His expression shifted instantly.
"Sure. I'm on my way."
He thought I hadn't heard. Covering the phone, he turned to me with a perfectly straight face.
"Pearl, remember that new project I mentioned? I'm going to meet with them now. If it works out, we might finally get back on our feet."
I stared into his eyes.
When he'd proposed to me, those same eyes had been filled with nothing but sincerity.
Now they looked just as sincere.
But the lies rolled off his tongue without so much as a blink.
My unbroken gaze made him uneasy. He nearly tripped over his own act.
"Pearl... is something wrong?"
"Go ahead."
"If you can turn things around, we won't have to worry about those debt collectors anymore."
Those debt collectors—every single one of them had been sent by Austin himself.
They'd cornered me in dead-end alleys.
Stripped the house of anything worth selling.
Most weeks I ate once every three days. When the hunger became unbearable, I'd drink tap water just to fill my stomach.
I thought about last night—waking up in tears, asking Austin:
"Where are my parents?"
When his company collapsed, I'd tried to reach them for help.
But they'd vanished. No answer, no trace.
Austin told me they'd been caught in a landslide on their way back.
Both of them. Gone.
They told me they never found the bodies. For three years, I searched—only to discover two days ago that my parents never died at all.
Austin had tricked them into leaving the country.
Three whole years.
He'd been using my phone to send them messages, assuring them I was fine. They had no idea what kind of life I was actually living.
"Austin."
I looked him in the eyes, deciding to give him one last chance.
"Is there anything you've been hiding from me?"
He blinked, then reached over to ruffle my hair.
"Silly girl. Why would I ever hide anything from you?"
I lowered my gaze, letting the light fade from my eyes.
"Good."
After a long pause, I said, "I miss my parents."
"First thing tomorrow, I'll take you to visit their graves."
I asked about their estate—surely they'd left me something?
But Austin's answer came out halting, evasive.
"Everything happened so suddenly. Before I could sort out the inheritance, my enemies framed me and I ended up in prison."
"Now I finally have time to investigate what really happened back then."
His gaze flickered as he took my hand.
"Pearl, maybe your parents aren't really dead. Maybe there's still hope."
Ha.