Chapter 3

The next morning, Acara was waiting for me downstairs at my office.

The first thing she did when she saw me was to shove the box containing the ring into my hands.

“Are you done with your ploy?

“Even when your mother died, you weren’t making such a big deal out of it.”

I was dumbfounded. She should know my mother’s death was the deepest, rawest wound I had.

But here she was, hitting me where it hurt most just so she could force me to submit to her.

“Acara, I have sent you the papers to call off the engagement.”

She glanced at her phone, then deleted the document from her phone right in front of me.

“You think a useless piece of paper is enough to scare me?

“Zaire, you’re not a young man anymore.

“Imagine being a thirty-year-old man who was rejected by his fiancée and does not have any money or status! You’re going to be a laughingstock!

“I’m only marrying you because of the time we’ve spent together. It’s not like I can’t live without you.”

Nylah and Mia arrived shortly after that.

Nylah chucked a revised wedding itinerary into my hands.

“The wedding is happening in two days.

“You will apologize to Levi and promise not to cause us any more trouble on that day.”

Meanwhile, Mia leaned against the car and scrutinized me with a scornful look.

“You better know what’s good for you.

“If you lose Acara, you’re going to spend the rest of your life being a pathetic office worker.

“Then, you’re going to end up dying all alone in a rented apartment. Nobody is even going to know you’ve died until your body rots.”

I fixed a look at them, then burst out laughing.

“Why do you two care where I die?”

Nylah’s expression darkened in an instant.

“We’re your sisters!”

“Sisters?”

My laugh was cynical.

“That’s surprising. I thought you two were Levi’s nannies!”

As soon as I said so, Levi stepped out of the car.

He was clutching my necktie in his hand. I also noticed a piece of Band-Aid on the back of his hand where he had the IV drip needles inserted.

“Take it out on me if you want, but please don’t blame them.

“They’re only being cross with you because they care about me.

“You’ve had everything handed to you your whole life, but they are all I have.

“Are you going to take away what little affection they have for me?”

His legs then suddenly gave out from under him.

He slumped forward and would have collapsed on the floor if it weren’t for Acara holding him steady.

Nylah took his arm while Mia immediately inspected the needle mark on the back of his hand.

The three of them were attending to him as if it was something they had rehearsed countless times already.

Levi supported himself against Acara’s shoulder, then whimpered weakly.

“Maybe I should just not attend the wedding.

“I’m not going to be the best man, and I won’t stick around and be a nuisance in the family.

“I’m willing to move out if it’s what Zaire wants.”

Mia shot up abruptly.

“Zaire, are you happy now?

“What is it going to take to get you to stop? Do you want Levi to be homeless?”

Nylah was looking at me with utter disgust.

“If anything happens to Levi, I’ll make sure you no longer have the right to call yourself a Thornton.”

Acara, who was still holding onto Levi, shot me a look.

“The wedding will be held in two days at ten in the morning.

“If you publicly apologize to Levi, I might consider marrying you after all.

“Otherwise, don’t you even dream of being involved with the Greys ever again.”

I bent over to grab the tie that had dropped to the floor, then tossed it into the trash can.

“Fine, I won’t get involved with the Greys.”

Acara let out a derisive laugh.

“Quit posturing already!

“You wouldn’t even last a month without my family and me!

“You better hope you don’t end up pleading outside my house and embarrassing yourself.”

I didn’t spare her another glance before leaving.

That same afternoon, I wrapped up the handover at work.

During the evening, Acara’s assistant came to deliver a document detailing the new wedding itinerary to me.

It was a three-page note, all of which related to Levi.

Since Levi could not handle bright lights, the lighting onstage had to be dimmed.

He was also allergic to pollen, which meant fresh flowers had to be replaced with artificial ones.

Levi would be stressed out standing next to me, so I had to limit my speech to three minutes.

At the bottom of the document were more handwritten notes from Acara.

[Quit your antics.

[Bring your breakfast tomorrow for the rehearsal.

[Levi wants the sandwiches you make.]

I tossed the schedule into the paper shredder without thinking twice.

That night, Acara sent a text in the group chat directed at my sisters.

[He will come tomorrow at ten o’clock.]

Nylah replied, [Don’t give him any chance to squirm away. He’ll fall in line.]

Mia chimed in, [He’s spineless. The only way to teach him a lesson is to use force.]