Chapter 3

Caleb left home, fending for himself.

My father, unwilling to offend the Blackwood family, also kicked me out.

My bank cards were frozen, and they used their connections to block all my job opportunities.

From then on, we lived hand-to-mouth.

Forced to rent a gloomy, suffocating basement apartment.

Even so, we were thrown out countless times.

The once dashing Caleb became disheveled, leaving early and returning late every day to find work.

I knew he wanted to give me a better life.

But I also knew that as long as we stayed in this city, we wouldn't have peace.

I started drawing comics day and night.

Finally, a publisher agreed to buy them for a ridiculously low price.

The first thing I did after getting paid was to treat Caleb to a proper meal.

Seeing the long-unseen restaurant environment,

Caleb froze for a long time, his eyes welling up.

I thought, he must be at his breaking point, right?

"Caleb, don't cry. If you want to go back..." I wouldn't blame you either.

I had been greedy for your warmth for too long.

But I never finished my sentence.

Because I'm selfish, too. I love him, and I truly didn't want to leave him.

That night, after we returned,

Caleb, to 'punish' my "lack of trust,"

took his frustration out on me.

Until I was utterly exhausted, barely conscious, he finally stopped.

Caleb held me, warning me softly against my ear.

"Jade, if you ever try to push me away again, this is what you'll get."

I looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

My tone was a mix of teasing and resignation.

"Then I'll try to push you away every day."

Something in Caleb's eyes completely erupted.

That night became an endless one.

The next day, when I woke up, Caleb was gone.

He came back especially late that day, covered in bruises.

I cried as I tended to his wounds.

And he, with trembling hands, fumbled inside his chest for a long time.

He then pressed a wad of cash into my hand.

Caleb had been in underground fights.