Chapter 3

"Shut up!" I grabbed Randall by the collar and pinned him to the ground.

"You think I didn't want to?" I roared, my voice so dry and hoarse that it sounded like it'd been torn straight out of my chest.

Even if I had to go sell off every single thing I own, including my organs, I would've done anything I could to get Mom back. I would willingly sacrifice my life just so she could live for one more day.

But I was abroad in Fangoria, thousands of miles away from home. How could I have possibly raised the ransom money in just three days?

My throat tightened as I recalled the suffering Mom went through before she died.

However, Alicia suddenly rushed up and shoved me to the side. "What the hell are you doing, Gregory! Randall's right. If you'd just—"

She stood defensively in front of Randall, glaring at me in fury.

"You want to sell off my parents' old house to pay off the debts of some random man? My, my. My parents are so lucky to have you as their daughter-in-law!"

"Don't be so stubborn, Gregory. The house is just sitting empty anyway," Alicia snapped with an annoyed frown.

"Sitting empty?"

I pointed toward the house, my voice cracking as I growled, "The sweater Mom made for you is still hanging in the bedroom! You said you'd try it when you came back! Dad built the entire kitchen himself, brick by brick! He said he wanted you to have a hot meal every time you came home!"

The apple tree in the garden rustled in the breeze. Mom had just planted it a month before she died.

"Mom even said she wanted you to be able to have fresh apples from the garden once you came home."

Randall abruptly piped up, "Well, out with the old, in with the new—"

"Go to hell!" I grabbed Randall by the collar again. "Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you try to take the house my parents built themselves?"

Alicia hurried over and grabbed my hand, her tone suddenly softening. "Randall helped me in the past. I can't just stand back and watch while the debt collectors hound him…"

That only gave me the urge to laugh. What about my family? Did we not help her?

"Search your damn conscience, Alicia. Who's the one who carried you out of the fire back then? Who scrimped and saved just to pay for your education?"

Alicia's eyes flickered evasively, but she soon regained her cool and said, "That's all in the past…"

"The past?" Laughing bitterly, I flung her hand off. "So two decades of love and care that my parents showered on you have been reduced to just a fleeting moment from your past, huh?"

I couldn't take it anymore. I raised my hand and slapped her.

Alicia staggered two steps backward, her carefully styled curls falling across her cheeks. A bright red handprint quickly appeared on her fair face.

Clutching her face, she shrieked in shock, "D-Did you just hit me? Divorce! I want a divorce!"

"Good!"

Alicia stiffened. She probably assumed that I would've backed down and compromised in the hopes of making peace with her—as I'd done countless times before.

But not anymore.

Randall immediately stepped in front of Alicia and put on a show of moral righteousness.

"What kind of a man hits a woman, Gregory? If you want to hit someone, just hit me. I don't want you two to fight because of me. I'll just forget about the money. I'll—"

I punched him hard, making him crumple to the ground. His face turned pale as he shrank away from me. "It's fine. You can beat me to death if you want to, Gregory, if it makes you feel better."

Seeing this, Alicia looked as if the situation had dawned on her. Her eyes brightened a little, and she chuckled coyly. "Are you jealous, Greg?"