Chapter 2

Upon hearing that Elizabeth, her beloved student, had finally come to her senses, Mackenzie Shepherd's voice brightened with relief. "You've finally made up your mind! That's wonderful! You secured the only exchange program slot in the entire school due to your grades. You can't just give it away." She then added, "Start preparing. You'll be leaving in 15 days." With a nod, Elizabeth reached for a pen and marked the date she was set to leave on the calendar. … Elizabeth was due to leave 15 days later—exactly on Spencer's birthday. She opened her wardrobe and took out a tailored suit that she had personally designed and painstakingly revised over the past three months. It was meant to be a handmade birthday gift for him. She had even given up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study abroad just so she could stay by his side for years. But now, it no longer mattered. A bitter smile curved on her lips at the mere thought of it. Without hesitation, she tossed the suit into the trash, then stepped into a hot shower, hoping to wash the heaviness from her body. Afterward, Elizabeth curled beneath the blankets and allowed herself to drift into a deep slumber. Perhaps it was because she had been drenched in rain earlier; her temperature began to climb rapidly. Waves of extreme cold and heat washed over her—cold sweat drenched her skin, her head felt heavy and dizzy, as if several mountains were pressing down on her. Drifting in and out of a fevered sleep, she vaguely registered the repeated ringing of her phone. Yet the grip of the nightmare was too strong, and her eyelids remained shut. It was almost dawn when someone barged into the room and shook her awake. "Ms. Farley, please wake up. Mr. Cooper requested me to take you somewhere." Elizabeth forced her eyes open and saw Spencer's assistant, Peter Quentin, standing over her. She endured the nausea as she dressed herself. Then, Peter drove her to the entrance of a clubhouse and left her there without further explanation. Elizabeth tightened her coat, relied on the memory of her last visit to navigate to the VIP suite, and heard the sound of voices coming from inside. "It's been over an hour. Why isn't she here yet? Even if she got into a car accident and isn't feeling well, you called her multiple times and even sent someone to fetch her. How could she still be dragging her feet? How inconsiderate." "She's just a kept woman for entertainment. It's fun when she's submissive, but the moment she starts acting up, it's nothing but trouble. You shouldn't spoil her that much, Spencer. If you keep letting her act out just because she thinks she's special, she'll forget her place, for sure!" "Exactly! Back when Courtney left, you drowned yourself in liquor before taking in that kept woman to distract yourself. Otherwise, Elizabeth would never have made it into our circle. You've spoiled her for four years. Now that Courtney's back, isn't it time you got rid of the dead weight?" Spencer sat at the head of the table, his posture composed and aloof. The light cast faint shadows across his cold features, making him seem all the more indifferent as he said, "I'll take care of what's mine. Why are you all so anxious?" "We're only worried about you and Courtney," someone chimed in. "You waited seven years for her. Now that she's finally back, don't let Elizabeth provoke her. If she leaves again, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!" "Exactly. All these years, you couldn't even bring yourself to delete your old photos with her. "He looked at them every day. Every few weeks, he would secretly fly to Meriana to check on her. Whenever he heard about something she liked, he would go to great lengths to find it and have it sent to her through someone else…" Each word pierced Elizabeth like a needle, the ache penetrating deeper with every line spoken. So that was the truth. From the beginning to the end, she had been nothing but a distraction, a convenient tool to provoke Courtney. Just as Elizabeth turned to leave, she was stopped by Courtney, who had just returned from the restroom at that very moment. With one hand clasping Elizabeth's wrist and the other pushing open the door to the VIP room, Courtney stepped inside. She smiled radiantly as she greeted the people inside. "What are you guys talking about? It's so loud that you've scared the girl Spencer brought. She's afraid to even step inside." The moment everyone caught sight of the two of them, the room fell into a hush. In an unspoken understanding, all eyes shifted to Spencer. He lifted his gaze and briefly introduced them. Without waiting for a response, he gestured for Elizabeth to come over. "It doesn't look like the car accident was too serious. Why didn't you answer my calls?" he asked. Elizabeth swallowed the turmoil churning inside her as she quietly walked to his side and said, "It's just a little scratch. I applied some medicine and fell asleep, so I didn't hear the phone. What's so urgent at this hour?" Spencer was taken aback by her calmness, as she was neither flustered nor upset, which was unusual for her. But he decided not to press on and simply replied, "Nothing. I just thought that you might want to join the fun." Elizabeth's heart suddenly twisted in agony. Was this truly an invitation to "join the fun"? Or had he summoned her here just to provoke Courtney? Only hours ago, Courtney had offered her a huge amount of money to leave Spencer so that she could get back with him. And now Spencer, in turn, was using her to goad Courtney to hasten their reunion. In the end, Elizabeth was nothing more than a pawn caught in the tug-of-war of their love.