In Kendrick's memory, there were few things that could make him lose control.
When he was a child, he won an award for a Father's Day hand-drawn newspaper and brought it home to show his mom.
His mom smiled and put it away, taking his hand. "Let's go, we'll show it to your dad."
Kendrick found his father at a strange aunt's house.
He faced the flustered aunt and the shocked, angry father.
His mom gently stroked his head and said, "Give it to your dad, he's such a good dad."
He was scared and wanted to back away.
But his mother forcefully grabbed his neck, not letting him retreat a single step.
"What's wrong with you?"
His father came up, trying to pull his mom away.
His mom laughed and cried, suddenly rushing toward the woman in the room. "Why? Why is it always you crying while I look like a madwoman with no dignity, causing a scene? What are you crying for? Everything's yours, and I have nothing."
In the struggle, Kendrick's drawing was torn to pieces.
He stood still, watching the torn paper float down to the floor like snowflakes.
The argument in the room woke up the little child in the bedroom.
He cried and pushed open the door to find his mom.
His father quickly comforted him, fearing he might get hurt.
So, his father could also hold his child so gently.
Later, Kendrick found out that the child's name was Skylar.
Skylar said that Kendrick had taken everything that should have belonged to him.
But what did he have?
When his mother was in the late stages of lung cancer, he took care of her day and night.
Meanwhile, the father, who had never been around, was paving the way for Skylar in the family business.
His father gradually edged him out of the Fletcher family business.
Before his mother passed away, she tightly grasped Kendrick's hand.
He thought she had something important to say.
Fearing she might be in pain, he held her in his arms and leaned in close.
She said, "You have the same face as your father... it really disgusts me."
At the funeral, many unfamiliar relatives showed up.
On the surface, they comforted him, but behind his back, they gossiped.
"The mourning period isn't over, and they're already holding a wedding. They really couldn't wait."
"They've already chosen the heir. He has no chance."
It was too noisy.
Kendrick blankly stared at the tall green trees in the distance.
Winter arrived too quickly, and he had lost everything.
It was at that time that the Walters family extended a hand to him.
A desperate gamble.
A high-risk bet that no one believed in.
He didn't know why the Walters family chose him.
All he knew was that his mother had been bound by such a marriage all her life.
A marriage, tied together by interests, had turned a gentle woman into a madwoman.
Unable to escape until the very end.
Now, he too had to use the same method to bind another woman.
Another woman who was as helpless in the game as he had been.
He hated this version of himself.
Reason told him that he should have pushed her away from the very beginning.
Someone like him didn't deserve it.
There was no hope for this marriage.
It was just a business deal.
A mutual understanding to achieve purely business interests. If they kept things neutral, no one would get hurt.
If he were clear-headed, this was how it should be.
But instead—
"Would you like to try?" His voice was hoarse. "How do you want to try?"
I froze.
I hadn't expected him to actually agree.
After all, he was Kendrick, the one with his head on straight.
"Can you handle the consequences of 'trying'?" His eyes burned with intensity. "What I want is more than just one reckless moment."
My heart skipped a beat.
What did he mean?
"Will you break up with him?"
I looked up at him. "Do you even know what you're saying?"
"I do," he said, his voice stiff, as though he had let go of all his pride and dignity. "As long as you and he—"
"No."
He looked shocked, his face full of surprise as if awaiting a painful execution. "What?"
"No."
The pleasure of tormenting him overwhelmed my senses in that moment.
I didn't even consider what might happen if he regained his memories afterward. In this instant, I just wanted him to lose control. "I can't bear to leave my husband."
The air became thick and silent.
For a long time.
"I'm really crazy," he laughed bitterly, "It's over between us."
Then, he turned and left.
