Chapter 3

When I heard that my brother was already discussing marriage with his girlfriend, I froze for a moment.

"Clara," Jared said, voice low, "don't blame me for not treating you like you matter. Even your own mother doesn't love you—how do you expect me to cherish you?"

"Be good, just go home and wait for me. I'll make it up to you tonight, I promise. I admit it—I've fallen for Gina. But I never planned to break up with you. She doesn't mind that you exist. So... can't you be a little more generous too? Can't you not mind her?"

Jared thought my silence meant I was swayed.

"Jared Jenkins, my brother's a grown man. If he wants to get married, he better have what it takes. I won't interfere in his life, and I sure as hell won't use my money to fund his wedding. You don't control me!"

I couldn't believe the audacity of the man I'd loved for eleven years.

In that moment, I felt grateful Connor had driven me to Gina Harlow's birthday party.

If he hadn't, I might still be in the dark.

The boy I once loved had been molded by backroom deals and whiskey-soaked dinners into someone unrecognizable.

I couldn't even remember what he was like when I first fell for him.

"You haven't worked in years," he said sharply. "If you leave me, have you even thought about how you'll survive out there? Don't be ungrateful. Stay with me, and I'll at least keep covering your living expenses! Once you're gone, you'll see just how brutal the real world is!"

He'd forgotten.

He forgot that I helped him build his company from the ground up.

He forgot that I secured his very first client.

All he remembered was that I hadn't held a formal job in years, hadn't brought in a paycheck. What he didn't know was that during all those nights I waited for him to come home, I had already carved out a name for myself in my own field.

As his business grew, so did his ego.

He stopped caring about me altogether.

He didn't know me anymore.

"That's my concern, not yours, Mr. Jenkins," I said flatly. "The road is long. Let's hope we never cross paths again."

I didn't bother explaining.

And I certainly wasn't going to tell him how much money I'd made over the years.

The "living expenses" he'd given me? They were still sitting untouched in the drawer of the master bedroom nightstand.

I had never used a single dollar.

Every household expense over the years had come out of my own pocket.

At first, I didn't care for that money. Never even thought to take it.

But now... now I felt I deserved it.

Thinking it might be a tidy sum, I had Connor change directions and take me to the condo Jared and I had shared—what was supposed to be our wedding home.

The place was fully furnished. We'd already lived there for a month.

Every detail, every decoration, had been handpicked by me with care.

I used to daydream about marrying Jared in that house, raising kids, growing old together.

Now...

The dream was gone.

I'd finally woken up.

I took the bank card and packed what little I had. I was just about to leave when Jared stepped out of the elevator with his arm around Gina's waist.

The moment our eyes met, the air seemed to freeze.

I was the first to move.

I stepped aside, giving them room to pass.

We were already broken up.

It was his house. Whoever he brought home was none of my business.

I had no opinion.

"Clara, I knew you were just upset earlier. You'd never really leave me," Jared said, misreading everything.

His eyes lit up with relief. He let go of Gina and stepped forward, grabbing my wrist.

He tried to pull me into his arms.

"Let go!" I snapped.