The pain in her voice made my heart jolt. Wasn’t everything she said exactly what I had gone through all these years?

Ever since we started dating, my parents had only ever seen photos of her. She had never even agreed to a single video call with them. All my relatives knew I had a girlfriend I’d been dating for five years who had never once shown up in person, and behind my back, the things they said were even harsher than Anthony’s insults.

The pressure I had endured was a hundred times worse than what Liam had faced, and Heather knew all of it. Yet, she left me alone to deal with the gossip and ridicule, ignoring the pressure I had carried for five whole years. Instead, all her sympathy and concern had gone to another man.

I was just about to break up with her when Liam’s mother, Mrs. Crossby, came outside after hearing the commotion.

“What’s going on out here?” she asked as her gaze swept across us, a frown on her face. “Liam, your girlfriend–”

Liam quickly interrupted her. “Mom, this isn’t Heather’s fault.”

Then, he glanced at me awkwardly.

“Ethan’s liked Heather for a long time. That’s why he couldn’t accept our engagement and smashed the car after finding out.”

His tone sounded gentle enough, but he made sure everyone around could hear him clearly. The neighbors who had come outside to watch the commotion immediately changed the way they looked at me.

“Ethan Wright seemed like such a good kid growing up. Who knew he’d end up an adulterer?”

“So, because he couldn’t steal someone else’s girlfriend, he smashed their car? That’s terrible behavior.”

“No wonder he never brought his girlfriend home for five years. It turns out she was never his girlfriend at all.”

Heather frowned when she heard them mocking and cursing me. However, she said nothing, which meant she tacitly agreed with them, and that silence sent a chill down my spine.

Liam spoke again in a calm, generous tone. “We’re all neighbors here, so let’s just forget it. Ethan, you don’t have to pay for the damages.”

Everyone immediately started praising him for being kindhearted.

Anthony shoved me impatiently and said, “Look at how generous he is. Now, apologize instead of embarrassing yourself here.”

The smug satisfaction hidden in Liam’s eyes ignited my anger again.

I turned to Heather and said calmly, “Tell them, Heather. Am I the other man or not?”

Heather was about to answer, but the moment she saw my bloodshot eyes, her expression wavered. Then, she looked away.

“Stop making a scene. We’ll talk when we get back.”

That vague answer instantly planted doubt in everyone’s minds.

Anthony stretched out his hand. “You said you’ve been together for five years, didn’t you? In that case, hand over your phone and prove it.”

I gave him my phone. However, after scrolling for a while, his expression became stranger and stranger.

“You’re saying you dated for five years, but there isn’t a single couple photo on your social media.” He kept swiping as he clicked his tongue. “And these chat histories… why are you always the one talking? What kind of girlfriend is so cold to you?”

I looked at our messages. Most of them were long paragraphs from me, with Heather occasionally replying with a simple acknowledgement. A heavy weight pressed down on my chest.

Heather had always been distant. Whenever we were together, I would speak for one minute, and she would give me a one-word answer. She also hated taking pictures. I would secretly snap photos of us out having fun together, and she would make me delete them afterward. I had grown used to that kind of relationship, but only now did I realize just how one-sided it had always been.

After that, Liam took out his own phone. Looking slightly embarrassed, he showed everyone his screen.

“We haven’t been together that long, so there isn’t much.”

That was what he said, but the moment he opened his profile, everyone saw the freshly posted relationship announcement. In the photos, Heather posed awkwardly beside him and even made heart signs with her hands. In fact, in the last picture, she tilted her head up slightly while Liam leaned down to kiss her. The shot had clearly been taken candidly.

My mind buzzed. Stiffly, I turned toward her.

“If this is all just an act, did you really have to go that far?”

Amidst the suffocating silence, I clenched my fists tightly, as if that could somehow suppress the pain tearing through my chest.

Liam and I had never gotten along since we were kids. Back in school, I was always the “perfect child” that relatives and neighbors compared everyone to. Anthony and Liam both hated me for it, and I had always known that.

