They were completely honest, opening their hearts to each other.

She had cried uncontrollably by the sea, her tears like pearls striking his heart.

"I didn’t betray you. It was your parents who made me marry him. They said it was the only way to make you give up on me completely. I shouldn’t have looked for you... Just leave me to my fate."

When Chase Lockwood heard this, he was filled with rage, but he felt even more heartache for her.

He hugged her tightly, unwilling to let go in the slightest.

He had been with many women, but none left as deep an impression as the first.

Vivian Lynch was his first!

Vivian Lynch wasn’t divorced, and he still had Mia Kane. The two of them couldn’t be together openly.

But he went abroad more and more often. His parents were both dead, his grandmother was in poor health, and Mia Kane had no idea.

No one could stop him from rushing to be with the one he loved!

Later, his grandmother rebuked him several times, saying he was bewitched. But he always thought his grandmother was just prejudiced against Vivian Lynch, believing she wasn’t good enough for him because the Lynch Family had fallen from grace and Uncle and Aunt Lynch were gone.

She also disliked that Vivian was a married woman, a fact that would surely attract gossip and judgment.

But he didn’t care. All he wanted was Vivian Lynch.

Every disparaging word his grandmother said about Vivian Lynch only made him feel more protective of her, and he showered her with even more love.

He felt that nothing could shake his feelings for Vivian Lynch.

But for some reason, today he suddenly discovered that the high, sturdy walls around his heart seemed to have developed a crack.

"You and Chase... can you really... really not go back to how things were?"

His grandmother knew the answer but asked anyway.

She knew Chase Lockwood didn’t deserve Mia Kane. She also knew Mia couldn’t tolerate the slightest deceit, but she still asked...

The Lockwood Family had no one left. She had three sons and a daughter, and her daughter was her most treasured child.

She had many grandchildren, but this maternal grandson was her favorite.

After his parents passed away, she knew her health was poor and that she should have gone abroad with her youngest son to live out her golden years.

But she couldn’t rest easy about Chase Lockwood, so she insisted on staying in Argent.

She was old; she would be gone sooner or later.

She could no longer be there for Chase Lockwood through thick and thin, but Mia Kane was still young...

Outside the door, Chase Lockwood’s heart leaped into his throat for some reason. He didn’t know what he was hoping for.

"Grandma, you know me. Cheat on me once, and I’m gone forever. Not to mention, he did it more than once. For the three years we were together, he was thinking about Vivian Lynch. Traces of her were always there. I was just stupid and gullible, completely kept in the dark."

"Grandma, he was the one who abandoned me. I almost died, and I lost my innocence. And him? He was celebrating Vivian Lynch’s birthday!"

"How could I ever take back a heartless man like that? Honestly, if it weren’t for you, Grandma, just looking at him now makes me sick to my stomach. I wish I had never met him."

"And Vivian Lynch... Those two, I don’t want to see either of them for the rest of my life."

Mia Kane’s words plunged him into an abyss.

’Does she hate me this much? Is there not a single shred of affection left?’

’That was three years... three whole years!’

’In those three years, I never mistreated her. How did things end up like this?’

Grandma sighed. She also felt she had gone too far, forcing Mia Kane to agree. Wasn’t this just twisting the knife?

"Child, then you must remember your promise to me. If Chase comes to his senses and realizes all of Vivian Lynch’s wicked deeds, if he needs you, you must help him get through it, okay?"

Mia Kane nodded. This was something she had promised long ago.

In truth, she already wanted to go back on her word. In the time Grandma had been away, Chase Lockwood and Vivian Lynch had done many more outrageous things.

They had used a miscarriage to almost get her thrown in prison for life.

But she had already promised the old woman. She didn’t want to go back on her word and break Grandma’s heart.

Grandma had already been through enough excitement for one day. She couldn’t be stressed any further.

"Grandma, the doctor said you need to rest quietly. Don’t worry about other things for now. I’ll come see you again in a couple of days."

Grandma nodded.

"Go to sleep now. I’ll stay with you." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Grandma was tired, too, and quickly drifted off to sleep.

After seeing she was sound asleep, Mia Kane tiptoed out of the room.

She didn’t expect to find the person she loathed, Chase Lockwood, standing outside the door.

She thought he had just arrived.

"Grandma’s asleep. You should wait until she’s awake to come back. Don’t wake her."

Chase Lockwood didn’t speak, his gaze on her complicated.

He thought Mia Kane would have something else to say to him.

But to his surprise, after saying that one sentence, she left without a backward glance, striding away quickly.

He instinctively chased after her, only to see her hurrying downstairs where Adrian Preston was already waiting for her.

Seeing the exhaustion on her face, Adrian Preston’s heart ached for her.

He took off his own jacket and draped it over her shoulders. "It’s gotten windy outside. Don’t catch a cold."

Mia Kane didn’t refuse his kindness. She nodded, and after they said their goodbyes to the youngest uncle, they prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, a shameless Chase Lockwood followed them.

"Adrian Preston, all this fooling around with your ex-wife... does your fiancée know about it?"

Chase Lockwood’s hostility was obvious.

Mia Kane frowned. ’What on earth is Chase Lockwood trying to do? Why bring that up out of the blue?’

Adrian Preston turned and looked at him coolly. "This is my private business. I’d thank you not to concern yourself with it."

But Chase Lockwood wouldn’t give up. He stepped forward and grabbed Mia Kane’s hand.

"Don’t you despise being the other woman more than anything? You know Adrian Preston and Charlotte are engaged, so why are you still so ambiguously involved with him?"

Chase Lockwood’s tone was surprisingly accusatory.

Mia Kane struggled to pull her hand back and stared at him coldly.

"If I recall, my exact words were, even if I really did become the other woman, I could be the other woman for anyone—except you!"

"So, as long as it’s not you, I’m willing to break my principles and be the other woman."

"It’s because of me... Because of me, you broke your principles. It’s all because of me..."

Chase Lockwood muttered to himself, seeming to fall into a daze.

Mia Kane thought he was genuinely sick in the head. ’All he wants is validation—for me to be a mess without him, to be desperate, to always have a place for him in my heart.’

’Only then would Chase Lockwood be satisfied.’

Hah.

"No. It’s because I like Adrian Preston. I’m happy to be his other woman. It has absolutely nothing to do with you. Got it?"

After speaking, she even stood on her tiptoes and kissed Adrian Preston on the cheek as proof.

"You... you..."

Chase Lockwood’s face turned shades of green and white, a ghastly sight. He was so angry he couldn’t form a complete sentence.

Mia Kane found him both laughable and pathetic.

She linked her arm with Adrian Preston’s, her voice cloyingly sweet and intimate. "Darling, let’s go."

"Alright."

Adrian Preston seized the opportunity to wrap his arm around her waist. He tightened his grip slightly, and she bumped against his chest. They were pressed tightly together.

She instinctively struggled, but Adrian Preston leaned in and murmured against her ear.

"If you’re going to put on a show, do it right. Don’t look back. He’s watching."

Hearing this, Mia Kane straightened her back.

’In front of Chase Lockwood, I’d rather die than admit defeat!’