Chapter 3

Caleb looked down at me, suddenly pulling his foot back.

"Enough!"

He bent down, gripped my chin, and forced my head up to look at him.

"Nora, do you remember these boots?"

"You told me that the day I could afford them, you'd marry me."

"Back then, I knelt in front of you and swore that I would make something of myself."

"Now that you're kneeling here, are you thinking about the past, too?"

I strained to focus my vision, trying to recall the features of this kind benefactor.

Yet the longer I looked, the more of a stranger he seemed.

I was terrified he would get angry, terrified he would back out on the supplies.

So, I carefully whispered:

"Big boss..."

"If you think they're not clean enough, I can wipe them again."

"Nora, you're calling me 'big boss'?" He let out a furious, broken laugh.

"We were together for five years. We shared a bed for five years, and now you call me 'big boss'?"

He thought I was using this act of playing dumb to humiliate his most cherished memories.

To him, even if I cursed him or hated him, it would be a thousand times better than this cold, detached title.

He grabbed my collar abruptly, choking off my breath.

"I'm sorry, sir... I really don't know you..."

"I just need the coal... Please give us the coal..."

I felt only terror, pushing frantically against his chest, desperate to get away from this madman.

Just then, the door was kicked open with a bang.

Aaron charged in.

He saw me being held up by Caleb, saw the sheer agony on my face.

"Let go of Miss Nora!"

Though his mind was simple, his strength was terrifying.

His fist slammed squarely into Caleb's jaw.

Caught off guard, Caleb stumbled backward, blood immediately seeping from the corner of his lip.

Having trained in combat, he quickly recovered and countered with a heavy punch to Aaron's stomach.

Aaron doubled over like a shrimp, collapsing onto the floor in agony.

The bodyguards who rushed in pinned Aaron firmly to the ground.

Caleb wiped the blood from his lip, his gaze chillingly venomous.

"Daring to hit me? Wonderful."

"Tie this idiot up! Call the police!"

"Assault with intent—that's enough to lock him away for years!"

Without a second thought, I slammed my forehead hard against the concrete floor.

"Sir! Please! Don't arrest him!"

"He doesn't know any better! It's all my fault! I didn't look after him!"

"Please let him go! You can punish me however you want!"

As my forehead hit the floor, a sharp, searing pain tore through me, and a warm liquid trickled down my brow, blinding one of my eyes.

I didn't care to wipe it, simply bowing and hitting my head against the floor over and over again.

Seeing my face covered in blood, Caleb froze where he stood.

Yet the fire in his eyes didn't die down; it only turned into a more frantic rage.

"Nora, you're unbelievable..."

"Back then, I knelt in the pouring rain begging you not to leave, trampling my own dignity into the dirt just for you to look back at me. And what did you do?"

"You walked away without a second thought! And now, for some village idiot, you're smashing your head bloody?!"

...

"Nora, you win... You want to save him, don't you?" Caleb's eyes were bloodshot as he rasped,

"Fine. I'll give you a chance."