Chapter 3

"Do you believe what my mom said?" I asked Adrian as we walked.

Adrian gently stroked my hair and shook his head.

"No. But now I finally understand why you were so hesitant to bring me home."

I bit my lip and held his arm tighter.

Adrian and I had been classmates in both high school and college. We had been together since college, so we knew everything about each other.

I asked him that question not just to hear his reassurance, but to see how he felt about my mother.

Thankfully, Adrian didn't disappoint me.

"Once we're married, we'll move out and live our own life," Adrian said, his eyes filled with warmth and reassurance.

His gentle nature was what I loved most about him.

I nodded and hugged him tightly.

With his promise, I began to look forward to our future.

But when I got home and saw my mother crying in my dad's arms, I sighed.

Tonight was going to be a nightmare.

"So you finally decided to come home! Apologize to your mother right now!"

Hearing my dad's roar, Vanessa glanced at me, then sobbed even more pitifully.

Normally, I would have just apologized to keep the peace. But not tonight.

"I didn't do anything wrong."

My defiance only made my dad angrier.

"Nothing wrong?! Do you have any idea how much you hurt your mother's feelings with your attitude? Are you even human?!"

"Richard, honey, don't," Vanessa whimpered. "Girls grow up and leave. Chloe is a big girl now. She cares more about an outsider than her own mother. I'm just not important to her anymore."

The sadness in her voice pushed my dad over the edge. He pointed a finger at my face and screamed,

"Are you really this desperate for a man? Throwing yourself at a guy at such a young age. Let's see what happens to you. No decent family would ever want a piece of damaged goods like you!"