heard your mom just died. Thought you could put them to good use. Say hi to her for me."

Everyone around us burst out laughing.

My blood boiled as I stared him down. "How do you know my mom passed away?"

Larry chuckled and dropped his voice. "I know Jo's password, Callum. I deleted all your calls and texts that day before she ever saw them. And that money for your mom's treatment? I talked Jo into spending it all on me."

My eyes burned, and I gritted my teeth in anger. "So, you killed my mom? Why would you do that?"

"Because you don't know when to quit. You kept clinging to Jo, so I made sure you backed off—"

My fist smashed into his nose bridge before he could finish. Blood sprayed.

"You piece of trash!" I roared.

Larry swiped at the blood on his face and gave me a twisted smile. "Someone get over here and hold him down!"

At his shout, our coworkers rushed in and yanked my arms behind my back, eager to impress him and win his favor.

I was pinned in place. I watched a flash of cruelty pass through Larry's eyes as he grabbed a ceramic mug off his desk and swung it straight at my head.

"This is what you get for hitting me, Callum!"

The mug shattered. Warm liquid trickled down my forehead, and my vision washed over in red.

"What the hell are you doing? All of you, stop!"

Right before everything went black, I saw Joanna running toward me. "Callum!"

…

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital bed.

"Callum, you're awake." Joanna sat by the bed. When she saw me wake up, she hurried to help me sit up, her face full of worry. "Does your head still hurt? I made you some chicken soup. Try it."

She opened the thermal flask and lifted a spoonful to my lips, feeding me one sip at a time.

For a moment, I felt disoriented. It had been a long time since she'd treated me this tenderly. The last time she was like this was before Larry joined the company.

Back then, I'd been her whole world. Whenever she went on a business trip, she'd bring back some trinkets just to make me happy. If I got sick, she'd cancel million-dollar deals to stay home and care for me. At night, she couldn't fall asleep unless she was in my arms.

Then Larry showed up, and it all disappeared.

I was lost in my memories and only yanked back to reality when Joanna spoke again. "I heard what happened at the office from the staff."

I thought she was finally going to take my side. A small flicker of hope rose in my chest. Then her next words doused it like a bucket of ice water had been poured over me.

"I know you're upset about the wedding, but how could you hurt yourself just to frame Larry?"

"It was Larry who—"

She cut me off coldly, not giving me the chance to protest. "That's enough. Everyone at the company says you started the fight. Larry kept backing down, and you kept hounding him. You're a grown man, Callum. Can you try acting like one? If you keep this up, I swear I'll break up with you."

My throat tightened. I forced out a bitter smile.

Every time we fought, Joanna threatened to break up with me. In the past, because I loved her, I swallowed my pride, took the blame, and caved.

But now, I just gave a short, humorless laugh and nodded. "Fine. Let's break up."