Chapter 5

I drifted off to sleep at some point.

The next morning, the shrill ring of my phone woke me up.

Groggy, I fumbled for it on the nightstand. My mom's caller ID flashed on the screen.

I swiped to answer.

"Lucas! Do you know what time it is?! Why aren't you here yet?" Her voice blasted through the speaker. "Your brother is getting engaged today! The relatives are all here! What will people think if the older brother doesn't show up?!"

I glanced at the clock.

Nine-thirty.

"Hurry up! Your dad booked the banquet hall at that restaurant on the south side. Grab an Uber right now!"

She hung up immediately, not even giving me a chance to reply.

I tossed the phone onto the bed, sat up, and rubbed my temples.

My backpack was still back at that house.

Inside was my driver's license, credit cards, work phone, house keys, and company badge.

None of that mattered as much as the signed original client contract from last Friday, which had to be archived at the office on Monday morning.

The hotel was about a twenty-minute drive from my parents' house.

In the cab, my mom called again.

"Where are you? We're literally waiting on you!"

"Almost there," I muttered, hanging up.

Outside the window, the cityscape blurred past. I leaned against the glass, staring at the city I had lived in for eight years, suddenly feeling like a complete stranger in it.

I got out of the cab in front of the banquet restaurant.

Three large tables were packed to the brim. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and even distant relatives I barely recognized from my mom’s side had shown up.

Julian sat in the center seat at the main table, with Vivian right beside him.

My entrance caused the chatter in the private dining room to pause for a brief second.

Then, the noise resumed.

Nobody thought I had any right to feel upset.

"Lucas is here!" My aunt spotted me first and waved with a big smile. "Come sit, come sit, we were just waiting on you! Look at your brother, so lucky! Finding such an amazing catch!"

"Seriously! I heard she makes half a million a year as a software engineer. Real ambition right there!"

The relatives chattered away, every single word landing clearly in my ears.

My mom cut through the crowd, grabbed my arm, and dragged me toward the front with a radiant smile.

"Finally! Can't you hurry up even on your brother's big day?"

She yanked me right in front of the main table, directly facing Vivian and Julian.

Vivian looked up at me, her eyes as calm as if she were looking at a complete stranger.

Julian ducked his head shyly, but his fingers visibly tightened around Vivian's hand.

My mom beamed, nudging me forward. "Lucas, aren't you going to congratulate your brother?"

Every pair of eyes in the room locked onto me.

I looked around at all those expectant faces.

The sheer absurdity of it made me want to laugh out loud.

"I actually do have something to say."

I looked straight at Vivian, delivering every word deliberately: "Congratulations on finding a man who's so stable, grounded, and built for domestic life."

Then, I turned to Julian, the corners of my mouth curling into a cold smirk.

"Stealing your brother's girlfriend... feels pretty good, doesn't it?"