Chapter 4

On the third day, I stepped out of the hotel entrance.

"Logan Hayes!"

Jason's roar tore through the lobby courtyard.

Pedestrians stopped in their tracks. Several people immediately pulled out their phones to film the drama.

"Chloe is my girlfriend! You useless, brain-damaged freak, who the hell gave you permission to mess with her?!" Jason's eyes were shot through with broken red capillaries.

"I love Chloe," I replied simply.

Jason's fist crashed hard into my jaw. I didn't dodge. Blood instantly welled at the corner of my mouth.

"Who the hell do you think you're fooling?!" He gripped my lapels and slammed me back against the stone pillar.

"Chloe belongs to me! We've been together for three months! What the hell are you?!" Jason spat.

Losing all control, Jason began raining punches and kicks down on me.

"Stop it!" Chloe screamed, rushing forward to pull him away and steady me.

Suddenly, a commotion stirred in the crowd. My parents pushed a wheelchair through the onlookers. Sitting in it was Angela, her face as pale as a ghost.

Her eyes were swollen and raw from weeping, filled with pure agony and terror.

"Logan... are you okay?" Her voice was barely a fragile rasp.

I deliberately turned my head away, pretending I hadn't heard her.

"You pathetic loser, you threw away your own wife and kid, and now you have the nerve to steal my girl?!" Jason jeered, pointing an accusing finger at me.

Chloe shoved Jason back and clung to my side. "Logan, are you hurt?"

"Chloe, are you insane?! This guy has a wife and a baby!" Jason couldn't believe his own eyes.

I struggled to stand upright, but I made sure my hand stayed locked firmly around Chloe's.

Seeing that, fresh tears spilled over Angela's cheeks. "Logan... please come home. We can raise our baby together. You promised you were going to be the best father in the whole world..."

I stood there, completely unmoved, a cold sneer playing on my lips.

My father, trembling with incandescent rage, whipped out a document and slammed it against my chest.

"Here is the DNA paternity test! That child is your own flesh and blood! How much longer are you going to keep up this disgusting amnesia act?!"

My parents screamed at me, calling me heartless, a monster who abandoned his own newborn. Angela's parents stood beside them, trembling with grief, hurling curses at my betrayal.

I glanced down at the paper on the pavement and scoffed.

"A paternity test? It means nothing to me."

Angela's parents rushed toward me, tears streaming down their weathered faces. "Logan, we treated you like our own son! How could you do this to us?!"

Jason spat violently onto the ground. "You're lower than a dog! You're an absolute piece of garbage!"

My father's face darkened with rage. He took a massive stride forward, raising his right hand high to strike me across the face.

I didn't flinch or pull back. I just looked him dead in the eye, waiting for the blow to land.

Suddenly, Chloe threw herself in front of me, her slender frame standing tall like a shield.

"Don't you dare touch him! He has amnesia! None of this is his fault!" Her voice shrieked so sharply it pierced everyone's ears.

She spun around to glare at Jason, her eyes freezing cold. "Jason, we're over. Don't ever contact me again."

Jason's face drained of color, his lips trembling violently.

"Chloe... are you crazy? Dumping me for this scumbag?!" He pointed at me, bewildered.

Chloe linked her arm possessively through mine and announced to the entire crowd, "I am officially with Logan Hayes. We love each other, and we don't need anyone's permission."

I gave her a gentle nod, letting her support me as we walked away.

Behind us, Angela shook uncontrollably in her wheelchair. "Logan... please don't leave..."

Jason screamed behind our backs, "Logan Hayes, you sick bastard, karma is going to tear you apart!"

I heard horrified gasps ripple through the crowd; Angela's parents had likely collapsed under the sheer weight of the shock.

Chloe squeezed my hand tightly, her eyes ablaze with triumphant light. "We can finally be together forever."

As the sounds of weeping and cursing faded into the distance, a quiet, deadly smirk crossed my lips.

The real show was finally about to begin.