Chapter 2

I lay on the floor, seeing Chase scooping Joanna into his arms.

Her cheeks were flushed as she nestled against his chest.

"Chase, put me down," she protested sweetly. "I haven't showered after giving birth. I'm still all gross and sweaty. What if—"

"It's fine. I don't mind," Chase said gently. "You're not like Renee. You'll always be the exception."

"But… she did go through all that pain for me…What if she gets mad and breaks off her engagement with you?"

"As if she would dare," Chase replied, snickering. "She's an orphan with no family and no one else to turn to. Where would she go if she left the Russell family?"

I dragged my aching body out of the hospital, only to be greeted by a sudden downpour. The freezing rain soaked me to the skin, but I barely felt anything.

For seven years, I'd stood by Chase through every hardship, watching him fight his way through one obstacle after another.

Now that he'd finally made it, the man who had once meant everything to me had reduced me to a pathetic joke.

Shivering violently, I borrowed a power bank from a passerby.

The moment my phone finally turned on, I called my boss.

"Mr. Walsh, about the transfer you mentioned to our overseas branch… I've made up my mind."

There was a heavy pause on the other end.

"Renee, this transfer means you won't be able to return home for at least five years. Are you sure?"

I stared at the silhouette of the car disappearing into the rain and chuckled.

"Yes. I'm sure."

But I wasn't leaving for five years. I was leaving for good.

…

By the time I got home, it was already well past midnight.

I had planned to pay my respects to my parents first.

But the moment I opened the door, I froze.

The small bedroom that had always served as a quiet place to keep my parents' ashes had been turned into a nursery.

I immediately called Chase.

"Chase!" I yelled the second he picked up, my voice shaking with rage. "What the hell did you do with my parents' ashes? Where did you put them? I told you never to touch this room!"

"Oh. I left them in the storage room," he replied airily.

He sounded so unbothered on the other end of the phone that my blood boiled. I tightened my grip on the phone, barely able to contain my fury.

"You promised you'd leave me a room where I could keep my parents' ashes," I gritted out. "Why did you go back on your word?"

"For God's sake, enough already!" Chase suddenly roared. "It's my house, and I'll decide what to do with it, not you! It's been seven years, and you still refuse to bury them. What, do you think my house is a funeral home?"

I stood frozen in front of the nursery, my fingernails digging into my palms.

"That room gets the best sunlight, so I turned it into a nursery," Chase continued, sounding thoroughly irritated. "Besides, I cleared out another room for your parents' ashes. You already had that room to yourself for seven years. Isn't that enough? I've already done more than enough for you."

"You're a fucking bastard," I spat, gritting my teeth.

But instead of flying into a rage, Chase gave a cold laugh.

"Renee, if you keep pushing me, I'll dump your parents' ashes into the ocean," he threatened. "Then you can go cry over them by the water for all I care."

The line went dead.

Sliding down the wall, I sank to the floor.

I suddenly remembered the rainy night 20 years ago.

Chase had been abandoned by his parents and was left curled up outside my family's home. He had been soaked to the bone, looking like a puppy someone had thrown away.

My parents were the ones who had taken him inside and given him a home.

Back then, he'd sworn that once he grew up, he'd move us into a big house and give us the comfortable life we'd always dreamed of.