Chapter 3

The next morning, my parents called from overseas.

"Son, we're so glad you've come to your senses. We haven't seen you in almost six years. Book a flight and come home. Your mother and I miss you. You need a break."

"You worked yourself to the bone, saved her family's company from bankruptcy, and this is how she repays you? Just come back and be the president of our company. You'll be set for life."

Before, I would have argued with them.

I would have said that being with the person you love is all that matters, that power and money mean nothing.

But now, I couldn't say a word.

In the six years I was with Lara, I never had a place in her heart. Her parents never treated me with anything but contempt.

And she had been secretly in love with her college senior for just as long.

I glanced at my phone's calendar. A red circle marked a date just six days away. Lara's birthday.

"Give me six days," I said. "I'll tie up some loose ends here, and then I'll come."

I hung up and found Lara standing behind me.

She frowned and reached for my phone. "Where are you going? Who were you talking to?"

I flipped my phone over and gave her a vague answer. "A friend. He said a lot of our clients have left. The losses are huge."

I had spent the last two months in the hospital, and Lara had handed all my work over to Hayden.

My words seemed to agitate her. "Hayden just started. It's normal for him to lose a few clients."

"You, on the other hand... you should have been schmoozing those clients before you got hurt. Now, you need to properly hand everything over to him. That will be your penance."

Her reaction didn't surprise me. Between me and Hayden, she would always choose him.

"I wouldn't presume to 'educate' him."

My attitude clearly annoyed her. Before she could say anything, Hayden called from downstairs.

"Lara, you said you were taking me to meet your parents today. It's getting late."

My fingers twitched.

When Lara and I first started dating, her parents looked down on me.

I was just some poor kid, not good enough for their precious daughter.

It was only after I single-handedly saved their failing company that they begrudgingly accepted me.

Lara never stood up for me. I faced their disapproval alone.

Only when we were by ourselves would she offer a few half-hearted words of comfort, promising that if I just saved her company, she would never leave me.

But now, the company was saved, and she was taking Hayden home to meet them.

She avoided my gaze, her voice a little strained. "After you proposed in public, you dragged the company's reputation through the mud. My parents are furious with you."

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'll talk to them about the engagement. Hayden is older than you, he's more diplomatic. I'll have him put in a good word for you. Maybe then they'll forgive you."

Every word was a justification for her betrayal.

But I was already past the point of disappointment. The old pain was gone, replaced by a quiet sense of release.

Hayden called for her again, and her patience with me wore thin.

She rolled her eyes and stomped away.

When she reached him, her expression transformed. She was all smiles, her voice gentle and patient.

I stood there, watching them leave, feeling like a complete ghost.