Chapter 2
After arranging things with Blair, I was about to buy some supplies for after I left when I saw Seraphina on a FaceTime call with her brother.
“Seraphina, the shoes your fiancé wanted were finished overnight. The designer raised the price by another three million.”
“It’s fine. As long as Preston likes them, money is no object.”
“Mainly, I’m worried Mr. Hayes will find out and cause a scene tomorrow… You know his temper…”
“Then shut him up. My wedding with Preston will not have any disruptions.”
Even though I already knew Seraphina was marrying Preston tomorrow, and I had already decided to leave, hearing the truth from Seraphina’s own lips still felt like a thousand needles piercing my heart, leaving it riddled with holes.
Perhaps the series of blows had put my brain in a daze, as I suddenly remembered I hadn’t grabbed my luggage.
Back at the door, my clothes, shoes, and personal items were all unceremoniously dumped outside.
Laughably, all my belongings combined amounted to very little.
After all, for so many years, I’d often been working around the clock at the company, and home was just a place to sleep.
But then it hit me: my mother’s emerald bracelet, which she said was for our future daughter-in-law, surely it hadn’t been thrown out too?
It was the only memento my mother left me before she passed.
I knelt on the ground, frantically searching through the luggage, tearing through it again and again, but it was nowhere to be found.
Preston pushed open the door. “Oh, still clinging on, are we? No wonder Seraphina said you’re like a dog that just won’t leave.”
“You saw the video just now, right? Seraphina loves me the most.”
I stood up, grabbing his wrist with a fierce grip. “Where’s the bracelet? The jade bracelet my mom left me, where did you put it?”
Preston winced, pulling his hand away. “Are you crazy?! What jade bracelet? I only saw some plastic trash!”
“Is this it?” With that, the hand behind his back lifted, revealing my bracelet.
“Give it to me!”
He held it high. “Figures. Trashy people only deserve cheap knock-offs. Something so tacky.”
“Who’d want this crap? You could probably buy dozens of these for a hundred bucks on Wish! Let’s see what’s so special about it.”
I reached out to snatch it, but he just dropped the jade bracelet from above.
A sharp crack echoed as the dark green bracelet shattered into countless pieces.
I knelt on the ground, picking up piece after piece, but I could never put it back together again…
Wiping away my tears, the pent-up anger I’d suppressed for so long finally erupted. Thud-thud. I landed two direct punches on Preston.
He clutched his face, caught off guard, but then a smirk flickered on his lips. He ruffled his hair, tore open his shirt, endured the pain, bit his lip, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
In my shock, I was suddenly kicked hard in the lower back, sending me sprawling to the ground with a painful thud. It felt like my internal organs were all twisted together.
“Jaxson Hayes, you heartless man! No wonder everyone in the company says you’re cold and ruthless. You! How can you be so vicious?!”
Seraphina rushed forward, helping Preston up in three quick steps. “Preston, are you okay?”
Looking at the woman I had shared ten years of my life with, I was suddenly struck by an intense feeling of unreality.
Which one of them was the real Seraphina?
I endured the intense pain, looking at the woman to whom I had given my heart completely for ten years.
“Jaxson Hayes, I’ve never seen a man as malicious as you.”
“Throwing your weight around in the company was bad enough, but treating a boy like Preston with such arrogance and cruelty?”
“If I had been a moment later, would you have beaten him to death?”
Preston was sobbing. “I’m sorry, Seraphina, I caused you trouble again…”
Seraphina tenderly wiped his tears. “It’s my fault for being late. I blame myself for not protecting you.”
The residual force from Seraphina’s kick was considerable, yet I no longer felt the pain.
My body was numb, and my heart even more so.
“Seraphina, are you really marrying him?”
A flicker of doubt crossed Seraphina’s face, as if wondering how I knew. Her lips parted slightly, but she seemed to hesitate.
“Seraphina, it’s all my fault… Jaxson just coerced me, saying he’d beat me to death if I didn’t tell him the truth…”
Seraphina gently patted Preston. “It’s a small matter, it’s okay.”
Even though I already knew the answer in my heart, the moment I heard it, the last lingering shred of my fantasy about Seraphina vanished.
I started laughing, a dry, hollow sound that grew louder and more bitter with each breath.
Facing my laughter, only a fleeting hint of panic crossed Seraphina’s eyes.
But quickly, she said coldly, “Yes, Preston and I are getting married tomorrow. You can come, but don’t cause a scene.”
Thinking back all these years, the wedding only needed one day, yet she had dragged it on year after year.
Only because the person she wanted to marry wasn’t me.
Perhaps I should still be grateful to her, thanking her for being so generous as to allow me to appear at her wedding.
I turned and went into the house. “Get out! Don’t let me see you two again.”
I had paid for half of this house. Why should I let these two jerks benefit from it?
Watching me limp, dragging my leg, Preston gave a cunning smile.
“Seraphina, I just got back to the country and don’t have many friends. How about Jaxson be my best man tomorrow? I wonder if he’d mind…”
When her beloved boy spoke, Seraphina naturally agreed without hesitation.
I only heard her say “okay” before she grabbed my arm. Meeting my reddened eyes, Seraphina’s voice was cool. “Didn’t you hear Preston?”
“So? You really want me to be your best man?”
At that moment, my voice trembled uncontrollably, and tears streamed down my face. I wanted someone to come save me, to shout at Seraphina how much I had sacrificed for her all these years.
And how dare she treat me like this?
But there was no one…
Only Seraphina’s voice continued, as if laced with a thousand knives.
“Yes! I want you to be the best man! And I want you to personally deliver your blessings!”
“Jaxson Hayes! I’m warning you! You better not mess things up tomorrow, or our partnership will be over!”
In an instant, my heart was pierced, riddled with holes, and my emotions could no longer be suppressed.
I flung Seraphina’s hand away, yelling hoarsely, “Get out! Seraphina! Get out! Take that bastard and get out!”
“And! I’m telling you, I won’t agree! Not only will I not agree! I’ll leave that day! I want you to never, ever find me again! After all—!”
As astonishment, doubt, and fear flooded Seraphina’s face all at once, I shook my head and said, “After all, it’s been ten years! Even a dog I raised would wag its tail for me, but you! You…!”
I shook my head, ultimately swallowing the remaining words.
I shut the door on them, enduring the pain as I shuffled back into the house.
The sky grew dark. Soon, two message alerts sounded simultaneously.
One was from Blair.
The other, Seraphina.
In the past, I would instinctively open Seraphina’s message first.
But this time, I wiped away my tears and calmly opened Blair’s chat. With just one glance, I looked towards the door.
“Pleasure doing business, Mr. Hayes. A small token of my appreciation, we’ll meet later.”