The day my mother brought her childhood sweetheart home to our villa, my father, who had quit smoking years ago, chain-smoked on the balcony all night. His colleagues at the research institute used to envy him for having a CEO for a wife. They'd tell him he should just stay home and enjoy the good life, manage the family finances, and forget about the grind of a nine-to-five. But my dad would just shake his head. "That's all material stuff. As long as the love is there, money doesn't matter. But if the day comes when she doesn't love me anymore, I'll walk away with nothing but the clothes on my back." I never thought his words would be a prophecy. But she didn't love him anymore. Later, when my mother stood before the media, her arm linked with that other man's, my father boarded a plane and flew abroad without a backward glance. And as I stared at a picture on social media of my fiancée's hand intertwined with someone else's, I knew it was time for me to leave, too. 1 The day after my mother, Fiona, moved Julian Hayes into our house, she called a family meeting. She slid a divorce agreement across the table to my father, Mark. "Mark, Julian is going through a hard time. You know our history. I have to help him." "The three of us living together like this… it doesn't look good." "I promise you, the divorce is just a formality. We'll still live together. It's just to quiet the gossip. Don't overthink it." I stared at her, incredulous. "Are you kidding me? If he's in trouble, you can rent him an apartment! You could buy him a house! Why does he have to live with us?" My dad put a hand on my arm, shaking his head slightly. Then, without another word, he signed the papers. A relieved smile instantly spread across my mother's face. "Honey, you have to believe me. You'll always be the love of my life. As soon as he's back on his feet, we'll remarry." With that, she practically skipped out the door with the agreement. Not long after, the news broke online. [CEO Fiona Vance Announces Divorce] My dad and I sat in silence in the living room, watching the headline scroll across the screen, a shared sadness hanging between us. "Dad, why did you agree? And who is this Julian Hayes?" He took a long drag from his cigarette. "He was your mother's first love. The one she never really got over." "What kind of trouble is he in that she has to help him this much?" "They have a son. He's a year older than you. How could she not help?" The foundations of my twenty-four-year-old world were crumbling around me. Everyone had always seen my parents as the perfect couple. I never imagined a sordid past like this. "Dad," I asked quietly, "do you think she still loves him?" He lit another cigarette in silence. "I don't know. But I know she doesn't love me anymore." I nodded, a wave of grief washing over me. "Son, I'm going to have to leave. If you can, you should move out too. This house won't feel like ours for much longer." I put my arm around his shoulders, my eyes burning. The next day, I went with my dad to the institute. As we walked in, Mrs. Davies from HR greeted us cheerfully. She was my fiancée's mother. "Mrs. Davies," I said, "I was supposed to have dinner with Cathy last night, but she said she wasn't feeling well. Is she any better?" Her expression stiffened. "Oh, you know how young people are. A good night's sleep and she was fine." I didn't press her. I went to my lab station to start my work. A moment later, another intern, a guy from my year, sidled up to me, phone in hand, a gossipy glint in his eye. "Leo, man, I heard your family was rich, but I didn't realize how rich. That bracelet you got for Cathy must have been, what, twenty grand?" I froze. Following his gaze, I saw it: Cathy's social media feed. The picture showed two hands, tightly clasped. They were wearing matching couple's bracelets. She'd been acting strange lately, turning me down nine times out of ten when I asked her out. Now I knew why. Her profile was hidden from me, so I took my colleague's phone and kept scrolling. Amusement parks, Michelin-star restaurants, late-night drives in a sports car… And in one picture, a man's face, with a striking resemblance to my mother. So this was her "something important." We'd met in college. It was love at first sight for me. Later, by some coincidence, I found out her mother worked with my dad. It was my father who had set up a dinner to get us together. After that first dinner, as we walked, she took my hand. "Leo," she'd said, "I like you too. From the very first moment I saw you." We'd held each other tight under a streetlight that night. It seemed my dad and I both had terrible judgment when it came to people. It was time to end this engagement. 2 That evening, my dad stayed late at the lab. I bought some fruit and went straight to Cathy's house. Her mother answered the door. She glanced at the fruit in my hand and then blocked the doorway. "Leo, honey. Cathy's not home. You should go." I stood there awkwardly. In all the time Cathy and I had been together, this was the first time her mother had ever turned me away. "Well, could you take this fruit, Mrs. Davies? For Cathy, since she wasn't feeling well." She still didn't move. "We have too much fruit in the house already. It'll just go bad. You take it home to your father. You have a good night now." She shut the door in my face. Through the thin wood, I could faintly hear her muttering. "So rich, but so cheap. Hasn't bought her a single expensive thing all these years." Defeated, I walked down the stairs. As I reached the entrance of the building, a red sports car screeched to a halt in front of me. Cathy and the man from her pictures got out, their arms linked. "Do you think your parents will like the ginseng I bought?" he was asking. "Of course! My mom's been cooking all day, she knew you were coming for dinner." It all clicked. They turned me away so I wouldn't interrupt their little party. A basket of fruit couldn't compete with expensive ginseng. "Cathy!" I called out, stepping in front of them. She saw me and instantly snatched her hand back, her face panicked. "Leo! What are you doing here?" I ignored her question. "Who