Chapter 2

“Thomas! What are you ……”

Minnie reacted fast, shoving Vincent away.

Too obvious.

That was all I thought.

They'd always been this obvious in front of me, really:

the strange man's pants that turned up in the house now and then, the way Minnie's lips were sometimes red and swollen……

But Minnie only had to throw out any excuse:

“Those are Dad's pants. I've just got a cold sore ……”

and I would believe her.

Even when she said nothing at all, I never suspected a thing.

The humiliation of being betrayed so carelessly rose up in me.

I said nothing.

I only edged away a little when Minnie stepped over to help me up.

“I called you. You didn't pick up.”

“What are you doing?”

Minnie looked guilty and couldn't get a word out for a long moment.

It was William who spoke first:

“Son, it looked like rain, so we had to clear out in a hurry. In all the rush, we left you behind by accident.”

Celine gave a cold snort:

“It's because you got there and passed out like a dead pig. If you had any sense and pitched in with the rest of us, we wouldn't have forgotten you.”

Minnie cleared her throat:

“Enough. You got rained on for a while, so what? Is that any reason to pull a face at us?”

“Right. We know you've got that spoiled-heir temper. You didn't lift a finger all day and we put up with it.”

Hudson chimed in.

It made me laugh from anger, and mostly it just felt pointless.

Tearing off the last thin cover and rolling around in a screaming match with them was beneath me too.

Seeing I still hadn't spoken, Vincent stood and gave my arm a tug.

“Thomas, they didn't mean it. Why don't you go take a shower first? I won't charge you for the room.”

He went over to the front-desk computer, clicked the mouse a few times, then said with a regretful look:

“Thomas …… with the rain, every room's booked up. But there's a little cot in the storage room. Just make do for the night.”

My brain, three days without rest, was strung so tight it ached.

For now I pushed everything to the back of my mind. I only wanted to sleep.

So I didn't waste any more words on them. I washed up quickly and fell asleep on the cluttered little cot.

When I woke the next day, listening to Minnie's family and Vincent laughing away outside, I messaged a friend:

【Hack into a B&B's computer for me. Check the occupancy.】

Ten minutes later, he replied:

【Plenty of empty rooms. What's up?】

Just what I expected.

Then it hit me that this mountain was one of the most famous camping spots in the whole city. There was no way Vincent, some guy from a small town, had the connections to buy land here.

Whose name he was leaning on wasn't hard to guess.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and called the developer directly.

“The Weiss family has no shady relatives. Some people wave a big banner to pass themselves off. You'd better keep your eyes open.”

I didn't spell it out.

A hint was enough. They'd understand.

When I walked out, Minnie was carrying a dish to the table.

“Vincent, try this. I practiced this seafood porridge for ages.”

“I know your stomach's bad, so I got up at six to simmer it. They say online that porridge cooked down soft is good for the stomach.”

My eyes darkened, and a bitterness spread through me.

My stomach was bad too.

But whenever a stomach attack woke me in pain in the middle of the night, all Minnie did was blame me for disturbing her sleep.

When she saw me, she took a big step back, covered her nose, and said:

“Thomas, you're running a high fever, aren't you? Your face is bright red. Stay away from me, don't go passing it on.”

For all that I'd braced myself, my heart still sank a little further.

She could get up at six to simmer porridge for Vincent, but wouldn't spend ten minutes dissolving a fever tablet for me.

Love or no love, it really was obvious.

I let out a breath, thinking of the wedding that was already called off.

Some things there was no point saying anymore.

The air was fresh after the rain, and Minnie's family went ahead with their camping plans.

Before I'd said a thing, they'd naturally left me out of it.

“If you've got a fever, hurry up and go to the hospital. Don't drag the rest of us down with you.”

“Go get yourself treated. If you're still this sickly by the wedding, then let's just not get married.”

Minnie said that last line to me and walked off.

She didn't stay to hear me say “the wedding's already been called off.”

Their car had barely pulled away when the Weiss family driver arrived.

As I got into the car, my grandfather called.

He'd gotten the message that I wanted to call off the wedding.

“Thomas, you're my only grandson. I'm glad you came to your senses in time.”

“There's no need to call off the wedding, though. Just swap out the bride.”

Just what I expected.

I gave a nod so slight it was barely there, and said:

“Whatever you say, Grandfather.”