Chapter 2

Now I had a college degree, but all I’d managed to get was an administrative job at a small company.

I made three thousand a month and lived paycheck to paycheck.

Meanwhile, the guy who had bullied me since childhood drove a luxury car, earned far more than I did, and had a gorgeous girlfriend.

Mom suddenly sighed.

“When will our Ethan start making good money like Derek and bring home a pretty girlfriend?”

There wasn’t much I could say.

Before coming home, I’d known my parents would nag me about settling down. Now that Derek was back, I could only imagine how much worse it would get.

“Should I still make dinner,” Mom asked Dad, “or are we going over there?”

“Don’t bother cooking. We’re still Derek’s family. If he’s planning to get married, we should go and offer some advice.”

Of course, I didn’t want to go. But then I thought about it.

If I stayed home, Derek would assume I was jealous and bitter.

Maybe acting completely indifferent would annoy him more.

So I decided to go with my parents that evening. It was only dinner. I could eat and leave. Whatever.

The sky was beginning to darken.

Once again, Derek’s horn sounded outside our house.

My parents and I went out, and he waved us into the car.

What a show-off. His house was less than a ten-minute walk from ours. He was obviously just looking for another excuse to flaunt his car.

I took the front passenger seat.

He immediately turned to me with a smile.

“It’s been years, Ethan. Where are you working these days?”

“I do admin for a company,” I said evenly.

“How much a month?”

“Not much. Nothing compared to you.”

He laughed. “Don’t worry. You’ll get there. I work in the same city, so come find me if you ever need anything. If I can help, I will.”

His polite little speech was nothing more than another excuse to show off. I thanked him and didn’t bother keeping the conversation going.

We reached his house in less than five minutes. A crowd of relatives and friends was already there.

Our arrival barely caused a ripple.

After getting out, I found a quiet corner, sat down, and took out my phone.

All around me, people were talking about how successful Derek was and how beautiful his girlfriend was.

At last, it was time to eat. I immediately found a seat, planning to grab a few bites and head home.

Then a relative beside me suddenly said:

“That’s Derek’s girlfriend? She really is gorgeous. He’s a lucky man.”

I looked up, curious to see just how beautiful my future cousin-in-law was.

But the moment I got a clear look at the woman standing beside Derek, chatting and laughing with everyone, I froze.

Big eyes, a delicate nose, a stunning figure. She really was a knockout.

But the more I looked at her, the more familiar she seemed. I was certain I’d seen her somewhere before.