When we were teenagers, Liam stole two girlfriends from me. After that, I threw myself into studying and eventually left for a university in the capital, where Heather and I started dating. It had been five years since then, and when I saw that the company’s new intern was Liam, alarm bells immediately went off in my head. Because of that, I told Heather everything about our past.

She had promised me that she would keep her distance from Liam. She also knew exactly what he had done to me in the past. Yet, she still chose his side. What I couldn’t understand was when the two of them had gotten involved behind my back.

In the middle of the tightly packed crowd, two familiar figures suddenly pushed their way through. They were my parents.

One of the bystanders grabbed my dad and started ranting in his face.

“Mr. Wright, you need to talk some sense into your son! He’s a university graduate, isn’t he? How could he be an adulterer?”

“Exactly! Being an adulterer is bad enough, but showing up at their door too? That’s disgusting!”

My dad’s face flushed red as he shouted back angrily, “That’s bullsh*t! My son would never do something like that!”

His health had never been good to begin with. After getting worked up like that, he suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground.

My eyes widened in fury as I rushed forward. “Dad!”

My mom immediately panicked. “Your dad’s heart condition is acting up again! Can’t you be more sensible for once? Do you really want to drive him to his death?”

I felt a lump in my throat, and regret washed over me. I regretted wasting five years on someone like Heather and being blind enough to let things turn into this mess.

My mom looked around anxiously. The nearby roads were under construction, and an ambulance would take at least an hour to arrive. Then, she looked toward the only car in the yard and lowered herself to plead with Heather.

“Miss, my son was wrong, but someone’s life is at stake here. Could you please take his father to the hospital first?”

Heather hesitated for a moment, but Liam suddenly stepped in front of her and spoke quietly. “Heather, everyone already thinks there’s something between you and Ethan. If you take his dad to the hospital now, won’t that make things even harder to explain?”

He gestured subtly toward his parents and added, “My parents are watching too. If they end up disliking you as their future daughter-in-law, they’ll surely force us to break up. Then, I’ll be dragged into blind dates all over again.”

Heather hesitated again before looking at me.

“The ambulance should be able to make it in time, or maybe you could ask someone else if they have a car.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I couldn’t believe Heather would be so heartless.

My mom’s eyes instantly reddened. She was so anxious that she looked ready to cry.

She grabbed me forcefully and shouted, “Apologize! Tell them you’ll never interfere in their relationship again!”

I clenched my jaw stubbornly and refused. “Mom, I’m not the other man.”

Ignoring me completely, she tried to force me to apologize. “You stupid child! Why are you still lying? Liam, you grew up with Mr. Wright. I’ll apologize on Ethan’s behalf. Please, take his father to the hospital, okay?”

Liam suppressed the smile tugging at his lips and sighed helplessly. “Ethan, look at what you’ve done to your father. Seriously, as men, we should be a little more sensible.”

I glared at him and said coldly, “I’ll say it one last time. I’m not the other man.”

“Slap!”

My mom struck me across the face and screamed, “Stop lying! Don’t you care whether your father lives or dies? Sometimes, I wish I’d never given birth to you!”

The slap wasn’t hard, but it felt like my soul had been shattered.

“Mom… I really didn’t…” I stammered.

I could accept Heather betraying me. I could tolerate Liam’s shamelessness. However, I couldn’t bear the distrust coming from my own family.

Heather, visibly shaken by everything happening, looked at the bright red handprint on my face, and a flicker of guilt flashed across her eyes.

“Mrs. Wright, I’ll dri–”

Before she could finish, Liam interrupted her. “Alright, alright. We’re all neighbors here. Of course, we’re not going to let him die. Ethan, just apologize and promise you’ll stop interfering with my relationship with Heather. Then, we can move on from this.”

Even Anthony couldn’t help chiming in. “Why are you still so stubborn? Your parents are being driven to death by your selfishness! Is your pride really more important than their lives?”

Looking at my dad lying unconscious on the ground, and my mom on the verge of breaking down, I closed my eyes and swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat.

Forcing myself to endure the humiliation, I finally said, “Liam, I’m sor–”

Before I could finish, the roar of engines suddenly echoed from the end of the street. The packed crowd split apart instantly, and a convoy led by black Hummers pulled to a stop right in front of me.

