Chapter 4

As the audience started to clear out, Isaac was about to leave too when Evelyn's assistant waved him over.

"Isaac, head backstage. Ms. Norris is waiting for you," the assistant said.

When Isaac rushed backstage, he found the place packed with a bunch of big shots.

He froze in place, unsure what to do, until everyone finally cleared out.

That was when Jayden looked at him with obvious disgust. "Isaac, what are you wearing? If those people see you and realize you're Evelyn's brother, it'll totally ruin her reputation."

Isaac felt even more out of place, opening his mouth but unable to say a word.

Then Evelyn glanced over, and for the first time, he saw genuine disdain in her eyes.

"Isaac, didn't I get you a new suit? Why did you show up like this?" Evelyn said.

Before Isaac could get a word in, Jayden jumped in, "What, now that Evelyn's successful, you're scared she'll cut you off? So you dress like this, hoping she'll have to acknowledge you as her brother?"

Isaac was struck dumb. He couldn't care less about Jayden's nasty accusations. All he cared about was what Evelyn thought.

"Evelyn, I..." Isaac stammered.

Evelyn shook her head, cutting him off, her voice cold and heartbroken. "Isaac, I know how much you've done for me all these years. Getting to where I am now took everything I had. I never dared to slack off.

"I can ignore all the judgmental looks from others, but only because you're my brother, the one I've always depended on. But today, you really let me down."

With that, Evelyn turned and walked away.

Isaac tried to follow, but Jayden's bodyguards blocked his way.

One of them sneered. "You really think you can go after Ms. Norris? Look at you, pathetic and broke."

The other guard said, "Mr. Olson put in so much work to make this concert happen for Ms. Norris, and you almost messed it all up. We're gonna teach you a lesson today. We just can't stand you,"

With that, the two burly bodyguards grabbed Isaac and dragged him off to a deserted corner.

The bodyguards unleashed a merciless barrage of punches and kicks on Isaac, not holding back for a second.

Isaac rolled on the ground from the beating, coughing up a mouthful of blood before they finally stopped.

As they left, one of them spat on the ground. "Know your place, you worthless beggar. If we see you again, we'll beat you again!"

Isaac bit back the pain, his whole body screaming in agony as he struggled to move.

All he could think about was how badly he'd let Evelyn down.

Blood dripped from his mouth as he choked out, "Evelyn, I'm sorry. I screwed everything up."

Finally, Isaac blacked out.

No one gave a damn about Isaac. He spent the whole night lying on that freezing ground. By morning, barely able to stand, he staggered out of the venue, every movement pure agony.

Even the street sweepers couldn't help but stare at him as he passed by.

"Damn, what happened to that guy? Looks like he messed with the wrong people," one of them said.

Isaac made it back to his tiny apartment and pulled out the only photo he had, the one of him and Evelyn together.

He stared at the picture, his heart twisting with pain as he looked at Evelyn's bright, happy smile.

He muttered, "Evelyn, do you not trust your brother anymore?"

He was so beat up he couldn't even move, just had to lie there and rest.

The next morning, his phone blared to life. For a second, Isaac hoped it was Evelyn calling, but it was just Felix Bernard, the guy who ran the delivery shop.

Isaac pushed down the loneliness that threatened to overwhelm him. "Mr. Bernard, I already quit. Is there something you need?"

Felix sounded upbeat. "Isaac, we just got a big order in and the shop's totally swamped. Can you help me out one more time? I'll pay you double, promise."

Isaac remembered how Felix had always treated him well these past two years. He figured even if he moved in with his friend, he'd still need cash just to get by. So he agreed.

Isaac made sure to hide his injuries under long sleeves and a baseball cap, but he never expected this huge order would be headed for the Olson Group.

Someone like Jayden wouldn't be hanging around the delivery area anyway, so there was no chance he'd run into him.

It really was a massive order, boxes and boxes of drinks and pastries.

Isaac had to keep running up and down just to get everything delivered.

Just as he was hauling up the last batch, an employee accidentally bumped into him, knocking his baseball cap to the floor. Luckily, the stuff he was carrying didn't spill.

After years of hardship, Isaac had gotten used to apologizing for everything. "Sorry about that."

But the guy immediately blew it out of proportion. "Hey, watch it! If you mess up my suit, could you even afford to pay for it?"

Isaac ducked his head even lower. "I'm really sorry!"

The guy kept piling on the insults. "Sorry? Like that's gonna fix anything."

Then, the guy frowned. "Wait a second, why do you look so familiar? Weren't you the dude at Ms. Norris's concert a couple of days ago, wearing that weird outfit in the VIP section? Hey, everyone, come check this out!"

Soon, a crowd had gathered around him. "That's him! One minute he's a waiter, the next he's a delivery guy. Looks like you're scheming something."

"Ms. Norris is Mr. Olson's precious, and you're just a jealous troll trying to mess things up on purpose!"

Isaac suddenly found himself in a nightmare. The furious crowd snatched the food from his hands and started pelting him with everything they grabbed.

"Damn haters are everywhere! Let's mess him up!" someone yelled.

In an instant, the crowd swarmed him.

Scalding hot coffee and icy drinks were dumped all over him, making it impossible for Isaac to even open his eyes.

Already battered and bruised, every splash of coffee made his wounds flare up with sharp, burning pain.

He looked absolutely wrecked, but the crowd still wasn't done with him.