The room froze.No one spoke.No one even seemed to breathe.The shattered doorframe stood crooked, splintered wood scattered across the tiled floor like fallen debris from a small explosion. The metal latch, once firmly embedded, now sat twisted in Benjamin’s hand, its screws torn clean from the wood.Benjamin stared at it for a moment.Then he sighed.It was a quiet sound, more weary than dramatic, as though he himself were the most surprised person in the room.“I didn’t mean to do that,” he said calmly, lowering his hand. “I misjudged the force.”The words only made the scene stranger.Elise’s parents were stiff, shock written across their faces. Her mother’s hand hovered near her chest, fingers trembling. Her father had half-risen from his seat, unsure whether to advance or retreat, his expression torn between anger and disbelief.The heavy silence stretched.Benjamin glanced down at the broken handle again, then flexed his fingers slightly. He could still feel the unfamiliar res

“Iris was deceived and vulnerable. She believed Benjamin was helping her. But it was all part of his plan to take her away from me.” Terence Lin said pitifully.His voice was low and restrained, carrying just enough hurt to sound genuine. He stood there with his shoulders slightly slumped, his expression carefully composed, like a man trying to hold himself together after heartbreak.“Oh my God!” Mrs. Harrison whispered urgently. “I knew he was up to no good, but this? This is far beyond what I imagined.”Mr. Harrison could not help but shake his head as he stared at Benjamin with open disgust.Benjamin felt a surge of anger rise in his chest.Shameless.That was the only word that came to mind.He had seen arrogance before. He had seen hypocrisy, entitlement, and arrogance wrapped in fine suits and polished smiles. But Terence Lin’s ability to twist the truth so effortlessly, to present himself as a victim while standing atop layers of privilege, disgusted him.“You’re unbelievable,”

Mr. Harrison nodded. “So answer us honestly.”The room seemed to hold its breath as Mr. Harrison made the statement.“What exactly can you possibly offer our daughter?”The question hung in the air, heavy and unyielding.Benjamin did not answer immediately.For the first time since he had forced his way into the house, his gaze drifted away and settled somewhere indistinct, as if he were looking past the walls, past the neatly arranged furniture, past the comfortable middle-class life they had worked so hard to build. His shoulders, which had been tense for most of the evening, slowly relaxed, not with confidence but with something closer to resignation.However, Elise’s parents mistook his silence for evasion.Mrs. Harrison folded her arms tightly. “You see?” she said, her voice sharp but edged with something tired. “He can’t even answer. That alone says alot.”Benjamin inhaled slowly.He had faced far harsher interrogations before. But compared to those, this should have been easy.

“And?” Iris asked, surprised.“And now he’s taken her out,” Benjamin said quietly. “Some kind of date, I think.”The words sounded distant even to his own ears.Iris’s expression darkened. “That shameless asshole…”For a brief moment, the night around them seemed to fall still as a faint breeze stirred the leaves along the curb, brushing past Benjamin’s coat without warmth.Iris clenched her fists at her sides. Her shock froze into something sharper. She let out a breath through her teeth, her voice low and furious.“That asshole really has no bottom line,” she said. “To show up at her house right after everything that just happened… He’s truly shameless.”Benjamin didn’t respond immediately.He kept his gaze fixed on the far end of the street, where the road curved out of sight. After a pause, Benjamin spoke again, his tone dull, stripped of its earlier urgency.“Maybe… just maybe this isn’t the worst outcome.”Iris turned to him sharply. “What? I don't understand you?”Benjamin’s l

Elise sat down slowly, her heart beating faster than she wanted to admit.The smiles she saw around her did not feel friendly. They felt like people who thought they already understood the ending of the story.“Well, well,” another man said, lifting his glass. “Looks like you’ve got good taste tonight.”The bar was dimly lit, bathed in a haze of colored lights that shifted lazily across the walls. The music thumped low and heavy, vibrating through the floor rather than filling the air. Elise could smell alcohol, smoke, and something vaguely metallic that made her chest tighten. This was nothing like the quiet cafés she usually went to, or the clean restaurants near campus. Everything here felt loud, crowded, and a little too close.She clasped her hands together in her lap, forcing herself to sit upright. Terence Lin sat beside her, relaxed and composed, as if this place were his living room. One arm rested casually on the back of her chair, not touching her, but close enough that she