Soon after, Charlie began to sob quietly again.
The silence between Easton and the others was broken, and they had no choice but to console
her first.
“Don’t worry,” Easton said, his was tone firm, “the Sinclair family couldn’t possibly be moving abroad. That must be Debbie’s excuse. We’ll call her right now and make her come here to apologize to you.”
“Yes, exactly,” Connor quickly added. “Charlie, what are you so afraid of? The four of us are here Even if the Sinclair family really can’t return, we can still arrange a comfortable job for you
Mom.”
At that, Charlie’s tears finally eased, and a faint smile curved her lips.
‘Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you?” she whispered, her voice trembling with /ulnerability. “my mother and I don’t even know where we’ll live now. Maybe this is just… fate.”
She sighed mournfully, as though crushed beneath a weight she could not bear.
The four young men exchanged glances, their faces full of pity, and took turns offering comfort Before long, each of them invited Charlie to stay at their home.
n the end, it was Easton who won the chance to “save the damsel in distress.”
(et, strangely, he did not feel pleased.
The news of Debbie’s family moving abroad consumed his mind. His subconscious and nstincts screamed at him to seek her out, as though if he delayed even a little longer, it woul
be too late.
He shook his head, unwilling to dwell on where that sudden urgency came from.
When Charlie’s tearful eyes sought his help again, he forced himself to focus entirely on her.
It’s fine,‘ he told himself. ‘Debbie will always be waiting in the background. Whatever needs to b done, we could do it later.‘
With that thought, Easton and the others easily pushed everything else aside.
After settling Charlie and her Mom in a temporary place, the four of them reunited at their usual private spot.
They exchanged silent looks across the table. A heavy stillness hung in the air.
At last, Kenji couldn’t stand it anymore. He let out a derisive laugh, his words sharp as knives.
“You don’t actually believe Debbie’s going abroad, do you? The Sinclair family’s businesses haven’t made a single move. And as for Debbie herself–how could she ever escape us?”
He leaned back, voice dripping with disdain. “Her personality–you know it better than anyone. She’s been spoiled by all of us for years. A girl like that couldn’t possibly break away. That’s just impossible.”
He smirked coldly. “Her husband will come from one of us, that much is certain. The only question is–which of us will be unlucky enough to get stuck with her?”
Silence swallowed the room again.
3:24 pm
Then, after a long pause, Hayden slowly pulled something from his pocket. It was a necklace, the same one he had once given Debbie as an engagement token.
“She already returned all of them,” he said hoarsely. “Every single engagement gift. You all know what that means. Even if she was just being willful… her parents wouldn’t allow her to return everything unless they truly meant it.”
His eyes stayed fixed on the necklace in his palm, his expression hollow.
Back then, he and his grandmother had carefully chosen it together. Even knowing she migh never pick him, he had poured all of his hope into that gift–into her.
So how did things end up like this?
As the thought of his recent cruelty toward Debbie surfaced, Hayden’s expression shifted int something dazed and uncertain, as though he no longer recognized the person he had become.
