Chapter 2

2

Garrett gently pushed Chloe away, putting on an act of noble sacrifice.

"Miss Bennett, please don't ruin your relationship over me," he whispered. "Go comfort Caleb. I can't live with myself if I become the reason you lose your happiness."

Anyone with half a brain could see his cheap manipulation.

Yet Chloe looked at him as if he were a saint.

"Garrett, why are you always thinking of me before yourself?"

She turned to her own parents, who had arrived late and stood frozen in the doorway.

"Do you see this?" Chloe yelled at them. "Garrett is the only one who truly loves me!"

"Caleb only knows how to bully him!"

"He's the one who called off the wedding, so why should I beg him?"

With that, she linked arms with Garrett and stormed out with her security team.

Her parents finally found their voices.

"Caleb, she's just upset... we'll talk to her―"

My father helped me up from the floor with a dark, stony face.

"Save your breath," my father cut in. "Our family wants nothing to do with the Bennetts."

At the hospital, my parents were rushed in for gastric lavage.

I was wheeled into the operating room for emergency surgery on my shattered forearm.

My parents had put aside their vital research projects to fly home for my big day.

Instead, they were subjected to the most repulsive humiliation imaginable.

The very last shred of love I had for Chloe died right there on the hospital bed.

Later that evening, Chloe showed up in my room. Fresh, glaring purple hickeys marked her neck and collarbone.

She didn't even bother covering them.

"I'm not a doctor," she sighed, checking her manicure. "I have no idea why my parents forced me to come here."

"Garrett felt so guilty that he tried to resign. I've been busy comforting him all night, and I don't have time to waste on your tantrums."

"I'm leaving."

She turned and walked away without looking back.

I stared at the empty doorway, feeling numb.

When I first noticed how unusually close she was to Garrett, she had given me a tearful explanation. She claimed Garrett had saved her life during a mugging and took several injuries for her.

She claimed she was merely repaying a life debt.

Over time, her so-called gratitude turned into letting Garrett walk all over me.

He flaunted his intimacy with Chloe at public galas, dragging my dignity through the mud.

He swapped the luxury vintage wine I bought for my mentor with cheap vinegar.

He even deliberately corrupted the data files for my research team.

Every single time I confronted him, Chloe accused me of being petty and insecure.

She claimed feeding my parents toad eggs was payback for me calling him a toad.

What she conveniently forgot was what happened right after that argument. Garrett had ambushed me with his thugs, stripped me bare, and shoved me into an iron drum filled with toxic cane toads.

By the time I was rescued, venom had entered my bloodstream, leaving my body grotesquely swollen.

Even then, Chloe defended him.

"Garrett handled all those toads without getting hurt, but you ended up in the ICU," she had sneered. "You're just weak and dramatic."

"Don't you dare file a police report. I already told the press you had a severe seafood allergy."

That was the exact moment my faith in her died.

After their stomach pumping, my parents were utterly drained. I insisted they take a cab back to our family villa to rest.

Not long after they left, my phone buzzed with an incoming video call.

When I answered, my father was shaking so hard he couldn't speak.

My mother was clutching her chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

Our beautiful living room had been converted into a grotesque mock funeral parlor. White silk banners and funeral wreaths covered the walls.

In the center of the mantle hung large black-and-white portraits of my parents.

Garrett was directing bodyguards to bang drums and play mournful funeral music on loud speakers.

Chloe stood off to the side, looking at Garrett with fond, indulgent eyes.

Blood rushed to my head, and my entire body trembled with rage.

"Chloe Bennett! Have you lost your mind?" I roared through the phone.

Hearing my voice, Chloe walked over to the camera with an annoyed pout.

"Stop yelling! Garrett is rehearsing his performance, don't distract him!"

I gritted my teeth until they nearly cracked.

"You're letting him curse my parents with a fake funeral, and you tell me not to distract him?"

Chloe answered with pure disdain.

"What curse? Garrett is just practicing funeral arrangements in advance so you can save money when the time comes."

"You should be grateful. If Garrett didn't feel so guilty about earlier, your parents wouldn't even get to preview their own memorial service."

Her twisted logic made my stomach churn.

"Tear that garbage down right now!" I shouted.

Chloe scoffed.

"No way. Garrett and the boys worked all afternoon setting this up, and they haven't even had their fun yet."

"Be a good boy for the next couple of days and stop annoying Garrett. If you behave, I might still give you face and show up at the wedding in three days."

Suddenly, Garrett wrapped his arms around Chloe from behind, planting a wet kiss on her cheek.

"Babe, didn't you say you wanted to try something thrilling?" he murmured into her ear. "What about doing it right here on the couch, in front of Mr. Mercer's parents?"

Chloe's cheeks flushed crimson. She giggled, swatted his chest, and instantly hung up the call.

My mind went completely blank.

They had completely discarded every ounce of human decency.

My phone rang again. It was the wedding coordinator.

"Mr. Mercer, the customized life-size cutout of the bride for the entrance is ready. Would you like to review the design?"

I forced a cold, steady breath.

"Change the bride. Print a new one."

Ignoring the nurse's protests, I ripped out my IV line and checked myself out of the hospital.

I wasn't going to let anyone abuse my parents like this.

When I arrived at the villa, my parents were standing outside the front gates, leaning against each other in the cold night air.

From inside the living room, Chloe's breathless moans echoed through the open windows.