Chapter 3

Rosie meticulously monitored this, examining it thoroughly each day.

However, a package of men's undergarments was absent from the cupboard.

Suddenly, I recalled Marco's social media update from two days prior.

His post featured a box of underwear from this particular brand.

I became enraged instantly, losing my composure.

Had Louisa taken my underwear and presented it to her colleague?

Despite my reluctance to accept it, I was now consumed by jealousy to the point of irrationality.

We had been together for nearly a decade, and this was the first instance I'd been so upset over another man.

I felt an urge to confront that woman immediately.

Was she aware of the implications of gifting underwear to a man?

As I attempted to regain my composure before heading downstairs, she entered, her slippers making a soft slapping sound.

"Lionel, Marco has returned the vehicle to the dealership, but I need to go finalize the paperwork."

"You'll have to prepare your own dinner."

Already upset, these words only intensified my anger.

"Can't this wait until tomorrow? Why the rush to leave so late?" I inquired irritably.

Louisa looked surprised and furrowed her brow.

"I thought you disliked this car? I'm canceling it early for your benefit too."

My expression and heart grew cold.

"You acquired the car without my approval. I simply wanted to reclaim what was rightfully mine."

"It's too late now. It's unsafe to go out. You should wait until morning."

She inhaled deeply and said, her eyes conveying disapproval, "You publicly took back the gift I gave him and now you're making him waste time at the dealership."

"Lionel, you need to consider others, not just yourself."

"Your behavior seems odd to me."

My intense anger suddenly subsided, replaced by a profound sense of coldness and disappointment.

I suddenly felt foolish.

"Am I only thinking of myself?"

"Am I the one acting strangely?"

"Louisa, do you realize what you're saying right now?"

She appeared somewhat impatient, but still tried to explain patiently.

"My words were harsh, but you should understand that Marco is the most capable person in the company to assist me. You embarrassed him publicly today, and I can't abandon him now."

Noticing my silence, she sighed.

"You come from a prestigious background, Lionel, unlike ordinary people like myself."

"If I want a future with you, I need to become stronger. Of course, you could childishly ask me not to go today, but I don't want to let down my colleagues who work alongside me."

My mind exploded with realization.

All this time, she had felt we were mismatched.

Marco was the partner she saw as her equal.

I understood now.

Feeling a chill in my heart, I blurted out, "Go ahead then."

Seeing my acquiescence, she left without hesitation.

Leaving behind only the fading scent of gardenia in the air.

In the past, I admired her rational and level-headed nature most.

She claimed to love my inherent arrogance and defiance the most.

Now everything had changed.

I averted my gaze from the door and exhaled deeply.

There was no point in keeping a woman whose heart had left me.

I retrieved my phone and called my father, who was far away in Brimstone.

"I'll go on that blind date with the Scott's eldest daughter."

Five years ago, after completing university, my father requested I return to Brimstone to take over the family enterprise.

However, unwilling to leave Louisa, I remained in Araya.

Over the past five years, I had transformed from an inexperienced heir to a self-made entrepreneur.

Whatever Louisa wanted to pursue, I supported her.