Chapter 1

I stared at the three empty seats reserved for family members.

I had to coordinate the entire wedding by myself, which included venue planning, scheduling, and finalizing the guest list.

The whole time, my fiancée, Acara Grey, told me she was too busy with work to help.

My foster brother, Levi Cal, was going to be the best man at the wedding.

Since this was his first time as a best man, my sisters tasked me with helping him pick out his entire outfit, from the suit and dress shoes down to the cufflinks.

They treated me as if I were a doll incapable of feeling any hurt or humiliation.

Upon hanging up, the wedding planner asked me cautiously, “Mr. Thornton, are we going to keep waiting?”

I unpinned the lapel pin and placed it on the empty chair meant for the bride.

“We’re done waiting. The wedding is off.”

I decided I was done waiting for my family as well as for the woman I had loved for a decade.

Just as I was signing the form to cancel the wedding, Acara came calling.

“Where did you put Levi’s spare shirt? A waiter just splashed soup all over his shirt!”

I answered icily, “There was only a single set. There is no spare for him.”

Then, I heard my eldest sister, Nylah Thornton, scoff.

“Zaire, not only are you incompetent, you’re quite cunning too.

“You intentionally chose not to bring a spare shirt for him even though you know he’s wearing white today.”

Then, my second sister, Mia Thornton, chimed in, “So what if we’re going to be late for the wedding?

“You're a grown man, quit sulking!”

Finally, Levi spoke up in a faint voice.

“Please don’t blame him.

“He’s the groom, he’s the star today.

“It was my fault for holding things up.

“It’s fine even if there's no spare outfit. I don’t mind wearing a stained shirt.

“Even if it’s embarrassing, at least I won’t interrupt Zaire’s wedding.”

Acara’s tone turned glacial.

“Did you hear that?

“Levi is trying to defend you even though you have been giving him such a hard time.

“You'd better bring the spare shirt over here and apologize to him in person.”

I turned to look at the giant wedding picture framed on the stage before stating curtly, “The wedding has been cancelled.”

After a brief silence, Acara suddenly burst into laughter.

“Yeah, right! As if you have the guts to call off the wedding!

“Zaire, you’re thirty years old and work an ordinary day job. You barely have a personality, and nobody respects you in the family.

“Do you think any other woman would even spare a glance at you?”

Nylah added derisively, “Acara, I think you’ve been too gracious with him.

“He has no backbone. Just give him the cold shoulder for two days, and he’ll come crawling back.”

Mia chimed in with a scornful laugh.

“Maybe it’s not a bad thing to have the wedding called off.

“Imagine if he manages to borrow Acara’s family wealth to make something of himself. He’ll grow an ego, thinking he’s the one who achieved something!”

Levi stayed silent for a moment before expressing faintly, “You girls shouldn’t talk about him like that.

“He cares very much about Acara. That’s why he can’t handle the thought of her doting on me.

“It’s all my fault.

“If I hadn't become a part of the Thorntons, he wouldn’t have to suffer so much.”

As soon as he said so, all three of them began to comfort him.

They barely noticed I had hung up on them.

Once home, I took down the wedding portrait on the bedroom wall.

I had used the very last cent of the savings my mother left behind to buy the house.

Acara only showed up once for the contract signing.

She claimed that trivial problems like renovation and decoration should be done by the man.

I packed up all her clothes, bags, and other personal belongings into boxes. Then, I arranged for a courier to collect them.

Next, I contacted the real estate agent.

“I want to sell the house.”

After that, I called my lawyer.

“Please send Acara all of the documents to cancel our engagement by tonight.

“Also, please annul her rights to the shares held in my name.

“Finally, please revoke the license for the patents Grey Corporation had been using for free all these years.”

I was not going to let them have anything that rightfully belonged to me.

After this, I was going to accept the company assignment overseas so I could leave this place for good.

I was never coming back.