Chapter 3

3

I stood outside my family’s sprawling estate for a long time before finally walking inside.

I hadn’t set foot here in five full years.

The moment I saw my parents, my eyes stung with tears.

“Mom, Dad... I was wrong.”

I regretted throwing away my bright future for Summer.

I regretted wasting years as her lowly assistant.

In the end, I had gained nothing except a heart full of scars.

Seeing my mother’s teary eyes, a wave of guilt washed over me.

My dad walked down the grand staircase. “Where’s your girlfriend? Didn’t bring her along this time?”

I gave a bitter smile. “We broke up.”

My dad paused for a moment before nodding slowly.

“Broken up? Good. I never approved of her in the first place. It’s better this way.”

Noticing my dejected look, my mom gently nudged my dad’s arm, telling him to stop lecturing.

“Now that it’s over, look forward. You deserve someone far better anyway.”

My dad sighed. “I know she pulled you out of the car back then. But if she hadn’t grabbed the steering wheel in a fit of rage, the crash wouldn’t have happened at all.

“Our family chose not to hold her accountable, and you secretly backed her career all these years. Without our help, she wouldn’t even have a career today.”

Everything my father said was the absolute truth.

Back then, Summer threw a fit because my first car wasn’t an expensive luxury brand, calling me a pathetic loser the whole ride.

When I stayed silent, she grew more hysterical and violently pulled the wheel, causing the rollover.

Her soaring career over the past few years was entirely fueled by my silent backing.

I secured her auditions, pulled strings with producers, and maxed out credit lines to fund her projects so she could stand out among thousands of ambitious actresses.

I hadn’t planned on keeping it a secret forever.

But whenever she beamed with pride, believing her success came purely from her own raw talent, I swallowed my words.

I thought as long as she was happy, it didn’t matter who got the credit.

When she landed her first supporting role, she leaned against my shoulder and promised to marry me once she made it big.

So I poured everything into supporting her, naively dreaming of our bright future together.

Yet I waited and waited.

What I received wasn’t a wedding, but endless tabloid rumors of her affairs and cold indifference.

Toward the end, if I said a single word she disliked, she would give me the silent treatment for weeks.

I should have realized much sooner that her heart was gone the first time she dismissed my feelings to flirt with other men for fame.

I looked at my parents and forced a genuine smile. “Don’t worry, Mom, Dad. I’m fine.

“Now that I’ve made my decision, I’m never looking back.”

On my first day back home, Summer called twice and sent three texts.

I ignored every single one of them.

After that, she stopped reaching out altogether.

Angry that I didn’t crawl back, she even blocked my number and social media accounts.

I knew this was her classic playbook for a silent war.

In the past, I would have panicked, agonizing over how to apologize and beg for her forgiveness.

This time, I just brushed it off with a calm chuckle.

After spending a few peaceful days catching up with my parents, I finally headed to Summer’s studio to finalize my formal resignation.

Whether I showed up or not didn’t really matter.

Though I was technically still her assistant, she had pushed me out of her schedule for the past year anyway.

She only remembered my existence when she needed someone to do her dirty work.