Someone in the crowd recognized the person stepping out of the lead vehicle and gasped.

“How on earth is this nightmare here…”

The person stopped in front of me, her voice ice-cold. “Which car did you want smashed?”

I looked up at the woman I hadn’t seen in years.

“Skye, save my dad…” I said, my voice coming out hoarse and broken.

Seeing how miserable I looked, Skye Ashford’s expression darkened instantly. She glared at Heather, as if she wanted to kill her.

She strode forward and helped my weak, trembling mom to her feet. Without even turning around, she ordered, “Get the old man to the hospital first!”

One of the men behind her answered immediately and quickly carried my dad into the car.

Skye looked at the tear stains and finger marks on my face, and a storm gathered in her eyes.

“We’ll head to the hospital first. You can tell me everything on the way.”

Her voice was gentle, but it carried a calm sense of safety that made people trust her instantly.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

I couldn’t say anything else, so I simply nodded.

Just as I was about to get into the car, someone suddenly grabbed my arm. Heather stared fixedly at Skye, her tone frighteningly cold.

“Who is this woman? What’s your relationship with her?”

I replied flatly, “What does it matter to you who she is? And what gives you the right to question me?”

Heather froze. Then, noticing the crowd watching nearby, she lowered her voice. “Haven’t I explained everything to you? Why are you still kicking up a fuss?”

I shook off her hand, my expression icy. “You cheated on me, allowed people to accuse me of being an adulterer, and stood by while my dad nearly died. And you still have the nerve to call me unreasonable?”

Embarrassment flashed across Heather’s face.

“I didn’t expect things to turn out like this either. But isn’t this your fault, too? If you hadn’t smashed the car and made such a scene in front of everyone, none of this would’ve happened. Why don’t you blame yourself for acting impulsively instead of blaming me?”

I looked at her completely unapologetic expression and suddenly felt too exhausted to argue anymore.

“You’re right. I should blame myself for being blind enough to fall in love with you. Heather, there’s nothing left to say between us. Let’s break up.”

The moment Heather heard the mention of a breakup, she went still. In the five years we’d been together, those words had always come from her, and I had never once dared to say them myself.

She opened her mouth, stunned for several seconds before finally coming to her senses. “What did you say? You want to break up with me?”

Her voice rose unconsciously, and several nosy bystanders immediately leaned closer to listen. In a panic, Liam quickly grabbed Heather’s arm and tried to pull her back toward the house.

“Aren’t they taking him to the hospital? This has nothing to do with us anymore. Let’s go inside. My parents are waiting for us!”

Heather instinctively tried to pull away until she met Liam’s pleading, pitiful eyes.

“Heather, everyone’s watching. If the truth gets out, how am I supposed to show myself in public after this?”

She hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she let go of my hand.

Watching her walk back toward Liam, I let out a bitter laugh. When everyone treated me like the other man, she didn’t care at all, but as soon as Liam’s reputation was at risk, she became more anxious than anyone. It was painfully obvious who she loved and who she didn’t. At least now, I could finally see it.

Halfway there, Heather suddenly turned back to look at me and said softly, “Wait for me. I’ll explain everything. I’ll go over later and talk to your parents as well.”

Now she remembered wanting to meet my parents? Well, too bad. It was too late.

I ignored her and got into the car with Skye. At some point, Anthony had climbed in, too. He had heard quite a bit earlier, and now he looked at me with disbelief written all over his face.

“That woman… Was she really your girlfriend?”

I was too worried about my dad’s heart condition to say anything, so I simply nodded. Then, after thinking about it, I added, “She’s my ex-girlfriend now.”

Skye glanced at me quickly before fixing her eyes back on the road and asking Anthony, “What exactly happened today? Start from the beginning.”

Anthony had always been a little afraid of her growing up, so now he didn’t dare mock me anymore. He obediently explained everything from start to finish.

When Skye heard that Heather had silently allowed Liam to accuse me of being the other man in front of everyone, her grip on the steering wheel tightened so hard that her knuckles turned white.