Chapter 3

"Get out!"

In the end, all he could do was rage and throw me out.

***

With the little cash I had left, I checked into a cheap motel on the edge of town.

Once inside, I called a number I hadn't dialed in a long time.

"Mr. Cheney... sorry for calling so late. That overseas R&D job you mentioned before... is it still open?"

With my injuries, my voice came out weak.

A brief pause on the other end—then surprise.

After I gave him a clear answer, Mr. Cheney got so excited he almost tripped over his words. He immediately told his secretary to start the paperwork.

"Isaac, last time you said you wanted to stay here and focus on your girlfriend. What changed?"

He sounded casual, just curious.

"I'm still young. My future matters more than settling down."

That answer clearly pleased him.

I'd met Mr. Cheney at a university tech expo.

He couldn't stop praising the security system I built.

He offered me a job overseas as head of the tech department—$150,000 a year.

But for Amy, I'd turned it down without hesitation.

Looking back, I was an idiot.

Early the next morning, I went out for painkillers.

The wounds throbbed all night. I barely slept.

I didn't even have enough money to see a doctor.

All I could afford was the cheapest pills to dull the pain.

As I stepped out of the clinic, my phone rang.

I thought it was my dad.

Instead, it was Amy.

"Isaac, come see me right now. I need to tell you something in person."

I wanted nothing more to do with her.

But there was urgency in her voice.

After a brief pause, I agreed.

***

Half an hour later, I got to the café we'd agreed on.

The second I pushed the door open, I spotted Amy and Bryan sitting side by side.

First time I'd ever seen her smile that sweetly at someone.

Then she noticed me. The smile snapped off—like she was scared I might get even a crumb of it.

Before I could say a word, she hurled a cup of scalding coffee straight at my face.

"Isaac, do you have zero shame? You said you'd set me free and stop bothering me, and then you sent your dad to my house to force the marriage?!"

I'd expected something like this.

For a guy as shameless as my father, nothing was off-limits.

I wiped the coffee off my face. My voice came out rough. "I didn't know about that."

The next second—smack.

My head rang harder. The room tilted, my vision dimming.

"You really think you and your dad can put on a show and fool me? He ran to my house to pressure us because he's drowning in debt, right? If your family hadn't helped mine back then, you think my dad would've ever agreed to let me marry someone like you?"

Her eyes dragged over me, dripping with disgust. "Look at you. You're not even worth being my family's charity case."

Next to her, Bryan's eyes suddenly turned red.

"Amy, I thought if I stayed, we could finally be together... guess I was just kidding myself."