Chapter 2

"That's impossible."

"Logan won't ever agree to that."

"He wouldn't agree if it came from me, but he'll obey his mother," Nicole replied smugly.

"Family duty and guilt will force him to bow his head."

"And once the dust settles, I'll chase after him again. He loves me so much he won't be able to resist."

"Logan is such a hopeless simp. He deserves to be played."

"You're wrong," Nicole said, utterly confident. "He's only like that with me. He wouldn't bend over backward for anyone else."

She boasted so proudly, never imagining that I was standing right outside, taking in every filthy secret.

Without a sound, I pulled off my wedding band. Passing a trash can in the corridor, I tossed it in without a second glance.

Austin brushed past me, carrying a boutique mango cake. He suddenly froze in his tracks.

"Logan? Are you here to see Nicole?"

Hearing him call me so warmly made my stomach churn. If I hadn't overheard their sick game, I would still be pitying him.

"Something urgent came up at work, so I can't stay. Just let her know for me."

"Wait... does this mean you forgive us?" Austin beamed, looking genuinely relieved. "That's amazing! Nicole is going to be so thrilled!"

A cold smirk touched my lips. I didn't say another word and walked away.

Outside the hospital entrance, I pulled out my phone and dialed my boss.

"Ms. Winters, remember that overseas assignment in London you mentioned?"

"I changed my mind. I'll take it."

"Are you certain?" Wendy Winters sounded surprised. "It's a three-year contract. Didn't you say you couldn't be that far from your family?"

Before, I genuinely believed I had to stay close to care for my mother and keep Nicole happy.

Now? Knowing both of them had teamed up to deceive and betray me, my world had completely shattered.

I had to walk away. From now on, my career was my only focus. Everything else was dead to me.

"My home... is suffocating me."

My voice cracked slightly at the end, and Wendy picked up on it.

She was sharp and professional, knowing when to push and when to grant privacy.

"Submit the transfer paperwork, Logan. I need to get out."

"Understood. Take care of yourself."

Right after I hung up, my phone started buzzing with a barrage of bank alert notifications.

I had three hundred thousand dollars in my personal account. In the span of minutes, two hundred and fifty thousand had been wiped out.

I immediately dialed my mother. She was the only one who could have taken my card.

"What on earth did you buy to spend two hundred and fifty thousand dollars?"

My tone was icy, devoid of the gentle warmth I used to have.

My mother picked up on my irritation, but she felt entirely entitled.

"I have my reasons."

"Do you really need to get this hysterical? Didn't you promise me when you were a kid that you'd make a lot of money and give it all to me?"

"I only spent a small portion of your savings, and you're already throwing a tantrum?"

She made it sound so casual. Only two hundred and fifty thousand?

For a regular working guy like me, that was years of blood, sweat, and grueling overtime.

"I used it for a down payment on a condo. Austin wants to buy property to rent out."

"Isn't that a great investment?"

"We still need furniture, so I'm helping him pick out pieces right now."

Before I could get another word in, she hung up angrily.

I immediately sprinted to the nearest branch, filed an unauthorized transaction report, froze the account, and withdrew the remaining fifty thousand dollars in cash before shutting it down completely.

I was a filial son, but I was no fool.

Why should Austin buy real estate on my dime? My money didn't fall from the sky.

He had taken my wife, and now he wanted my hard-earned cash, too?

Less than an hour later, my phone rang again. It was my mother, screeching into the receiver.

"Logan! How dare you!"

"Why did you cancel the card? Austin and I are at an upscale restaurant, and we can't pay the bill!"