Chapter 2

I was on my hands and knees when Leon called me into the master bedroom.

The air was heavy with desire, making it painfully clear what had just happened.

I stared at the two bodies entwined on the marriage bed, and my insides clenched with agony.

"Sylvie's hungry. Go make her some pasta," Leon said.

When I didn't move, he let out a soft laugh and tossed a few bills at me.

"Don't act all high and mighty. Isn't this your job? Is that enough for you?" Leon sneered.

Five years ago, I worked at a club, serving drinks to pay for my mom's medical bills. That was where I met Leon.

He told me I didn't belong there. He taught me to never give up on myself, paid for my schooling, and brought in the best medical team for my mom.

No matter how late I stayed out selling snacks on the street, Leon would always wait for me to get off work, so I could make him pasta.

Later, he broke off with the Payne family to marry me. When he proposed, penniless and with nothing left, he said all he wanted was to keep eating the pasta I made for him.

Emotions crashed over me, and I nearly bolted from the room.

When I got back to the bedroom, Sylvie had disappeared into the bathroom.

Leon took the plate, and the tattoo on his wrist caught my eye.

I used to have one on my right wrist, too, but a bullet at our wedding wiped it out. Now, all that was left was an ugly scar.

Leon sat there, not touching his fork for ages. The steam rising from the pasta veiled his expression, and I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

Suddenly, his hand landed on my wrist, right where the tattoo used to be.

It was as if the air shifted, taking us back to three years ago, before he saw me as his enemy.

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "Why? Why did you stop loving me ever since we came back from the snowy mountains?"

Everything changed after that day, and every time I mentioned it, he'd get furious.

The first time, he got the reporter who asked about it blacklisted from the industry. The second time, he decked a business partner on a hundred-million-dollar deal. The last time, he stopped paying for my mom's care.

I was slowly coming to terms with the fact that he didn't love me anymore.

But with me about to leave for good, I still wanted to know what made everything fall apart so fast.

Leon's face darkened, and he pulled his hand back quickly, as if stung.

"Are you asking for trouble? Or maybe you haven't learned your lesson?" he sneered.

With that, he called Sylvie's dog over and dumped the whole plate of pasta onto the floor.

The hot pasta splashed onto my hand, turning it red, but I didn't feel a thing.

Just then, Sylvie came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a bathrobe, and pressed herself against Leon.

She gave me a defiant, provocative look. "Ugh, you just had to stain my underwear, didn't you? Now I don't have anything left to wear."

"Just as well. Go wash Sylvie's panties for her," Leon said.

The lingering heat from the pasta was still on my hand, and I looked up at him, utterly stunned.

I knew he was trying to disgust me. With his wealth, buying an entire clothing factory for Sylvie would be nothing for him.

But in the end, I resigned myself and crouched down on the floor, scrubbing the stained underwear as their deliberate, mocking laughter echoed from outside.

Half an hour later, my body finally reached its limit. When I tried to stand up, the world spun, and I collapsed right at the door.

When I woke up, I saw Leon with his back to me, chewing out the nutritionist.

"What am I paying you for? Can't you see she's so obviously run-down and frail?" Leon snapped.

The nutritionist, who hadn't seen Leon blow up for long, kept wiping sweat from his forehead.

When he saw me open my eyes, a flicker of guilt crossed Leon's face.

"There's a meteor shower in Leo up on the mountain tomorrow. Didn't you say you always wanted to see it?" Leon said.

I'd just mentioned it offhand before.

For a moment, it felt like we were back to the days when he remembered every place he promised to take me, and every little wish I ever had.

Something inside me stirred, but I forced it back down.

"No, I don't want to see it anymore," I said.

Leon was caught off guard by my refusal and then scoffed, "Guess I forgot you never mean what you say.

"I'm going to propose to Sylvie in a few days. Since you don't care about the meteor shower, you can plan the whole thing for me.

"And make sure it matches the standard of our wedding, every detail."

That wedding three years ago took my right hand and shattered my dream of ever designing again.

The closest ones always knew exactly how to hit you where it hurt the most.

Just as the tension hung in the air, the family doctor, Martin Roman, returned, his face heavy, clutching the test results.

"Mr. Payne, the blood test shows that Mrs. Payne is..." Martin said, trailing off.

"Leon!" Sylvie's panicked scream rang out from downstairs.

Martin's words were cut short by her cry.

Leon spun around and dashed out the door, leaving Martin behind, his eyes full of pity as he looked at me.

I was already used to being ignored like this.

It turned out Sylvie's dog had thrown up, and Leon rushed them both off to the vet.

I took the chance to move out of the villa and went back to Lakery Bay.