Chapter 3

Leo watched me quietly from across the room, as if waiting to see how I would react.

I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Let's go, Leo. The cake's going to melt if we wait any longer."

Hearing that, a bright smile returned to his face. He stepped over naturally and took the handles of my wheelchair.

Just as we turned toward the exit, Toby, who had barely quieted down, erupted into an even louder scream.

"Daddy! Go after her! Bring Mommy back!"

"She doesn't want me! She threw me away!"

"I want to eat cake with Mommy!"

He yanked furiously on Julian's arm, trying to drag him toward the door.

No matter how loud he screamed, I didn't look back once.

Just like the day they left me alone in a hospital bed on my birthday, paralyzed and forgotten.

Leo pushed my chair very slowly, almost as if he were trying to give Julian a chance to catch up.

He didn't need to bother.

"Leo," I said softly. "You're the only family I have."

"No one else. Understand?"

"Yeah. I understand."

Right outside the station doors, Julian's voice called out behind us.

"Harper. Can we talk?"

Honestly, there was nothing left to say.

Between Julian and me, it was always a story of a powerful man demanding devotion, only to throw it away the moment his true love reappeared.

I was an orphan. My education had been funded by the Vance family foundation.

When Julian was a sickly child, they brought me out of the foster home and into their sprawling estate.

The home director told me my only job was to take care of Julian, play with him, and keep him company at school.

I was his shadow. A climbing vine meant to cling to him for survival.

Julian had always treated me well back then—gentle, respectful, never crossing the line.

We grew up side by side. My teenage crush was so obvious anyone could see it. Even though his wealthy family looked down on my background, they looked the other way because Julian wanted me around.

Then, she appeared.

Chloe.

The daughter of a world-renowned classical pianist, a prodigy in her own right.

Whenever she sat at a grand piano, she practically glowed. Julian was completely captivated.

The very first time he stood me up for a movie date was because it was Chloe's birthday.

After that, the dozens of times he broke his promises to me were always for the exact same reason: Chloe.

The fantasy shattered.

I began pulling away from Julian, studying tirelessly until I earned a scholarship to a top university in another city, finally moving out of the Vance mansion.

Three months later, Julian tracked me down like a madman, begging me to come back.

He stood in the pouring rain outside my dorm, burning with a fever, gasping my name over and over.

He told me, "Harper, you're the one I love."

"You can't leave me. You can never leave me."

My resolve cracked.

Love is a stubborn thing; a single spark is all it takes to reignite a raging fire.

We intentionally erased Chloe from our conversations, pretending she had never existed.

Getting married and having a child seemed completely natural and effortless.

Until the day Chloe sent me a text, smashing my life to pieces once again.

Harper, you'll never belong in Julian's world. You're just a charity case.

Julian only stays out of pity. Even your own son thinks you're pathetic.

Attached was a photo of the three of them at a theme park, looking just like a happy little family.

When Julian came home that night, I had trashed the living room. Broken glass littered the floor, and I stood there with bloodshot eyes, demanding to know:

"Are you still seeing Chloe?"

He didn't even deny it.

Instead, he sighed with obvious annoyance. "We're just friends. Stop being so paranoid."

Even my five-year-old son piped up: "Auntie Chloe is so nice! She takes me on all kinds of fun rides! Mommy is mean, Mommy never takes me anywhere fun!"

That was the first time I felt completely hollowed out.

From that day forward, I slowly picked up the shattered pieces of my heart—not to glue them back together, but to throw them away.

The northern town was quiet at night, save for the occasional rustle of pine needles in the wind.

Leo didn't stop pushing.

And I didn't ask him to.

Why would I stop to chat with a stranger?

Julian sprinted ahead and blocked our path, his chest heaving.

"Harper, are you really turning your back on your own child?"

I looked up at him, my expression calm and polite.

"Excuse me, sir. Do I know you?"