Laughter erupted around me.
Elijah slowly lowered the phone, his bloodshot eyes brimming with scorn.
His expression said it all. 'See? You always end up begging me.'
My fingers clenched into fists.
I bit down so hard on my lip that I nearly drew blood.
The hatred between Elijah and me had never been one-sided.
He had driven my father to his death. He had tormented my mother to the brink of collapse.
But maybe... he had only done it to avenge his own parents.
Years ago, when my father founded Perez Corporation, the Ross family had held a 30% stake.
But one day, after an argument, my father decided to cut ties and take full control of the company. The Ross' weren’t fools—they refused to let go of such a thriving business.
So my father set them up. He seized their shares through underhanded tactics. And when Elijah’s father fought back, my father had him killed.
His mother spent years trying to seek justice. But when all her efforts failed, she lost her mind and took her own life.
Back then, I was nine years old, celebrating my birthday, while Elijah had been losing his entire family.
Years later, when I was about to graduate from college, my father discovered that my boyfriend was Elijah.
"Break up with him immediately! If you don’t, I’ll send you away!"
"I’m telling you now—you will marry into the Jones family!"
That was the first time I ever fought with my father.
It was also the first time I learned the truth about our families' past.
A huge sense of guilt over whelmed me.
How could I face Elijah, knowing what my father had done?
He had always been so proud, standing tall even in his threadbare shirts.
We had been together for four years. I had witnessed firsthand how hard he fought to carve out a future for himself, how much suffering he had endured.
And yet, the man who had taken everything from him was my father.
The day I decided to end things, I sat in his newly purchased car.
He was excitedly talking about our future—our home, our wedding—until I cut him off with a single sentence.
"We should break up."
The car screeched to a halt.
He yanked the steering wheel too hard, and in an instant, the car tumbled down the mountainside.
A metal shard punctured his chest.
The medical bills were astronomical, and no one was willing to pay.
I begged my father to save him.
He agreed, but only on the condition that I must marry Henry.
And so, I vanished from Elijah’s world.