Zion Harding's voice came out low and gruff.
"Leave the stuff by the door. Go eat in the side room. Don't be an eyesore here."
He spoke like he was chasing off a stray dog.
Nolan didn't move. He just looked at me, waiting for my reaction.
Emma suddenly let out an exaggerated "Oh!" and stood up, a glass of red wine in her hand. She swayed toward Nolan with deliberate unsteadiness.
"Brother-in-law, you made it! I'm so happy—let me toast you!"
Before she'd even finished, her hand tilted. The entire glass of red wine splashed across Nolan's light gray shirt without missing a drop.
The dark stain spread fast, ugly and impossible to ignore.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Brother-in-law, I didn't mean it!"
Her mouth was apologizing. Her face was smug.
Nathaniel chimed in. "Emma, you're way too careless. That shirt doesn't look cheap—gotta be a few hundred bucks, right? That stain's not coming out."
Joanna pulled Emma's hand, her expression pained. "You clumsy girl. Forget it—it's just some cheap thing. I'll have Eva buy him another one later."
She turned to me.
"What are you standing there for? Take him to clean up. Don't embarrass us and ruin everyone's mood."
I stood up and ignored their little performance.
I walked over to Nolan and pulled out a tissue, dabbing at the stain on his chest.
He caught my hand and shook his head.
I looked up and met his eyes.
He knew everything.
"Mom, we're leaving."
I took Nolan's hand and turned toward the door.
"Stop right there!" Joanna's shriek came from behind. "Did I say you could leave? It's your sister's engagement party—where do you think you're going? You're the bridesmaid!"
I didn't look back.
Back at my small apartment, Nolan took off the ruined shirt.
His torso was covered in old scars. The deepest one ran from his left shoulder all the way down to his lower back.
He'd already had that wound when I first found him.
A year ago, on a rainy night, Emma had stolen a spot in a design competition I'd spent six months preparing for. I was furious. I drove out to the suburbs to clear my head.
My car broke down on a winding mountain road. Rain poured down in sheets.
That was when I found Nolan collapsed by the roadside.
He was covered in blood, unconscious. I thought he was going to die.
I dragged him into the car and drove to the nearest private clinic.
The doctor said if I'd been half an hour later, nothing could have saved him.
After he woke up, he refused to explain anything. Wouldn't say who he was or why he'd been so badly injured.
There was nothing on him to prove his identity—just a black metal tag engraved with a single character: Chen.
I took care of him for a month.
That month was the calmest of my life.
No parental favoritism. No scheming from Emma.
Just a quiet, taciturn man who needed me.
After his injuries healed, he asked me, "Why did you save me?"
"I was in a bad mood that day. Figured I'd do a good deed and build up some karma."
He was silent for a long time.
"I'll repay you."
After that, he became my boyfriend.
I thought he was homeless, an orphan. He never denied it.
I used my own savings to rent him a place, bought him clothes, and took him to every roadside food stall I loved.
He never asked me for anything. He just quietly stayed by my side.
When my family made things difficult for me, he was always there.
When I stayed up late working on design drafts, he'd silently hand me a cup of hot milk.
Today at home, he'd done the same.
