Chapter 1

The night before I was supposed to meet her parents, my girlfriend sent someone over with a pair of custom leather shoes.

I looked down at my prosthetic leg and told her it was over.

The male secretary she sent to deliver them dropped to his knees the moment she walked into the house.

"It was my fault, Mindy. I got the size wrong. It's only natural for Zane to be angry with me..." he sobbed.

My girlfriend didn't even hesitate. She hurled the heavy shoe at me with everything she had.

"So what if they're a little tight? You're in a wheelchair anyway! It's not like you're actually walking!"

She helped her secretary up and stormed out with him, her face full of disgust.

But by the time she came back to the house, I was already gone...

1.

"Sir, please don't blame the Vice President. It's all my fault..."

Levi West, Mindy's male secretary, suddenly hit the floor on both knees.

Outside, the click-clack of high heels grew louder as she approached.

Mindy Crawford appeared in the doorway, wearing a provocative red dress and a deep scowl.

She scanned the messy living room and shot a look of pure disappointment at me in my wheelchair.

I didn't say a word, but Levi couldn't stop talking.

"I got the shoe size wrong. Zane has every right to be furious with me..."

He looked up at her with puppy-dog eyes, begging for her protection.

Mindy marched over and picked up the custom shoe I had tossed near the door.

The next second, she slammed the hard leather against my thigh.

If you looked down my pant leg, you'd see nothing but empty space where my calf should be.

"Zane, for God's sake, it's just a shoe. You're in a chair. You don't even walk!"

She was saying it didn't matter if her secretary forced me into shoes that didn't fit.

Her words felt like a bucket of ice water poured over my head.

"You expect me to meet your parents wearing shoes that are crushing my feet?" I asked, my voice cold.

"Just deal with it. These were custom-made in Italy and took three months to arrive."

"There's no way to get another pair by tomorrow," she added, her voice dripping with impatience.

It was obvious she hadn't checked on the order even once in three months.

She trusted her secretary completely, but expected me to just keep compromising.

"In that case, I don't think there's any point in meeting your parents."

"Are you serious, Zane? I'm buried in work every day, and I finally carved out time for this."

She curled her lip in a sneer. "Then again, Levi and I are actually busy. You just sit around the house with nothing but your own thoughts."

I tried to protest. "Just because I'm not at the office doesn't mean I'm doing nothing!"

Mindy cut me off. "Aren't you? No one is perfect. Levi works under insane pressure."

"If you think he's so bad at his job, why don't you get out of that chair and take his place!"

She was shouting now, pointing a finger right in my face.

I couldn't believe how close she had become with her secretary.

To her, Levi was her perfect partner. I was just a useless, oversensitive burden.

"Calm yourself down. Just squeeze into the shoes and stop acting like a spoiled brat."

With that, she grabbed Levi's arm and led him out.

I pulled out my phone and sent one last message. "Mindy, we're done. Let's break up."

She replied almost instantly. "Zane, stop acting like a child. You're breaking up over a tantrum?"

"Look around. Besides me, who else would ever want to be with a useless cripple like you?"