Chapter 3

When Ethan arrived, he saw Sophia nearly kneeling at my feet, crying hysterically.

His expression changed. He strode over quickly

and without a word pulled her up and shielded her behind him.

His face was iron as he looked at me, almost grinding his teeth.

"Charlotte, I told you if you have a problem, come at me. Don't make things difficult for her."

"How much has she spent of your money all these years? Name your price. I'll settle it all at once."

I looked at him and laughed coldly.

"Mr. Hayes, you really are wealthy and generous. Unfortunately, what you two owe me can never be repaid in this lifetime."

Ethan's face changed. He opened his mouth to retort,

but then Sophia suddenly shouted,

"Enough!"

Her body trembled slightly, yet she lifted her head to look at me.

"Charlotte, you owe me this. I don't care if you resent me or hate me—I won't give up. From now on, between you and me, we're even."

She took off her work apron and took Ethan's hand.

The two of them left without looking back.

I sat by the window. Outside, two girls in school uniforms passed by sharing an ice cream cone,

laughing and chatting happily.

Something felt cool on my face. I reached up and realized I was crying without knowing when it had started.

Sophia and I met when we were three and had been inseparable from elementary school through college.

Ever since I could remember, my parents had been in constant fights.

They never divorced because they couldn't agree on terms.

Neither wanted to be burdened with me.

Every time they smashed the house to pieces, Sophia would quietly push open the door to help me clean up the mess,

then pull me away without a word and make me sit at her family's dinner table.

The year I graduated, Sophia sold her gold bracelet to scrape together my tuition.

She licked her ice cream carelessly.

"Hey, my grades aren't great, but yours are so good—it'd be such a waste if you didn't go to school."

"Don't cry, Charlotte. I could tell long ago that you're exceptional. When you get rich someday, just remember to buy me ten gold bracelets."

In my teenage years, Sophia was my first hero,

the most important person in my life.

When I got home, all traces of them were gone.

I stared at the empty house in a daze.

When I bought this place, I had set aside a room for Sophia.

Back then, Ethan had been a bit unhappy about it.

I just smiled and said it was my promise.

At her wedding, I was the only bridesmaid.

After catching the bouquet, I made her a promise:

As long as I was here, she would always have a home to return to.

But now, the one without a home was me.

Ethan's things were still in the house, things he hadn't taken with him.

Our competition certificates from college.

Photos from our trips together.

Matching toothbrushes in the bathroom.

The blanket left on the couch and the unfinished book on the coffee table.

When I closed my eyes, I could almost see how the two of them had rolled around on this couch together.

I covered my mouth and rushed to the bathroom to dry heave, as if trying to empty my insides.

Looking up at myself in the mirror, I looked haggard and unfamiliar.

Ethan was my college classmate and teammate in entrepreneurship competitions.

The day he confessed, his usually cold face was unusually flushed.

"Charlotte, you're the smartest and strongest girl I've ever met. Give me a chance to take care of you."

After graduation, I gained experience at a listed company, then quickly seized opportunities to start my own business.

Ethan had helped me tremendously.

He was my comrade-in-arms, my intimate lover.

Because of him, I tried hard to move past my childhood trauma

and attempted to accept and build a family.

I had truly planned to spend my life with him.

I looked at the face in the mirror and slowly clenched my fist.

They had once been my reason for living, the goal I fought for with everything I had.

Yet they had dealt me the most fatal blow.

Why?

So I took out my phone and dialed a number I hadn't contacted in a long time.