Chapter 3

News of our canceled wedding spread fast.

My mother grieved for less than a single day before she was walking on air.

She immediately started arranging blind dates for me everywhere she could.

She had loathed Mandy from the start. Now that the woman was gone, my mom looked ready to hire a brass band to celebrate.

She told me, "When you insisted you wouldn't marry anyone but her, I honestly thought you'd been cursed! How on earth did you fall for that spoiled, entitled brat?!"

I gently patted her back to comfort her.

Back then, I had indeed done plenty of reckless, foolish things for Mandy.

I had even acted like an immature child, threatening to cut ties with my family to force my aging parents into accepting her.

They had compromised, and so had I.

Yet that had only made Mandy push my boundaries further.

I sighed softly. Fortunately, it wasn't too late. My parents didn't hold it against me, and I still had a chance to make amends.

Taking advantage of my softened mood, my mother shoved several photos into my hands. "These are girls Mrs. Jenkins and I handpicked for you. You have to meet every single one of them this week!"

I forced a helpless smile. "Mom, with my current baggage, going out with these women is just wasting their time."

She waved it off. "It's just a casual coffee or dinner to make friends! What century are you living in? You think meeting once means you have to walk down the aisle? Don't be so old-fashioned!

"Besides, these girls all come from great families. Even if nothing romantic happens, making connections through this might help you in business down the line."

She made it sound so reasonable that I couldn't find a single excuse to say no.

Consider it paying for my past stupidity; I decided to follow her wishes.

Letting her have some peace of mind after three years of anger was the least I could do.

However, I soon realized the downside of this approach.

After walking away from such a toxic relationship, it was nearly impossible for me to open my heart and get to know someone new.

Even just as friends.

Between the fallout with Mandy and the non-stop blind dates, I was completely drained, both mentally and physically.

I knew that trying to get over an ex by finding someone new right away wasn't the right path for me.

So I decided to have an honest talk with my mom over the weekend.

At the very least, she needed to stop packing my schedule so full.

Who would have thought that my very last date would offer me an unexpected way out?

She was refreshingly straightforward. The moment we sat down, she said, "I'm in a similar boat. I recently got hurt in a relationship, but I didn't want my family to worry, so I agreed to these setups. I'm guessing you're doing the exact same thing."

I truly didn't want my mother to worry about me anymore.

Yet continuing like this wasn't sustainable either.

A headache throbbed behind my temples, and I gave her a wry smile of mutual misery.

Chloe Quinn leaned forward and said plainly, "In that case, do you want to partner up?"

I looked at her, confused. How did a blind date suddenly turn into a business partnership?

"If it's a mutually beneficial corporate deal, you can visit my office tomorrow, and we can discuss the details."

Chloe burst into laughter. "I'm not talking about business. I'm talking about romance.

"What do you say? Want to give it a shot with me?"

Her directness caught me completely off guard. "Give what a shot?"

I had crossed paths with Chloe a few times before, but we were barely acquaintances.

Including today, we hadn't exchanged more than ten sentences in our entire lives.

How did we suddenly jump to... dating?