Felix's double standards amused me.

"They're my friends. We all grew up together. It's not that uncommon. Last I checked, my dining here is none of your concern.

"Also, we've already broken up, so I'd appreciate it if you stopped bothering me."

Felix assessed the two men flanking me, both of whom wore bespoke couture suits, handmade leather shoes, and watches that cost well over five figures. Compared to him, the two men were in a completely different league.

Jealousy nearly drove Felix mad. He clenched his jaw and stepped forward angrily. "Your friends, huh? And you saw it fit to dress up for these male friends? You know as well as I do that you're trying to seduce them!"

He reached to grab me, but the two men immediately shielded me. They'd already picked up on the key information from my conversation with Felix. As rivals, this was their chance to prove themselves to me.

"Hey, buddy, it's bad to pick on a lady in public like this," one of them pointed out.

"Talk to her with some respect, or I'll have my bodyguards deal with you!"

Realizing he couldn't get close to me at all, Felix shot me a dark look before he left in disgruntled defeat.

The last person to arrive at dinner was the scion of the Rathbone family. He was two years my junior and had stuck to me like glue when we were children.

He'd left to study abroad after he grew up and had only just returned this year.

He was polite and chivalrous—traits that admittedly checked my boxes.

Once everyone had arrived, we adjourned to the private dining room and caught up over dinner, my unpleasant confrontation with Felix earlier forgotten. We didn't part ways until after 11:00 pm.

I went home to find my apartment in a mess.

My heart leaped to my throat. I entered the living room, where my mother's portrait lay shattered on the ground, evidently having been swept off the credenza. The candles and flowers I'd placed before her portrait in her memory also littered the ground.

Rage flooded me. I didn't have to be a fortune teller to know Felix was behind this.

"Aren't you worried about getting struck by lightning for grossly disrespecting the dead, Felix?" I roared as I slid open the balcony doors, wanting nothing more than to storm up to Felix and rip him apart with my bare hands.

But he simply greeted me with a smug smirk. "You didn't have the same fear when you betrayed me earlier. I thought I saw Mr. Rathbone dining with you and your companions at the restaurant.

"What, do you think my station isn't high enough to satisfy your pride? Is that why you've decided to move on to greener pastures?"

I had no idea what he was rambling on about.

Just as I was about to close the distance between us and beat him up, he raised his arm. In his grip was an ornate urn, and in it were Mom's ashes.

I couldn't bear to let Mom lie six feet underground, cold and alone. I wanted to take her with me wherever I went, like a reminder that she was always by my side.

I'd finally been able to put the urn beside her portrait and light a candle in prayer for her today. I didn't expect Felix to swoop in like a despicable prick and hold her ashes hostage.

He twisted open the lid and reached his arm past the balcony edge.

"No!" I cried, trying to stop him.

But he only tipped the urn forward even more. "You think you're so great, right? Go ahead and do whatever you want, then!"

My heart tightened, and I dared not breathe. I knew what Felix was after. He wanted me to beg him for mercy.

I caved for Mom.

Bowing my head, I said, "I'm sorry. What happened today was my fault."

Felix was unsatisfied. "You call that an apology?"

I gritted my teeth and fell to my knees, like a sinner asking for forgiveness. "I'm sorry."

He slapped me so hard across the face that I ended up falling. I tasted copper as blood trickled out of the corner of my mouth.

Felix grabbed me by my hair, lifting me off the ground and slapping me a few more times. His smile was a cruel, smug thing.

When he'd had his fill of violence, he hurled the urn on the ground. "See, we could have avoided all this if you'd behaved well right from the start."

He raised his foot to stomp on Mom's ashes. I tried to stop him, but he ended up viciously stomping on the backs of my hands instead.

He didn't let up until I'd grown numb from the pain, and he bolted for the bathroom to throw up.

I seized the chance to call my bodyguards. "You have five minutes to get to Redwood Heights and take down Felix!"

I was surprised when the bodyguards showed up with someone else, namely, Rowan Rathbone.

He led them, pushing open the door I'd quietly left ajar, and pinned Felix to the ground the moment he came in.

Perhaps the pain or the post-throw-up sobriety cleared Felix's mind, for he recognized Rowan right away. "Hey, hey! Easy there! I-Is there some misunderstanding between us I don't know about, Mr. Rathbone?

"I just got your transfer memo this morning, but I've never met you before this! Ow!"

Rowan ignored Felix. He was probably annoyed with the latter's rambling, for he twisted Felix's arm even harder, eliciting cries of pain from him.

One of the bodyguards asked me, "Ms. Winslow, what should we do with this guy?"

I glanced at Mom's ashes scattered across the ground. Stepping forward, I delivered a few hard slaps across Felix's face. "Don't go easy on him, but don't kill him, either. I don't care what you do with him otherwise."

The bodyguards accepted my orders and took Felix away.

Felix gaped at me in astonishment. This was the first time he'd seen me give orders, and he was rendered speechless by it.

After he left, I felt my fraying nerves finally calm down. I crouched and then carefully scooped up Mom's ashes.

Rowan stopped beside me and crouched, too. He took my hand, which was cut by the broken pieces of porcelain and bleeding. "I'll take over from here. You should go to the hospital and get your wounds checked out."

I shook my head. "I can't rest easy until my mom is properly put away."

Rowan patted my shoulder. "In that case, go sit on the couch and leave this to me. I'll clean this up."

I wanted to turn down his offer, but he frog-marched me to the couch. "Mrs. Winslow would be upset if your blood got on her ashes."

My nose pricked, and tears nearly rolled down my cheeks.

Mom had always been a gentle soul. She hardly ever argued or picked fights with anyone, but when it came to matters concerning me, she was a different person entirely.

It was no secret that she would confront anyone who picked on me. She'd never go easy on them.

She was the reason I could stand my ground and hold my head high. I wanted to prove to her that I could take care of myself even when she wasn't around.

I wanted her to rest in peace.

"Mrs. Winslow was kind to me when I was younger. I remembered everything she did for me. I couldn't make it back for her funeral, but I guess this is my way of seeing her again and thanking her for looking out for me during my childhood days."

Rowan's warm and pleasant cadence accompanied his careful movements. He scooped up Mom's ashes by the handful, then gently picked out the broken pieces of porcelain.

"She'd always prepare a fruit platter for us whenever I dropped by your house for a playdate. She didn't have other children besides you, but she'd always get me toy cars or action figures as holiday presents."

His words brought childhood memories to the surface of my mind. Back then, I could always run to Mom when I was tired of playing.

I couldn't help smiling at the memory of her smile and voice.

Rowan spent over half an hour cleaning up the mess Felix made. After that, he took me to the hospital.

We were the only two people in the car, and the silence that stretched between us was deafening.

I tried to break the ice. "What were you doing at my place?"

He explained, "I went back to the company to grab some documents and ran into your bodyguards as they left for your place."

Only then did I recall Felix's words, which had left me baffled earlier. "The company? As in, my family's company? Now that I think about it, Felix addressed you as 'Mr. Rathbone' earlier, too.

"When were you appointed as a director in my company? Why wasn't I told about it?"

Rowan nodded. "I was only appointed less than two days ago, just before the transfer memo was sent out to the various departments. I made sure Mr. Winslow wouldn't tell you.

"I already got in through my connection with your dad. I'd be embarrassed if you decided to look out for me as a special favor."

Dad had been doing business abroad for the last two years. He was an opportunist, if nothing else.

The car rolled to a stop outside the hospital entrance.

Rowan led me to the ER department. He checked me in, paid the fees, and kept me company while I did my tests.

He didn't behave like a typical scion accustomed to comfort and privilege.