Chapter 2

As soon as I got home, I pulled out my suitcase and started packing.

I didn't hear Elise come in. One moment I was putting clothes into the case; the next, she was taking them out. Every shirt I packed, she tossed back onto the bed.

Finally, she grabbed my wrist and kicked the suitcase over.

"Evan, what the hell are you doing?" Her eyes were bloodshot. "Are you really going to throw another tantrum?"

Tears spilled down my face. I clutched at my aching chest.

"I'm throwing a tantrum? Elise, you married another man. What exactly am I supposed to stay here for? So I can be your side piece?"

She sank onto the couch, exhausted. She took out a cigarette and raised it to her lips, then silently put it aside without lighting it.

"Ev, it's not what you think.

"His name is Nico Ferretti. He's Professor Ferretti's son. The professor passed away and entrusted Nico to me. I have a responsibility to look after him."

Professor Ferretti. Her benefactor.

Years ago, he'd helped secure the funding Elise needed for her first major project. Without him, she might never have built the company she had today.

I curled my fingers into my palms and closed my eyes.

"So looking after his son means marrying him and promising to take care of him for the rest of your life? What about me?"

Elise frowned and opened her mouth.

Her phone rang first.

Her entire face softened when she saw the caller.

"Nico? What's wrong?"

A young man's voice came through the speaker, thick with tears.

"Elise, is Evan still upset? Did you explain everything? Maybe I should come over and talk to him myself... Ah!"

There was a thud, as though someone had fallen.

Elise shot to her feet.

"Nico? What happened? Talk to me."

"I fell," he whispered shakily. "It hurts so much."

"Don't be scared. I'm coming right now."

She ended the call and seized my arm.

"You're coming with me. Nico and I will explain everything face-to-face."

I tried to pull away, but she dragged me along anyway.

Only then did I learn where Nico lived.

Directly above us. In the apartment upstairs.

I didn't dare think about all the nights Elise had claimed she needed to work late, or the times she'd slipped out after midnight. How many of those nights had she spent with him, just one floor above me?

Elise hurried into Nico's bathroom. When she helped him out, he wasn't wearing anything, and he pressed himself against her as though he belonged there.

His eyes were red when he saw me.

"Evan, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were Elise's boy... boyfriend. Please don't fight with her. She was only trying to help me."

I said nothing. His eyes filled with even more tears.

"Evan!" Elise snapped. "Nico is talking to you. Would it kill you to answer him? Didn't anyone ever teach you manners?"

The ache in my chest grew unbearable.

After a long silence, I managed a hoarse, "I understand."

Nico immediately brightened. He tugged at Elise's sleeve.

"Elise, my foot really hurts. I think I twisted my ankle."

She dropped to one knee at once. With both hands, she cradled his foot and gently felt around it.

"Where does it hurt? Here?"

I couldn't look away.

Once, I'd broken my leg in a car accident while protecting Elise. The pain had kept me awake all night. I'd begged her to help put ointment on the injury.

She'd pushed my hand away, irritated.

"Ev, you know I can't stand touching things like that. I'm a germaphobe."

Apparently, only when it came to me.

Elise went to a nearby cabinet and began searching for a bottle of medicinal rub, moving around the apartment with the ease of someone who knew exactly where everything was.

The second her back was turned, Nico's expression changed. His eyes went cold.

"You really have no shame, do you, Evan? Elise and I are legally married. You're the other man. What gives you the right to stand here?"

He leaned closer, his voice dripping contempt.

"Fifteen years with her, and you never even got a marriage license out of it. Pathetic. A shameless freeloader like you should cash in on your looks while they last. Go work at an escort club and find some rich woman to keep you. Though can a guy like you even still get it up?"

My chest tightened. I looked up, furious.

Before I could say a word, Nico's eyes filled with tears. He slapped himself hard across the face and dropped to the floor.

"Evan!"

Elise came running and gathered him into her arms.

Holding his cheek, Nico sobbed. "I was only apologizing. He hit me out of nowhere. This is all my fault. I should never have let you look after me. I'll leave, okay? I'll go!"

I shook with anger.

"You're lying! It was obviously you..."

"Enough!" Elise cut me off. Her fingers dug into my upper arm. "Apologize to Nico."

Something inside me finally gave way.

I managed a faint, bitter smile, though tears burned behind my eyes.

"Elise, you can't even see through a trick this cheap? That's just sad."

I pulled free and walked out without another word.