Chapter 4

My mind rang with a single, sharp buzz.

My mom's health had never been good. Recently, she had been in and out of the ICU several times.

I had been in such a hurry to bring Rosalind home to meet her because I wanted my mom to finally feel at ease.

I rushed to the hospital like a madman.

…

Jayden was already waiting outside the emergency room.

The moment he saw me, he shoved me hard. "I warned you. Don't become somebody's kept man! You nearly angered your mom to death!"

Jayden's parents drank and gambled. They never had time to take care of him, so my mom had always treated him like her own son.

I held back my tears. "How is my mom?"

The emergency room door opened, and the doctor stepped out and pulled down his mask. "The patient is stable for now, but she absolutely cannot take another shock."

My phone buzzed with a transfer notification.

Rosalind had sent me 200,000 dollars.

Rosalind: [I heard about your mom. Take this for now. If it's not enough, ask me for more.]

I had already made up my mind to cut all ties with Rosalind, but I couldn't bring myself to send the money back. I needed to make sure my mom was safe first.

In the hospital room, my mom weakly opened her eyes. "Sam... did you really... Did you really become someone's kept man?"

I shook my head as tears streamed down my face. "No. I really didn't..."

My mom nodded with great effort. "I believe you."

Jayden turned on the TV, trying to distract her.

My mom managed a relieved smile. "You're both good kids. Seeing you two still as close as real brothers puts my mind at ease...

"Back when little Jay was too shy to take food for himself at meals, Sam always shared the food from his own plate with him..."

Before she could finish, her eyes suddenly widened and locked on the television screen.

I spun around and saw explicit photos of me plastered across the screen.

"Turn it off! Now!"

Faced with my panic, Jayden let out a quiet laugh. "Mrs. Cooper, you've been fooled. Samuel really did become someone's kept man.

"Not only did he wedge himself into someone else's relationship, but he also went looking for a sugar mommy. This is the proof.

"I'm scared I'll catch something filthy from him just from being friends with someone like this."

"Shut up!"

In a panic, I grabbed a stool and smashed it into the TV.

The screen shattered, and the explicit photos finally disappeared.

At some point, Victor had entered the room without my noticing.

He sneered, "I always said poor people shouldn't have kids. Just look at your son. Who knows how many beds he's crawled into for money."

I looked at my mom through my tears. "He's talking nonsense. Don't listen to him..."

But it was too late. My mom's already gaunt face turned even more ashen. Her eyes fixed on a single point, then went completely blank.

I clutched her body and cried until I had no voice left, "Mom!"

In despair, I pulled out my phone and published the post I had drafted earlier.

[Rosalind and I have been together for seven years. The real third party in this relationship is Victor Grosvenor.]

Not long after, Rosalind stormed into the room. "I told you to give me a little time, and I would handle it! Why did you have to make a scene? Delete that post right now, or I'll have the hospital stop all her treatment this instant!"

My face had gone completely numb. "My mom is already dead."

Rosalind instinctively looked toward my mom's lifeless body.

When Victor saw the doubt on her face, he took her hand, his eyes reddened. "Rose, I came here out of goodwill to visit his mom, but Samuel told me I'm not even worthy of being with you. He said someone like me, a homewrecker, deserves to die..."

Rosalind immediately became convinced that I was lying. "You'd even lie about your own mother's death and curse her like this. Samuel, I completely misjudged you."

An assistant hurried over. "Ms. Whitehall, the press conference starts in half an hour."

Rosalind gave me a long, disappointed look. "Sam, you're the one who forced me into this."

Not long after she left, a new email arrived on my phone. It stated that my conduct had seriously damaged the school's reputation and that my offer had been rescinded.

Then my phone rang.

My advisor's furious voice came through the speaker. "Someone reported you for academic fraud. You've been expelled!"

Everything I had built over more than 20 years—family, love, my education—shattered in that single moment.

In despair, my gaze fell on the half-open window beside me.

I forced myself to climb onto the sill. The howling wind roared in my ears.

A message came in from Rosalind.

Rosalind: [Sam, once this all blows over, I'll take you abroad. We can start everything fresh.]

I didn't reply.

"Rosalind, let's never meet again, not even in the next life."

I closed my eyes and jumped.

-

Across the city, Rosalind had just opened her mouth to offer a clarification at the press conference when an unfamiliar reporter pushed to the front row and fired off a pointed question.

"Ms. Whitehall, I've heard that you spent years pretending to be poor to deceive Samuel. After he discovered the truth, you not only tried to keep him as your kept man, but you also caused his mother's death and drove him to jump to his own death. Is that true?"