Chapter 2

Francine's face crumbled, and she was on the verge of tears. "Sam, could Calla have gone into hiding to avoid donating her bone marrow to me?" Samuel stroked her hair lovingly. "It's just leukemia, you silly little thing. Even if Calla won't be your donor, I'll search the entire city to find you a matching one." Francine pouted and protested, "But my body practically accepts Calla's bone marrow as if it were its own. The doctor said he's never seen a more compatible match!" Samuel cut a glance at the tightly locked front gate, his voice full of certainty and promise. "In that case, I'll hunt Calla down to the ends of the earth for you!" At that moment, a pain shot through my heart, not that I could help it. I stared at the two figures before me, memories from years ago surfacing in my mind. Samuel and I went to the same college. He was like the morning light that pierced through the foggy dawn, warm and dazzling. I fell for him first. We got together after we graduated from college. I saw Samuel as my salvation and the center of my world. I stuck by him as he set up his own business and struggled alongside him. He promised he'd look after me for the rest of our lives. And he made good on that promise at first, but that promise wasn't strong enough to hold out against the ruthless reality. When Samuel first started his business, I accompanied him to business meetings. It was how we ended up crossing paths with Kendall Lowry, the heir to Bloomington Group. As a scion, Kendall did not view a job as anything other than a life experience. Ever since he laid eyes on me, he'd been buzzing around me like a fly and refused to leave me alone. He even went so far as to feel me up while we were out drinking. Finally, he used his intoxicated state as an excuse to pull me into his arms. Samuel immediately grabbed the beer bottle from the table and struck Kendall on the head. That incident cost us the business deal with Bloomington Group, and we used up all of our savings to keep Kendall from having Samuel thrown behind bars. Naturally, the price we paid was far more than just a business deal and our savings. That night, Samuel pulled me into his arms and apologized. He was sorry that he couldn't protect me and swore he'd never let anyone pick on me or hurt me once he made it big. In his defense, no one picked on me after he made it big—except him. I willed the memories to stop flooding my mind. My gaze darted to the face I hadn't seen for years, noting the hardened, indifferent expression. The hot summer wind tousled his hair and deepened the crease between his brows. He looked like he had quite the chip on his shoulder. Samuel held Francine in his arms, his gaze unfocused as it settled on the unkempt lawn beyond the front gate, where weeds stood half a foot tall.