Chapter 3

I knew Cole. He cared about how others saw him more than anything.

After being publicly rejected by me and hearing that Juliette had hit a wall, there was no way he was going to let this go.

The next morning, another knock came at the front gate.

This time, it wasn't just Cole. It was his parents, too.

Graham and Patricia Whitaker had their faces plastered with concerned smiles.

"Evelyn, we know you're hurting," Patricia said, grabbing my hand. "Losing a father... no one can bear that."

"Cole has a soft heart. He always remembers your father saved his life. He swore to take care of you for the rest of his life, and we support him."

Graham nodded beside her.

"An eighteen-year-old girl living all alone here? We can't rest easy with that. Go to Texas. We'll treat you like family. If anything happens, we can help you."

I yanked my hand back and scoffed.

In my past life, they had said the exact same things.

They said I was their daughter. They said Cole would never bully me.

But they had clearly known Cole and Juliette were already legally married and had a child, yet they never told me once.

They had watched me fall into the abyss with their own eyes.

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker, but there's no need."

"I'm an adult. I can take care of myself. The death benefits, life insurance, and educational survivor grants my father left are enough for me to live on."

Patricia’s face sank.

"Your father traded his life for Cole’s. Letting Cole take care of you is exactly what should happen."

"Insisting on going to New York is rejecting our goodwill, and it's a slap in the face to your father's dying wish."

Cole stood beside his parents, frowning.

"Evelyn, my parents are genuinely thinking of you."

"Are you still mad about yesterday? I can't just leave you alone."

I looked up at him.

"I never asked you to look after me."

"My dad saved you because he was a firefighter. That doesn't mean anyone gets to use his life to dictate mine."

"As long as you live a decent life, you haven't failed him."

That sentence completely enraged them. Graham’s face turned livid.

"How can you be so unreasonable? We come here out of the goodness of our hearts, and we become the meddlers?"

Cole finally ripped off his disguise, his eyes full of irritation.

"You have no idea how much we've bent over backwards for you, Evelyn."

"I compromise over and over, and you just have to burn every bridge, don't you?"

"Do you really want everyone to say I abandoned the daughter of the firefighter who died for me?"

He never cared if I was okay.

What he cared about was how others saw him.

In my past life, I was trapped by those layers of chains, until it cost me my life.

This time, I wouldn't let it happen again.

"I choose my own path, and I'll bear the consequences myself."

"How outsiders gossip has nothing to do with you."

"Please go back. I'm going to Columbia, and I don't need anyone to take care of me."

The Whitakers' faces darkened, shifting through several shades of outrage.

They hadn't expected the formerly docile me to become so unyielding.

After a tense standoff, Patricia let out a sharp scoff, grabbed her husband’s arm, and stormed out, dragging Cole with them.

At the door, Cole looked back and glared at me.

A few days later, I opened my laptop to log into the admissions portal and confirm my undergraduate acceptance to Columbia College.

But right then, I clicked on Discord, which I hadn't touched in a long time.

Cole had used my computer before and forgot to log out of his account.