Chapter 2

I booked a one-way flight to London for three days later.

After paying off the pawnshop, I still had a decent amount of money left from my dad's Rolex. After buying a nice burial plot for my mother, it would be more than enough to start over abroad.

My study-abroad plans, which had been gathering dust for five years, were pulled out of my drawer.

I brushed off the dust.

On the cover was my mother's neat handwriting.

When my dad passed away, my mother used to comfort me by saying, “Life always moves forward, sweetheart.”

Now that she was gone, I had to learn to comfort myself the way she did.

I didn't sleep at all that night. I didn't dare to.

I was afraid of dreaming of my mother and seeing her angry with me. But I was also afraid of not dreaming of her at all, which would mean she was still too disappointed to see me.

So, I stayed up all night, packing up my life.

Around nine the next morning, the ground floor of the villa was incredibly noisy.

I didn't want to get involved. After all, this was Chloe's mansion, and I had an appointment with a cemetery coordinator at ten.

I finished packing and was about to wheel my suitcase downstairs when a clear, youthful male voice called out from behind me.

"Oh, Logan! You packed so fast!"

I turned around.

It was Tristan.

His left hand was raised, and a familiar sparkle caught the light on his ring finger.

His pretty face was smug as he showed it off.

"Sorry about this. Chloe proposed to me last night."

"She said she wants to get married as soon as possible, so I rushed over to move in. Some people couldn't even get into the Montgomery estate after five years of being a fiancé. But Chloe let me move in after only a few months. I really need to cherish this!"

"So, thanks for vacating the spot, Logan."

I glanced at him, then looked away.

I didn't say a word. I genuinely despised Tristan, to the point where I didn't even want to offer him basic politeness. I silently grabbed my suitcase handle and started to walk past him.

But young boys are always impatient.

My indifferent reaction didn't satisfy his vanity.

He stepped right in front of me, blocking my path.

"Logan, is this ring pretty?"

"It cost three million dollars!"

"Even when Chloe's company was facing that massive financial crisis, she didn't sell it. I really didn't expect her to love me this much."

"When we get married, you absolutely have to come! I’ll put you at the VIP table!"

I glanced at the ring on Tristan’s finger.

How ironic.

It was the exact same ring I had kicked across the floor last night.

Honestly, I wanted to tell him that Chloe hadn't kept the ring because of "love." She hadn't sold it simply because large diamonds are incredibly hard to liquidate quickly.

To a woman like Chloe, love didn't actually matter.

She said she loved me, but she only ever gave me the title of boyfriend.

She said she needed excitement, so she slept with influencers like Tristan.

The only person Chloe ever truly loved was herself.

"Sure. Send me an invite when the time comes," I said coldly.

My absolute indifference made Tristan look like a fool.

He practically stomped his foot in frustration.

He reached out and grabbed my suitcase handle.

"Wait! You think you can just walk out of here? How do I know you didn't steal Chloe's valuables? I'm going to be a Montgomery soon. If you stole something, I’d be the one losing out!"

"Open the suitcase. I need to check it!"

I had no patience for his tantrum.

I brushed his hand off and tried to walk away.

During our struggle, the front door opened. Chloe had actually come home.

I was surprised. She was supposed to be in a board meeting at this hour.

Seeing us struggling, she instinctively stepped in front of Tristan, shielding him, and glared at me.

"Are you picking a fight with Tristan?"

Looking at her suspicious, defensive eyes, I felt utterly exhausted.

"He wants to search my suitcase."

Tristan tugged at Chloe’s sleeve, putting on a victim act.

"Chloe, I just wanted to make sure Logan didn't steal any spare keys. This is going to be our home soon. I don't want some unwanted stranger showing up in the middle of the night."

"Is my request really that unreasonable, Chloe?"

His voice was dripping with sugary innocence.

Chloe couldn't resist his puppy eyes.

She turned her sharp gaze back to me.

"Logan, open the suitcase."

I frowned, letting out a humorless laugh.

"Chloe, the mansion uses a biometric lock. You never even gave me a key. I know you want to protect your little fiancé, but try to use some common sense."

"Consider this the last bit of dignity you can leave me after our breakup."

I didn't know which word triggered Chloe, but her face instantly darkened.

She called over the housekeeper and security, speaking in a tone that was half-warning, half-threat.

"Just cooperate. I'm just trying to make Tristan happy. How much is your dignity worth in front of me anyway?"

"Open it yourself, or I'll have them do it for you."