I looked at him, my eyes filled with nothing but mockery.
After all these years, he always knew exactly what I cared about most.
He knew how to manipulate me.
But this time, I wasn’t falling for it.
Chapter 4
+15 Bonus
I slapped the locket from his hand, sending it clattering to the floor. My voice was cold and sharp.
“You still have the nerve to call yourself his father?
“When you cut off Lucas’s legs for Wendy, did you think about being a father then?
“When you abandoned me over and over for her, did you think about being a father then?
“Xavier Smith, you don’t deserve to be Lucas’s father.”
Xavier’s expression was complicated, like he wanted to explain. But before he could speak, his phone rang–loud and urgent.
It was Wendy.
For a brief moment, he hesitated. Then, he answered.
I didn’t know what she said, but within seconds, he was already heading for the door.
Only when he reached the exit did he pause and look back at me.
“Something happened with Wendy. I need to go check on her.”
I looked at him, my eyes void of any emotion.
After all, without expectations, there was no disappointment.
Without a word, I picked up the gold locket and tossed it into the trash.
My voice was indifferent.
“You don’t need to report to me. I already told you–we have nothing to do with each other.”
“Summer Carter, what do you mean by that?”
I let out a small laugh and met his gaze, my tone calm but firm.
“I mean, we have nothing to do with each other. I told you to leave. Did you not hear me?”
His expression turned ice cold, his grip tightening around his phone until his knuckles turned white.
“Fine!
“Summer Carter, I’ve told you before–I have limits to my patience.
“Since you refuse to appreciate anything I’ve done, then from this moment on, we are nothing. And I won’t be involved with that
child either.”
I watched as he turned and walked away without looking back.
But I didn’t feel the slightest bit of sadness.
2/4
Chapter 4
All I felt was relief.
Relief that I was finally free from this nightmare.
Relief that I could finally take my son and a new life, away from him.
+15 Bonus
I hadn’t expected what came next.
Over the next few days, Xavier did something completely out of character.
He suddenly became extremely active on social media, posting a dozen updates a day.
One moment, he was strolling down the street with Wendy. The next, they were at the beach in Tanya Island, watching the waves
together.
I knew exactly what he was doing.
He was trying to push me.
Trying to make me jealous. Trying to make me reach out to him first.
Trying to make me apologize, to beg him to come back.
Because that was what I used to do.
But this time, I didn’t.
And my silence only made him escalate further.
At first, I had planned to ignore him, hoping he would eventually give up.
But when he realized I wasn’t taking the bait, he went even further.
He cleared out my entire office and recorded a video just to show me.
In the video, his voice was cold and mocking.
“Summer Carter, take a good look. Do you really think you’d have an office like this without me?
“Everything you own–I paid for it.
“And let’s not forget, Lucas is still in the hospital. Do you even have enough money to cover his medical bills?”
At first, I thought he was just being petty.
But then I saw it
He hadn’t just taken office furniture or supplies. He had taken things that truly mattered.
Chapter 4
Among them were my parents‘ belongings–the only things I had left from my time in the orphanage.
And in the final seconds of the video, I watched as he set them on fire.
The flames engulfed everything, reducing my most precious memories to ashes.
My fingers dug into my palms, my nails pressing so hard that I could feel the sting of blood beneath my skin.
Pain spread through my chest, sharp and relentless.
Of course.
The person who once knew me best, the one I was closest to, would also know exactly how to hurt me the most.
