That’s Not How Love Works

“Alright, I accept your proposal.”An excited voice came through the phone right away. “Summer, I’m so happy you said yes! Don’t worry. I’ll treat you well, I promise—”I cut him off. “But I have one condition.“I want to start a company. I need funding.”“I’ll give it to you!”Caden Frost agreed without hesitation, but a second later, he hesitated. “What about James? Have you told him?”“I will. Within a week.”Just hearing James Grayson’s name messed with my head. As soon as I hung up, my hand trembled, and the glass I was holding fell to the floor and shattered, just like what we had between us. The moment when I told him I loved him, there was no going back.Our families used to be neighbors. When I was ten, James was kidnapped by human traffickers.My dad tried to protect him and was stabbed three times. Each wound was fatal.James survived, but my dad lost his life.My mom could not handle the pain. The shock made her go gray overnight, and she passed away too.Just l

When I was 16, I had no parents, and my classmates mocked me at that sensitive age. They said I was cursed and doomed to be alone. One day, when I was hiding and crying by myself, James showed up like a hero and chased those bullies away.He did not ask what happened. He just looked at me and said, “Summer, no matter what, it’s their fault if you’re crying. I’ll make sure they pay for it.”His promise still echoed in my ears, but the man standing in front of me was no longer that knight in shining armor.I pulled the ceramic shard out of my skin and tossed it aside. I stood up, one hand covering my wound.“I’m the victim here. I don’t owe anyone an explanation.”James stared at the cut on my arm, then lowered his eyes. His expression was unreadable.After a few seconds of silence, Mila whimpered dramatically in pain. James did not hesitate. He picked her up in his arms and rushed her to the hospital. Alone and cut off, I stood among the broken shards while the store staff stared

His vague, misleading statement basically confirmed to the world that I had been assaulted outside the house.In an instant, my blood surged with rage, and my hands and feet went cold.Did James not realize what this would do to me? How many rumors and judgmental stares would I have to endure in the future?My hands trembled as I tapped the screen to call him.Why? Why could he not just let me go? The call connected quickly. His lazy voice came through. “Hello?”My mind was a mess, but my voice came out low and cold. “It wasn’t me outside your house last night. Why didn’t you clear that up?”James just sneered. “Summer, what game are you playing now?“Even if it wasn’t you outside, you still drugged me. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. Even if Mila fell into your trap, I’m still going to marry her.”My fingers trembled as I gripped the phone. I forced out each word, “It wasn’t me.”He snorted, clearly not believing a word.“I get that you want to protect Mila, bu

I was stunned by how shameless James was. I shoved his hand away and shouted, “Get out! Just get out!”“Summer, why can’t you just be my sister like I asked? “If it weren’t for you, we could’ve stayed together forever!”I slapped him across the face. “You’re insane! I wanted a future with you once, but you didn’t want it. Now that I finally have a life of my own, you’re trying to ruin it!”My fingernail left a faint scratch on his cheek. He gently ran his fingers over it, but his eyes never left mine.“Summer, you’re the one who stopped behaving.”I had never seen this side of James. He seemed crazy and obsessive. I ran away in fear.When I got home, Caden saw how shaken I was and asked me what had happened. I did not hesitate and told him everything about my past with James.I thought he might get jealous. He had always cared a lot about the men around me.But instead, he just pulled me into his arms.“You must have gone through so much.“From now on, I’ll love you twice a