“Sorry, that room was reserved for Mr. Raye. He’s our boss’s partner.”

Cassian turned around, his eyes full of contempt.

“Landon, I thought falling off that cliff might have taught you something. Isla never cared about you; she won’t even touch you. Even if you came all the way here, she still wouldn’t look at you.”

I didn’t look at him. Calmly, I put on the king’s mask and said, “Tonight, everyone’s drinks are on me. Put a sign at the door, This man and dogs are not allowed inside.”

The waiter understood what I meant and was about to call security to remove him.

Just then, Isla suddenly walked in.

“Isla, this place is bullying customers! I came first, but they refused to give me the private room. And your so-called partner just called me a dog and wants to throw me out!”

“How much did he invest?” Isla asked coldly without even glancing my way.

“Five hundred thousand…”

Ten minutes later, Isla’s assistant came in carrying two boxes filled with cash. She reached out and threw the stacks of money at my head, one after another.

“Here’s one million. Take it and get lost. Is that enough?”

People nearby turned to watch. The waiter, unable to bear it, whispered, “President Monroe, he’s not just a partner, he’s your husband…”

“So that’s why he’s acting so bold? He actually knows Landon?”

I was wearing a mask, and Isla clearly didn’t recognize me.

“I’m telling you, whatever Cassian wants, he’ll get. Even if this man were Landon’s father, he still better get out of here.”

I turned to leave, but Isla wasn’t done humiliating me. She said lazily, “Did I say you could go? Is this how you do business? One million isn’t enough to make up for what happened to Cassian? Then get on your knees and bark twice like a dog, and I’ll let you go.”

I clenched my fists, holding back my anger. The waiter froze, shocked at what he was seeing. He reached out to take off my mask.

“President Monroe, you can’t do this. He’s really your….”

Cassian suddenly wrapped his arm around Isla’s and gave me a disgusted look.

“Forget it, Isla. Is he even worth a million? Let’s go eat. Only a lonely, unwanted man would come to a place like this at night. I wouldn’t sit in that private room even if it were free.”

Isla’s face softened a little.

“Alright, whatever you say.”

“Tell your boss to throw him out. Monroe Group will cover the breach fee. Otherwise, this bar won’t stay open much longer.”

She gave the order and walked away without looking back.

I watched as she and Cassian walked off, their hands held tightly together, their heads close. My heart turned completely cold.

The bar owner came rushing over to the private room after hearing what happened. He was an old friend and furious, cursing Isla for acting like that. He couldn’t understand why I didn’t just take off the mask and make them lose face.

“Would it make any difference if I did?” I said quietly.

He was silent for a long time before letting out a sigh.

“A woman who doesn’t even want you to touch her… I really don’t understand why you married her.”

I swirled the wine in my glass quietly. The color reminded me of the blood Isla had shed for me when she was a child.

After her parents went bankrupt, they were forced to take their own lives.

The old butler, greedy for money, sold her off like a toy.

At that time, I was only a servant in a wealthy household. To keep my throat from being destroyed by poison, I pretended to be mute and used sign language to communicate.

Isla had stabbed the rich man and was beaten again and again, left hungry and weak. I couldn’t bear to see such a young girl die like that, so every day, I shared part of my food with her.

She was the only one who knew I could talk.

One night, while everyone was asleep, I secretly helped her escape. But we were caught, and the rich man tried to beat me to death right there. Isla threw herself over me, taking the blows meant for me, and her blood dripped down onto my face.

That was the first time I felt someone saw me as a real person.

Later, her aunt came with people to rescue her, and the rich man’s place was raided by the police. But we never got the chance to say goodbye.

Still, I never forgot what she whispered to me through the pain that night. “We have to live. Grow up. Wait for me to marry you.”

I could barely remember how I survived all those years, fighting my way through hardship until I finally saw her again, just as Isla had long forgotten the silent boy from back then.

The day I came back after getting my visa, a group of strangers kidnapped me and took me to the rooftop of an old building on the edge of the city.

Cassian’s hands were tied, his body hanging dangerously over the edge, yet he still laughed.

“The main characters are here. The show can start.”

A rush of footsteps came, and Isla appeared with her people.

“What are you doing?!” she yelled.

“Isla! Mr. Raye hates you for not saving him that day because of me; he’s trying to kill me! Please, save me!” Cassian cried out.

It was the first time I saw pure anger in Isla’s eyes, aimed at me.

She ordered her bodyguards to take down the kidnappers, then ran straight to Cassian and pulled him up.

She held him tightly, her face pale with fear, like someone who had almost lost the most important person in the world.

“Thank goodness you’re safe. I won’t let you be in danger again.”

Just like before. So when she coldly walked past me, I grabbed her hand without thinking.

“Isla, it wasn’t me.”

Her face instantly lost all color. She forced back the nausea rising in her throat and yanked her hand away from mine.

The slap came without warning, hitting hard across my face.

“Get away from me! Don’t touch me! You make me sick!”

“Cassian would never lie to me. She’s the kindest person in the world.”

Blood ran down the corner of my mouth, and at that moment, I didn’t feel like explaining anything anymore.

“Landon, everyone has to face the results of their own actions, and you’re no different.”

“Break his arms. Beat him until he learns his lesson, so he’ll never dare touch Cassian again.”

The bodyguards pinned me down, and the iron rods came down on my arms again and again.

The cracking sound of bones filled the air, cold and cruel. The pain was so intense that everything around me started to fade.

Through the dizziness, it felt like I had gone back to that night long ago when Isla took the beating for me.

As the pain blurred my sight, I quietly hummed the little lullaby I had made up back then.

That night, she had passed out from the pain, and I had been terrified, scared she would never wake again, yet unable to do anything to help her.

I stayed by her side, softly humming to her, hoping to ease even a bit of her pain.

Isla froze for a moment. She hesitated. “This tune... sounds familiar...”

She took a small step closer, wanting to listen more carefully, but Cassian held onto her arm.

“Isla, my arm hurts.”

Her face turned cold again. She took off her coat and wrapped it around him.

“Landon, this is the last time.”

When the final strike landed, I thought to myself, Isla, I don’t owe you anything anymore.

The bar owner rushed over and carried me to the hospital. Afraid I’d be alone, he came with me on a flight abroad a few days later.

……

In her office, Isla couldn’t stop thinking about the gossip she had overheard from her employees.

“Did you hear? President Monroe’s husband tried to kill Mr. Reed out of jealousy. That’s just awful!”

“No wonder President Monroe won’t touch him. I heard that allergy thing was fake; she just can’t stand Landon. Married five years and still a virgin…”

Her feelings were mixed. So this was how everyone secretly saw Landon.

She knew her supposed allergy came from the trauma of her childhood, but things couldn’t stay like this forever.

It had already been several days since Landon had last contacted her, which had never happened before.

Maybe she should have a child with him, properly, to silence all the gossip.

For the first time, she reached out to Kelvin, someone who had also been held by the rich man in the past but had managed to rebuild his life.

When Kelvin heard that she had found the boy she once cared for as a child, he congratulated her over and over and asked to see a picture of the “little mute.”

Isla sent him a photo of herself with Cassian. Half a minute later, a message came back. [Isla, I think you’ve got the wrong person.]

[That boy is definitely not the little mute.]