Chapter 4

I had even recorded a video of Silas drying my hair for me and posted it on my social media to show off how much he cared about me.

Cassidy had left a comment on that post. "Come on, he's just putting on an act. You could spend 20-odd bucks at a salon, and it'd even come with a head massage!"

I'd laughed and replied, "He's my personal hairstylist. No one else compares."

But now, his attention was no longer reserved for me alone.

"My parents are in Elmsworth?" Silas' voice pulled me back to the present.

"Flora's sick," I said. "She's at Elmsworth General Hospital. Patrick called you, but he couldn't reach you."

Silas' expression instantly turned tense. He checked his phone and saw several missed calls. "I must have missed it because I was helping Cady wash her hair. Come on, let's go to the hospital now."

He reached out to take my hand, but I stepped aside and avoided him. His hand froze in midair before he awkwardly pulled it back.

"You're always getting upset over nothing," he grumbled, displeased. "Only I can put up with that horrible temper of yours."

Cassidy immediately snapped at him. "Don't talk about Whitney like that!"

Silas looked at her with doting affection. "You're actually defending her even when she's jealous of you?"

Cassidy pouted. "You don't get to bad-mouth her."

"Fine. Whatever you say, princess."

The two of them seemed to have built a private world of their own, shutting me out completely. A deep weariness suddenly settled over me.

Cassidy asked, "Can I come along? I'd like to meet your parents too."

"You're the princess. Who's to stop you?"

Silas smiled and helped Cassidy walk to the car, the two of them trailing behind me.

Out of habit, I reached for the front passenger door. But Silas pushed me aside, lifted Cassidy into the front seat, and buckled her seatbelt for her.

Turning back, he shot me an apologetic look. "Cady isn't in the best of shape. Let her have the front seat today."

I opened my mouth to say something. I suffered from severe motion sickness, so I always took the front seat, whether I was riding in a car or a cab. Silas knew that perfectly well, yet he still chose to make me sit in the back.

In the end, I said nothing, opened the rear door, and got in. Since I'd already decided to let go of him, what did the front seat even matter?

…

At the hospital, we found out that Flora Moorbrock, Silas' mother, had a gastric ulcer and needed to stay for a couple of days.

Cassidy stepped forward and introduced herself to Silas' parents. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Culburn. I'm Cassidy, Whitney's best friend."

Flora seemed to take a liking to Cassidy's well-mannered demeanor. She pulled Cassidy over to sit by the bed and chatted with her the whole time.

Flora had never been fond of me. She always felt Silas could find a girlfriend with a better background.

Seeing how well they got along, Silas joked, "Mom, Cady's not your daughter-in-law! Why are you chatting with her so much?"

Without giving it much thought, Flora blurted, "I'd love for her to be my daughter-in-law!"

Silas froze and instinctively glanced at me, but in the end, he said nothing.

They looked like a happy family, laughing and chatting away warmly, leaving me feeling like the odd one out. So I walked out of the hospital room and took a cab home.

I had already bought my plane ticket that morning. I needed to go to Briarwood two days before starting my job to find a place to settle in.

While waiting at my gate, I saw Silas' social media post. He had his arm around Cassidy's shoulders as they stood by the hospital bed, taking a photo with his parents.

A couple of our mutual friends had commented on it.

"What's this? Meeting the parents already?"

"Where's Whitney? Did you guys break up?"

I liked the post.

Silas immediately sent me a message. "Whitney, don't get the wrong idea. It's Cady's first time meeting my parents, so she just wanted a photo as a keepsake. By the way, when did you leave? Why didn't you tell me?"

I'd been gone for two hours, and he was only now noticing my absence.

I replied, "I'm not getting the wrong idea, Silas. We're done. Transfer the 3,000 dollars within 24 hours, or I'm filing a police report."

I had wanted to say it in person, but I never got the chance.

I unpinned Silas from the top of my chats, then I scrolled down my contacts to find his and Cassidy's numbers before blocking them both.

The airport announcement soon came over the speakers. "Passengers bound for Briarwood, please proceed to boarding immediately."