Chapter 3

After Camille's outburst, she turned on her heel and stormed off. Silence filled the room, leaving just Benson and me. His expression softened as he looked my way. "Max, come here." He took a seat on the couch, motioning for me to join him. As I passed, his gaze lingered on the swelling on my cheek. After a pause, he let out a sigh. "If that misunderstanding hadn't happened three years ago… maybe things would be different now." My expression remained stoic as I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. Misunderstanding or not, I would've signed that contract regardless. "I still would've given everything for your family." Benson looked at me again. There was a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. "You did it for your sister. "But Camille… She's been a handful since she was little. Three years ago, she almost got into serious trouble, and it even caused me to misjudge you—" "That's all behind us," I cut in firmly. "There's only a month left on the contract. "After that, I'll be free." Benson was silent for a moment. "Whatever you choose, I'm willing to offer you some support. Consider it as a form of compensation," he said. "But I hope…" His voice trailed off. I tilted my head. "Hope for what?" "I hope that in this last month, you won't follow Camille blindly. Maybe teach her a lesson or two. "Give her some time to adjust, and don't end things too abruptly." I met Benson's gaze silently, unable to understand his affection for Camille. "I'll see the contract through to the end," I said. "You don't have to worry, Mr. Layton." With that, I turned and walked away. Three years ago, Camille got drunk at a college graduation party. She collapsed by the roadside and was nearly taken advantage of. Camille and I went to the same university. By chance, I spotted a group of blond-haired men closing in on her. I didn't look away. Instead, I helped her up and took her to a nearby hotel. After tracking her location, Benson arrived shortly after. When he saw me, he immediately jumped to conclusions, convinced I had exploited her. He almost had me arrested. It was only because I was the university's top honor student and scholarship recipient that the professors stepped in on my behalf. Their intervention finally made Benson pause and review the surveillance footage. Only then did the truth emerge. That incident marked the beginning of the complicated relationship between me and the Layton family. While I was being detained, my sister panicked and got into a car accident. After Benson learned the full story, his attitude toward me shifted. He drew up a contract to keep me by Camille's side, making sure I was always there to watch over her. And truthfully, my credentials made me more than qualified to help her. As her father, Benson understood better than anyone the real reason Camille got into Blackthorne University. As I lit a cigarette in the driver's seat, memories from the past flickered through my mind. The garage was swallowed by shadows, and the sharp burn of the cigarette smoke filled my lungs. No one could have guessed the hardships I had endured over these last three years. My former classmates labeled me the Layton family's lapdog, a slave to money, and Camille's sycophant. The friends I once trusted drifted away, seeing only how submissive I was to Camille and assuming I'd lost all pride. When these rumors reached my relatives back home, they scoffed. After ten years of relentless study, they said I'd become nothing more than a servant to the wealthy. They passed judgment without hesitation, embarrassed to claim me as one of their own. But only I knew the weight of my sister's daily hospital bills. Graduating from Blackthorne University meant nothing. If I'd taken a normal job, I wouldn't have had the means to keep her from slowly slipping away right in front of me. The Layton family was to blame for what happened to her. And yet, they were also the ones who gave me the resources to save her. I despised the Laytons. I despised Camille. But no matter how much I tried, I couldn't truly hate them. It was a tangled, conflicted feeling. Because of them, I had everything I had now—skills, resources, connections, and the power to run this vast empire alone. I had no regrets about using these three years to give my sister a fighting chance. The cigarette's ember flared, nearly burning my fingers. Snapping back to reality, I crushed it beneath my palm. It was time to bring all of this to an end.