Chapter 4Cut Me Free

"Seriously. You must really love money to kiss someone like her," Charlie said.

From his words alone, my mom had already figured out who he was. She knew he was the third wheel who had come between Rachel and me.

She struggled to her feet to defend me, but the movement made the pain flare up, and she fell back onto the couch.

Seeing the pain in my mother's face, I rushed over and slapped him.

A sharp crack filled the room.

"Watch your mouth!" I shouted. "She's my mother!"

Shocked flashed across Charlie's face before it turned into a sneer.

"If you really had such an impressive background, how could I have bullied you that badly back then? All I had to do was apologize, and that was the end of it," he said.

"Zander, just admit it. Without Rachel, you're nothing!" he added.

Rachel never told him the truth about how she had helped him back then. She also kept my family background a secret.

She had no idea that her attempt to protect her first love's pride would be the very reason for his own downfall.

Charlie still had no idea what trouble he had gotten himself into. His shrewd eyes gleamed with smug satisfaction.

"Good thing you knew your place and left, giving Rachel and me the chance to be together," he said. "You're only good enough to scrape by with this old hag."

He laughed out loud.

Suddenly, his expression turned terrified, and he screamed, "What are you doing? Let go of me!"

"Charlie, you've got a death wish!" My eyes were bloodshot as I grabbed him by the back of the collar and dragged him out.

A hand suddenly came between us and pulled Charlie away from me.

"Zander, what the hell is wrong with you now? You seriously never change!" Rachel yelled.

I could accept her taking Charlie's side before. But I didn't expect her to still choose him when my mother's life was at stake.

"Do you even know what your precious lover did? He almost killed my mom!" I shouted at her, trembling with anger.

Only then did she notice my unconscious mother on the couch. She looked farther into the room.

The family doctor had already arrived and was giving her emergency treatment. My father sat slumped beside her, crying quietly as he held her hand.

A trace of guilt flashed across Rachel's shocked expression.

Seizing the opportunity, Charlie once again played the victim. "Ouch! Rachel, it hurts so much. Help me!"

The hesitation in Rachel's eyes vanished instantly.

As she comforted the shaken Charlie in her arms, she yelled at me. "Marika's still alive, isn't she? Did you really have to go this far with Charlie? Look how badly you've scared him!"

I let out a cold, humorless laugh.

That's right. My mother was only on the verge of death, while her precious lover was terrified out of his wits.

That was the moment I finally snapped.

"Rachel, open your damn eyes and see what going too far really looks like!"

I lunged forward, grabbed Charlie by the hair, and slammed his head into the floor.

"That's for running your mouth and being so vicious!" I screamed. "That's for crossing the line again and again. And that's for hurting my family!"

Each impact echoed through the room, and a pool of bright red blood appeared on the gleaming white floor.

Rachel rushed over to pull me away, but she couldn't move me at all.

In the past, to make her feel how much I loved her, I was always a soft and devoted man in front of her. Despite my tall, sturdy build, I was always gentle and obedient around her petite, delicate frame.

She only had to ask, and I would obey without hesitation.

But today, I wasn't going to give in to her anymore.

Rachel glared at me and demanded, "Let him go!"

"In your dreams!" I shot back without backing down.

When she couldn't pull me away, she yanked the metal hairpin from her hair and drove it into the back of my hand.

The sharp tip sank deep into my flesh, and I winced in pain.

But I gritted my teeth and refused to let go.