Chapter 3

That year, my dad had an affair and ended up having a child with her.

When my mom found out, they exploded into a screaming match.

But my mom couldn't do it. She couldn't divorce Dad and hand over everything they'd built. Yet she couldn't stomach his betrayal, either.

The once glamorous, powerful businesswoman became a resentful wife. In a few months, she looked like she had aged ten years.

One day after school, I came home with flowers I picked up at the shop, hoping to cheer her up, but she was nowhere to be found.

It wasn't until I opened the shower room door that I saw the bathtub filled with blood-red water.

My mom was lying there, her head bowed, completely still. She had tried to kill herself by slitting her wrists.

When I saw that, I screamed.

Nathan Shaw, who had walked me home, quickly covered my eyes and called the adults and dialed 911 for an ambulance.

Thanks to the quick rescue, my mom's life was saved.

My dad completely broke things off with the other woman and returned home for good.

But their relationship was shattered, and the house felt lifeless every single day.

I developed depression and was haunted by nightmares.

For a while, I became mute and couldn't communicate with anyone.

During all that time, Nathan was always there for me.

He took time off from school, cracked jokes every day, and went with me to the hospital for my therapy sessions.

It wasn't until six months later that I finally managed to say my first words.

I asked Nathan, "Do you think there's really a love in this world that never changes?"

Nathan held my hand, tears of joy streaming down his face, smiling so wide it looked silly. "Of course. Lynn, I'll never stop loving you. Not ever."

Then, the year I graduated from college, my dad got seriously ill.

I was thrust into running the family business in the middle of a crisis, and right on cue, that woman showed up with her illegitimate kid, trying to fight me for the inheritance.

The shareholders started arguing and splitting into factions, and the whole company was suddenly in chaos.

I was just out of college. I had zero experience handling anything this complicated.

That was when Nathan stepped in again. He brought his top-notch team to sort out the mess, and with the Shaw family backing me up, he helped me steer the company back on course.

After everything he had done for me, Nathan could do no wrong in my eyes.

But even the strongest bonds from our youth could fade as the years went by.

I was a light sleeper, so when my phone chimed right next to my pillow, it startled me awake.

I glanced at the screen. It was a text from a random number.

[Sorry for messing up your birthday.

[When I've got money someday, I'll make it up to you with something awesome.]

I didn't reply. I rolled over and fell back asleep.

The next morning, before I got out of bed, Alex Grant started blowing up my phone.

"Lynn, I heard you and Nathan had a fight?" he asked.

I snapped, my voice cold and annoyed. "If you're calling me this early to talk about that, I'm hanging up."

"Whoa, don't hang up, boss lady!" Alex cleared his throat and spoke in a firm, earnest tone. "Lynn, you haven't heard, have you? Ryan's back from abroad.

"He's organized a get-together at the Blue Lounge tonight, and he specifically brought you up."

We all grew up together, coming from similar families.

But Ryan Carter was the only one who left for overseas before finishing high school, and after all these years, our friendship had faded quite a bit.

But I had heard he had made it big overseas, and that was a golden opportunity for me.

I nodded and agreed to go.

In the private room, Nathan lounged in the main seat, lighting a cigarette with a casual air. "Since all the guys are here, I've got a love problem I need to run by you."

Alex snickered and started egging him on. "Well, well, look who's asking for advice. Nathan, the ladies' man, actually stumped for once?

"Don't tell me you knocked up some girl or something?"

"Come on, you really think I'm like you?" Nathan shot back.

He leaned back in his seat, flashing a careless grin. "I'm not talking about anyone else; it's Lynn.

"Honestly, after being with her for over ten years, she's fine when she's not being dramatic, but when she is, I'm honestly getting tired of it.

"So, got any tips on how I can break things off with her?

"You all know Lynn's crazy about me. It's not easy to get rid of her."

Nathan acted like he was complaining, but really, it was a humblebrag.

But the guys didn't pick up on it. Eager to win Nathan's favor, they actually started coming up with plans.

One of them said, "Nathan, Lynn grew up with us, and she's gorgeous. We'd never feel comfortable letting her end up with some outsider.

"If it really comes down to it, maybe one of us with the best credentials should step up and take her."

Alex, already drunk, started slurring his words and rambling nonsense. "Honestly, out of all of us, Ryan's probably the only one who's got what it takes."

Nathan laughed.

Ryan had been killing it overseas all these years, but women weren't his thing.

Knowing Ryan would never agree, Nathan started joking around with him. "Yeah, Ryan, why not you?

"Do me a solid and teach Lynn a lesson; let her see what heartbreak really feels like, so she'll stop nagging me every other day."

"Alright," Ryan suddenly agreed.

Nathan felt a jolt in his head and was about to speak when the door to the private room suddenly swung open.