I stared at Mortimer, my mind drifting back to a time long before him.
Before I ever met him, the man who called himself my father used to string me up from the ceiling beam. He'd sit there eating his dinner, watching me dangle with an amused look on his face.
"You're too stupid to survive out there. I'm doing this to unlock your potential."
"Tough love builds strong kids. Everything I do is for your own good."
I heard those words for so long that I started to believe them.
So even after Mortimer rescued me, I still picked up a little knife like an idiot, trying to use the self-harm that man had taught me to "unlock my potential."
Mortimer rushed over, knocked the knife out of my hand, and said:
"Everything he told you is garbage! Bad people dress up cruelty as kindness all the time, but as long as you listen to your heart, you'll know the difference."
"If your heart hurts, then walk away from that person. Don't listen to a single word they say!"
I lowered my head and pressed my hand gently against my chest.
It hurt so much.
Mortimer, you taught me that yourself.
When my heart hurts, I should walk away.
I wiped my tears, pulled the ring off my trembling finger, and threw it on the floor.
"You've changed!" I screamed, my voice cracking. "I'm leaving. I'm leaving you!"
Mortimer froze for two seconds, then let out a cold laugh.
"Leave? Sure. But where exactly would you go? To prison, to visit your abusive father?"
"Don't be naive, Nora. The moment you walk out that door, you won't even be able to feed yourself."
A phone alarm cut through the argument.
He glanced down at the screen.
"I need to take Maud to her prenatal appointment."
Our eyes met. His were filled with nothing but impatience.
"Nora, I've been good to you all these years. All I'm doing is having a child with someone else. Stop making a scene."
The door slammed shut. The force of it shuddered through my chest, again and again.
He remembered that today he had to take Maud to her appointment. But he forgot that today was also my birthday.
He forgot that ten years ago, on this very day, he'd promised to celebrate every birthday with me for the rest of my life.
Back then, he wasn't the powerful Mr. James who commanded boardrooms.
He was just one of many illegitimate children in the James family.
Because he hadn't gotten a perfect score, his own mother had locked him inside a storage room in the school gym.
He was claustrophobic. In that pitch-black little room, his cries grew more and more agonized.
Neither Mortimer nor his mother knew that there was someone else locked in that room—me, skipping class.
"H-hey, don't cry. I'm right here with you."
He sounded so pitiful that I couldn't help wanting to comfort this stranger, this boy I'd never met.
I even held out the little cake I'd saved up six months to buy.
I just wanted him to stop crying.
After he ate my birthday cake, he wiped his tears and made me a promise:
"Nora, from now on, we're friends. I'll celebrate your birthday with you for the rest of our lives."
After that day, I became his safe harbor when he needed to hide from his harsh mother, and he became my courage to stand up against my abusive father.
Hand in hand, we stumbled our way through growing up together.
Then later, he took control of the James family.
All those refined, brilliant, well-connected women his family lined up for him—he turned down every single one.
No one expected him to marry me.
Everyone said he was just doing it to spite the James family.
Even I couldn't help saying:
"Are you sure about this? I'm... I'm not smart enough..."
He slid the ring steadily onto my finger and smiled, so gently.
"Exactly. You're too foolish. That's why the only way I'll ever feel at ease is if I marry you and keep you right by my side, where you'll never be out of reach."
