Chapter 2

The woman in front of me slowly overlapped with the girl in my memories.

The innocence had faded from her, and her presence had grown much steadier.

I looked at her face, feeling a little dazed.

I had been on this island for a full seven years.

“So you destroyed me for the son of that mistress.”

She frowned and instinctively defended him.

“What son of a mistress? Mason suffered so much when he was young.”

“What does what his mom did have to do with him?”

“Ethan, do you know how long Mason would be hurt every time you said that?”

I did not know.

All I knew was that Mason had destroyed my family.

On the surface, he was my adopted brother.

In truth, he was my dad’s illegitimate son.

He was even born in the same month as me.

He could always act like the victim.

He stole money from the house and framed me for it.

He made my dad beat me brutally.

He bribed someone in the exam hall to frame me for cheating.

Afterward, he spread the news.

He made everyone in the entire grade call me “Mr. Zero.”

He teamed up with several people to block me in the bathroom and throw dirty water on me.

They took pictures of me soaked and humiliated, then spread them around the whole school.

Only my childhood friend Serena Hayes protected me.

I transferred schools in senior year just to get away from him.

But now.

He had not only stolen my home.

He had also teamed up with Serena.

Together, they sent me to a deserted island and ruined my entire life.

I lifted my eyes and forced back the wetness in them.

“Why?”

She froze, then gave a soft laugh.

“Back then, when you dragged me along to confront your dad’s mistress, I saw him for the first time and fell for him.”

“After you left, he came to me, and that young man held back his tears while calling my name, and my heart melted completely.”

Her expression was gentle.

“Later, before you transferred schools, he played a few tricks on you, and he came to me for help each time.”

“I couldn’t bear to see him disappointed, so I didn’t refuse.”

It was like being struck by lightning, and my pupils suddenly shrank.

So everything that happened.

She had a hand in all of it.

Serena and I grew up together.

She had always indulged me in everything, giving me the stars if I asked for them and never giving me the moon instead.

I had never considered anyone else.

She was my only choice.

When I was eight, tiny little her saved me from human traffickers and took several blows for me.

When I was fourteen, she hid it from me and broke the bones of every boy who bullied me, then came home injured and too scared to face anyone.

When I was sixteen, she confessed to me for the first time and promised that after graduation, we would get into the same university.

But when she was seventeen, she changed her heart as if it was nothing.

She became his accomplice.

She pushed me into the abyss.

I collapsed to the ground, powerless, enduring the heart-wrenching pain.

She squatted down, her fingertips brushing the corner of my eye.

“You don’t need to worry about anyone if you stay here, because your mom died of illness last year.”

“Your dad married Mason’s mom, he has a very high degree now, his parents dote on him, he has me too, and he is living very happily.”

I stood up in disbelief.

“What did you say? How could my mom be dead? She was so young, how is that possible?!”

Her expression did not change, but her voice was a little hoarse.

“Your mom was good to me, Ethan, but I had no choice either.”

“She died of cancer.”

When she saw me standing there blankly, she came over and gently wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Ethan, you’re my childhood sweetheart, and there’s a place for you in my heart.”

“We have a child now too, so be good, okay?”

Her voice carried a hint of coaxing.

“If you behave, I’ll come back to see you often.”

“Tomorrow is Mason’s and my wedding anniversary, and he has been pestering me for a long time because he wants a romantic trip at sea, just the two of us.”

“Everyone on the island works for the Hayes family, and they’ll help me take care of you.”

I stood there like a block of wood and gave her no response.

My mother’s gentle smile appeared before my eyes.

She had been graceful her whole life, and when she found out her husband had cheated.

She still did not take it out on Mason.

How could she possibly have died of cancer?

Did Aunt Alexandra know?

Thinking of that woman, I closed my eyes.

A gust of wind swept outside the window, and a few withered leaves fell from the tree by the door.

I silently clenched my fists.

She would never sit by and watch my mother be bullied.