is this? What's going on?" Cathy waved her hands dismissively. "It's not what you think. Didn't your mother tell you? This is your brother, Alex. He's new in town, so my mom asked me to show him around." I looked him up and down, my eyes landing on the matching bracelets. Cathy quickly hid her hand behind her back. But the next second, Alex pulled it forward, dangling it right in front of my face. "The bracelets? They were a gift from me. Got a problem with that, little brother? You're too cheap to buy her anything nice, so why can't I?" His taunt lit a fuse inside me. I swung, my fist connecting with his jaw. He was strong. He hit back, harder, knocking me to the ground. Cathy rushed to help me up. "Stop it! You're brothers! Please, my mom made dinner. Come up and eat with us." I shoved her away. "Your mom wouldn't even let me in the damn door!" "Cathy, why did you lie to me? Don't we even have basic honesty between us anymore?" "If you don't want to marry me, just say so! I won't stand in your way!" I got to my feet, covered in dirt, and ran home. 3 I walked in to find my mother and Julian Hayes having a candlelight dinner. "Son, this is your Uncle Julian. I didn't get a chance to introduce you yesterday." I glared at him. "Oh, right. Like father, like son, I guess. Both look decent enough on the outside, but all you know how to do is seduce other people's wives." My mother's face flushed with anger. She slapped my arm. "How dare you speak to your elders that way? When did you become so disrespectful?" I snorted. "Disrespectful? Maybe I learned it from you. You sent my fiancée to entertain his son. Isn't that what you'd call disrespectful?" SLAP! Her hand cracked across my face. Her eyes were red. "He's my son too! You're brothers! What's wrong with your fiancée spending some time with him? Why are you being so petty?" "Is that how you see me? As some kind of monster?" Tears streamed down her face. She leaned against Julian's shoulder, sobbing. Julian comforted her, his voice soft. "Leo, this is all my fault. Don't let us come between you and your mother." My mother covered his mouth. "No, Julian, it's not you. It's me. I failed to raise my son properly." Just then, the front door opened and Alex rushed in, his face a mask of concern. "Mom, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" My mother looked up and immediately saw the cut on his lip. "Alex, honey, you're hurt! Did you get in a fight? Does it hurt?" Alex shot a wounded look in my direction. "Mom, he hates me. But he's had your love for over twenty years. I'm so jealous." "I just want a little bit of my mother's love. Is that too much to ask?" My mother's tears fell faster. She stood up and shoved me hard. "Is this how you treat your brother? I carried him for nine months, just like I carried you! Why can't you accept him?" I gave a bitter laugh and pointed to my own bleeding lip. "Mom, I'm hurt worse than he is. But you haven't even noticed. Right now, all you can see is them. What are Dad and I to you?" She froze, her eyes finally landing on my injury. "I'm sorry, I just… I didn't see…" "Don't bother, Mom. I get it. Dad and I don't matter anymore. I don't need your fake sympathy." I ran to my room and locked the door, my eyes stinging. 4 The next day, Cathy was waiting for me outside the institute. The bracelet was gone from her wrist. "Leo, I was wrong. I shouldn't have hidden it from you. Please, just give me one more chance." I looked at her coldly. "The engagement is off." Her eyes immediately filled with tears. She grabbed my hand. "Don't do this. I promise I'll never see him again. You know I love you." Looking into her sincere eyes, my resolve wavered. Maybe I had misunderstood. My tone softened. "Cathy, this is your last chance." I walked into the institute. In the lab, I found my dad, his hair a mess. "Dad, did you not sleep at all?" "The director spoke to me yesterday. There's a research project abroad that wants me to lead it. It's a five-year commitment. I'm still thinking about it." I knew that despite his disappointment, he still couldn't let my mother go. "Dad, you've passed up so many opportunities to stay close to her. If you miss this one, at your age, you might not get another." He shook his head. "That's not what I'm worried about. I just can't believe it. After more than twenty years… how can she just stop loving me? What if she's just confused right now?" I sighed. We were both the same. Too soft-hearted for our own good. That evening, my mother called to say she wouldn't be home. She had a new product launch event. My dad and I huddled in the lab, watching the livestream on his phone. Seeing her on stage, radiant and powerful, I could still see the spark of love in my father's eyes. But at the end of the presentation, she made an announcement. "And now, I have two appointments to declare." "I am appointing Julian Hayes as the new Vice President of the company, and Alex Hayes as the General Manager for this new product line." Julian walked onto the stage and kissed my mother on the cheek. Alex stood beside her, and the three of them smiled for the cameras like a happy family. A reporter from the crowd shouted a question. "Ms. Vance, is this your official announcement of a new relationship with Mr. Hayes? You two make a lovely couple." I turned to look at my father. The light in his eyes was gone. They were like stagnant pools, dull and lifeless. "Son," he said, his voice flat, "she really doesn't love me anymore." "You'll have to take care of yourself after I'm gone." I let out a long, slow breath and gave him a sad smile. "Dad, would you mind if I came with you and lived off your salary for a while?" He looked at me, surprised. "What about Cathy?" I pulled out my phone and showed him a screenshot. In the front row of the product launch, Cathy sat in a glamorous dress, the twenty-thousand-dollar bracelet sparkling on her wrist. A bouquet of red roses in her lap made her smile look even more radiant. "Dad," I said, "there's no place for us in that family anymore."
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "385626", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel