Chapter 3

Audrey froze for a moment, then frowned slightly. "What did you say?"

Just then, Jackson came running from the end of the hallway. "Audrey, there's a problem with Sample Three!"

Audrey immediately turned to him. "What happened?"

"The readings are way above the limit. You need to take a look!" Jackson grabbed her wrist.

Audrey glanced back at Nathaniel and said calmly, "We'll talk about this after I deal with the urgent data issue."

With that, she hurried away with Jackson.

Nathaniel stood where he was, watching them leave with an expressionless face.

He wasn't surprised. Everything else in Audrey's life mattered more to her than he did.

And when she said they'd talk about it later, there was a good chance she'd never bring it up again.

After all, she had never bothered with any of the wedding arrangements. She had only agreed to show up when needed.

Now that he had informed her of his decision, he had done his part.

Nathaniel had already listed their house for sale through a real estate agent. But he had also given up the apartment he used to rent, and he had only just realized that he no longer had anywhere to live.

Half an hour later, Nathaniel stood outside a small apartment.

His mother, Grace Cooper, opened the door. The moment she saw him, she smiled and asked, "Nathaniel, what brings you home all of a sudden? Didn't Audrey come with you?"

Nathaniel stepped inside and replied calmly, "No, she didn't."

His father, Logan Cooper, was sitting comfortably on the couch with his younger brother, Julian Cooper, watching TV.

When Logan heard Nathaniel had returned, he immediately looked past him toward the door. "Is Professor Sinclair still downstairs parking her car?"

Nathaniel got straight to the point. "We broke up."

Everyone stared at him in disbelief.

"What did you say?"

The smile vanished from Logan's face. He shot up from the couch and shouted. "What do you mean?"

Nathaniel calmly repeated himself, "We've called off our engagement. We have nothing to do with each other anymore."

Bang!

Logan suddenly kicked over the coffee table. The fruit bowl and drinking glasses crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces.

Some scalding liquid splashed onto Nathaniel's lower leg, leaving him with a sharp, burning pain.

Logan's face turned red with rage. His veins bulged as he pointed at Nathaniel and cursed him. "You're absolutely useless! Audrey is such an incredible woman, and so many people have failed to get close to her. Yet you broke up with her?"

Julian sneered. "Nathaniel, of course someone like Professor Sinclair would be surrounded by the best people in the field. I heard Jackson at the institute is her mentor's son. Those two are the ones who really belong together."

He let out a mocking laugh before looking Nathaniel up and down. "Besides being good-looking, what else do you have going for you? You were lucky to get close to Professor Sinclair in the first place. You should've known better than to throw it all away. Couldn't you have just swallowed your pride and put up with a few things? All you have to do is apologize and sweet-talk a woman, and she'll get over it."

Julian's expression grew even uglier. "Now that you've broken up with her, where am I supposed to get the money for my wedding? You've completely screwed me over!"

As Nathaniel listened to their cruel words, he felt nothing but despair. The moment Logan, Grace, and Julian realized they would no longer benefit from his relationship with Audrey, their true colors came out.

This was his family he had once desperately hoped would give him a little warmth, even if it was fake.

He had handed over most of the money he earned to them.

He had paid the tuition for Julian's mediocre college, covered the endless household expenses his parents demanded, and even helped with the down payment when they bought a new home.

He had given and given, all while holding on to one small, pathetic hope.

Only after Audrey agreed to marry him had his family's attitude toward him suddenly changed. They started contacting him more often. Their tone became kinder.

Sometimes, they even asked if he was tired from work.

He had been foolish enough to believe that he had finally found the family affection he had longed for, that Logan and Grace had finally begun to see his worth.

But now, the lie had been ripped away, exposing the harsh reality underneath.

They had never cared about him as a person. All they wanted was to use his connection to Audrey to squeeze every possible benefit out of her.

Nathaniel said nothing more. He didn't even bother to check the burn on his leg.

Instead, he grabbed his suitcase from beside the wall and walked straight out.

"Where the hell do you think you're going? We criticize you once and you start throwing a tantrum?"

"Then get out! And don't come back! Let's see who gives a damn about you then!"

Nathaniel couldn't bear to hear another word. He pulled the door shut behind him with all his strength.

The old hallway's motion-activated lights flickered on and off. He leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.

For the first time in his life, Nathaniel had nowhere to go.