Chapter 6

Before I could stop Andrew, he had already unlocked the screen and flipped to a photo, holding it up right in front of the press.

It was a picture I had secretly taken years ago. A selfie of me next to Andrew while he was fast asleep. In the photo, my eyes were brimmed with deep love and bliss.

Looking at it now, it felt like nothing short of a cruel joke.

Gasps erupted through the crowd.

Andrew shot a look at Ethan standing nearby, then locked his gaze onto me. His eyes gleamed with a sadistic sense of control. "Mr. Grant, care to take another guess? Are we close friends or not?"

My hands slowly clenched into fists. Suddenly, the man standing before me felt like a complete stranger.

After a long silence, I spoke up again, my voice even firmer than before. "No."

Andrew finally lost his temper.

I knew full well that anyone who went against him never ended up in a good place. Maybe I would have been the exception once upon a time, but now I knew I wasn't.

Andrew probably felt that taking the high road and publicly owning our relationship in front of everyone was a generous gift to me. And since I refused to play along, I had it coming.

He toyed with my phone for a moment, then let out a soft laugh. "Mr. Grant, why play the victim now when you owned up to it back then?

"You weren't nearly this cold when you threw yourself at me, half-dressed and playing drunk to sneak into my room to beg for my business."

The crowd fell into a deathly silence.

Before long, a wave of sneers and gossip spread rapidly.

"I knew it. That's gotta be it."

"With his background, how could he ever be qualified to be legal counsel for Sterling Enterprises?"

"To think a grown man doing something like that? That's wild."

"My goodness, Mr. Sterling laying all this bare. He must have had enough and is about to sue him for harassment."

There were so many photos and videos where anyone could clearly see Andrew wasn't resisting at all.

But the truth didn't matter anymore at this point. No one was willing to call out or believe that the big-shot CEO of Sterling Enterprises would take the initiative with me.

Ethan pushed through the crowd, his hands trembling as he grabbed Andrew by the collar. "You've gone too far. Ten years together, and you wouldn't even treat a dog like this."

Henry shuffled over with his walking stick, barking at Ethan in a low voice. "Ethan, stay out of this and stop making things worse."

Things having come to this, someone had to wrap up the mess. The Sterling family needed to save face, and the best way to do that was to throw all the blame onto me.

Henry raised his voice, and snapped at me, "Even if you were desperate to advance your career, Mr. Grant, you shouldn't have pulled a cheap stunt like this.

"Today is Ethan's birthday bash. Leave now, and I'll send lawyers to handle you later."

My mind was working painfully slow.

After dwelling on Andrew's words over and over for a long while, it still felt surreal.

When did he stop loving me to the point where he could drag my name through the mud like this and throw me into such a humiliating mess?

The crowd was in complete chaos as Henry scrambled to send people to kick me out.

In the middle of all that, I slowly lifted my head and looked Andrew in the eye.

When I finally spoke, my voice was hoarse and dazed. "What did you just say?"

The moment Andrew caught my gaze, a flicker of panic flashed in his eyes, and he quickly looked away.

I strained to speak up again. "I don't think I heard you right. What did you say I threw myself at you for? What was I begging you for?"

Andrew, who had been with me for ten years, what on earth did he just said about me?

Andrew swallowed hard as a deep sense of unease slowly welled up.

My face must have looked downright ghastly right then.

He suddenly reached out, trying to grab my hand. "I just..."

I didn't hesitate for another second. I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

Andrew's head snapped to the side, looking utterly humiliated.

Amid the wave of gasps around us, I stared at him with indifference, saying deliberately, "You make me sick."

The security guards called over by Henry moved in to drag me out.

I shoved their hands off me, quickly regaining my composure. "I can walk on my own."

I turned around, pushed through the crowd, and headed for the exit.

Andrew chased after me, his voice trembling."Luca, I didn't mean it like that. You know I was just..."

A high-pitched ringing buzzed in my ears. My head throbbed as if something were about to explode inside it.

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. But all I saw was the massive crystal chandelier above me, spinning wildly in my vision.

Everything around me was swaying. It felt as though even the floor had begun to shake. A wave of intense dizziness sent my stomach into a violent churn.

Suddenly, a sharp metallic taste surged up, and I couldn't stop myself from throwing up. Blood burst from my lips, spreading across the beige carpet in a dark, shocking stain.

I had been sick for a long time. Coughing up blood and nosebleeds were nothing new to me, but I had never seen myself throw up this much blood before.

I couldn't move, only stood there in shock.

Nausea kept crashing over me in waves, and blood gushed out of my mouth in heavy bursts, like a broken faucet.

I told him before. I didn't have long to live.

People on their deathbed rarely get to leave with much dignity.

Someone was screaming. The screech felt like it was coming from miles away.

Stepping through the blood, I staggered forward, desperate to get outside. Fresh blood splashed onto the floor again, clinging to the soles of my feet like sticky vines.

All of a sudden, I felt a desperate urge to go back to the world where I truly belonged.

But there was no going back.

Before my body hit the ground, a pair of arms caught me by the shoulders.

Andrew's voice, thick with terror and shock, sounded muffled in my ear. "Luca, what's wrong with you?"

In my heart, I answered him in silence. 'I'm dying.'

Andrew scooped me up and bolted outside, his voice trembling with fear. "All the checkups came back clear. Luca, don't scare me. Please don't scare me..."