“John, I’m sorry. We’re done. I’m getting married.”
The summer of 1996 in Pengcheng was hot, unbearably hot. So hot that John Rivers felt like he couldn’t breathe. So hot that his thoughts were a mess.
Today was his first day out of prison. The moment he walked free, he went looking for Selena Frost, his childhood sweetheart. He never expected her to greet him with a breakup.
Three years ago, he had just turned eighteen. He watched, helpless, as his father was hacked to death outside an arcade. He fought back and hurt a few people. The court labeled it a gang fight and gave him four and a half years.
His dad used to say, “This street life leads nowhere good. Most don’t make it out alive.” John never really got it. He used to think the streets were all about brotherhood, girls, and swagger. Until he saw his dad collapse in a pool of blood and turn cold. Then he learned what those words actually meant.
“What are you thinking about, John?”
Selena bit her lip, hesitation in her eyes.
John was handsome, treated her well, and they grew up together. She really did like him. But feelings didn’t put food on the table. He was a man just out of prison. She was headed to a bright future as a university student. They weren’t walking the same road now.
“It’s because he’s rich, isn’t it? Money really means that much to you?”
John grabbed her arm, frustration boiling over.
“John, you’ve never had to fight for money, so you don’t understand how tough life can be or how important money really is. You just got out. You’ll see soon enough why I made this choice.”
Selena glanced at her watch. Her fiancé would be here in about an hour.
“Don’t take it too hard,” she added. “Even if we’re not together anymore, we can still be friends.”
“Friends?” John sank onto the bed, hollow inside. His dad was gone. His mom had taken his little sister abroad years ago and never looked back. Now Selena too was walking away. He had nothing left.
Selena stood there watching him, heart aching. She sighed and slowly stepped closer.
“John… my fiancé won’t be here for another hour.”
She looked at him, realizing he still didn’t get it, so she made it more clear.
“You can do whatever you want… for the next hour.”
John looked up sharply, disbelief flickering in his eyes.
Was this really the same Selena from three years ago? The innocent, radiant girl he used to know?
“John, yes or no? This is the last time. There won’t be another.”
He just sat there, not moving. Selena's lips tightened—she didn’t have time to waste.
John stared at her like he was seeing someone else. Honestly, she was even more stunning now—high cheekbones, flawless skin, a body that turned heads. But she wasn't the girl he once knew.
“Fine!”
He let out a raw shout and lunged toward her.
Three years without a woman—anyone would’ve caved. Let alone a woman like her.It’s hard to say how much time had passed before Selena Frost stepped out of the bathroom, hair damp and hanging loose.
“John Rivers, do you really not care that I’m someone else’s fiancée now?” she snapped, glaring at him while hurriedly putting on her clothes.
“Beep beep!”
Just then, a car honked downstairs. Selena’s face changed.
“My fiancé is here. John, stay here and don’t go out yet. Wait till we’re gone, then leave,” she said quickly, grabbing her bag and heading downstairs.
John lit a cigarette. Smoke curled around him. Selena used to hate it when he smoked. He never did it in front of her before. But now, what did it matter?
He walked to the window and soon saw her with a man.
The guy drove a Toyota Crown—a luxury ride worth fifty, maybe sixty grand. Enough to buy a couple of small apartments back in Pengcheng.
Outside, Selena was clinging sweetly to David Lake’s arm, all smiles like nothing had ever happened.
“Snow, why is your face so red?” David asked as he got in the car, looking a little puzzled.
“I just took a shower. Water was a bit too hot. Let’s go.”
Still smiling, no sign of anything wrong.
David started the engine, and the car rolled out of the complex.
“Money really is something else,” John muttered, watching the car turn the corner. As the Crown disappeared, it felt like a part of his past vanished with it.
He left the building, his steps aimless. Looking up at the sky, he thought, time to go home.
Smoking as he walked, he headed toward what he remembered as home. Three years away, but Pengcheng hadn’t changed that much. Half an hour later, he passed through an alley and stood in front of a small three-story building.
His dad, Victor Rivers, built it. Now, it just felt hollow.
“John!”
A sturdy figure ran over and suddenly gave him a big hug.
“I knew you were getting out today. I went to meet you but couldn’t find you—where’d you go?” the man asked, eyes lit up.
“Callum?” John returned the hug, eyes stinging.
She was gone, but at least his brother was still here.
Callum Hawk—friend since diapers. They grew up together. Callum dropped out before finishing junior high, wasn’t into studying.
He worked in a rough factory for a couple years. When John’s dad opened a gaming arcade, Callum went in to farm points for him. That was up until the whole mess.
For the past three years, Callum was the only one who visited John every month without fail.
“You’re out—that’s all that matters,” Callum said, thumping John on the back while quietly wiping his eyes. “Come on, back to my place. I’ll make you something good.”
“Wait. Let’s go inside. I need to ask you something,” John said, taking a deep breath and walking toward the building.
“John, don’t,” Callum said through clenched teeth, voice low. “That place—Vanessa took it over.”
Vanessa Grace. John’s stepmother.
Back when his birth mother left with his sister, Victor managed to make some money. Every bit of it went into Vanessa, and soon she moved in.
Over the past three years, Vanessa hadn’t visited John even once.
“She doesn’t have any damn right to that house,” John sneered.
“Don’t rush in there,” Callum warned. “I wasn’t going to tell you, but I can’t just let you walk into a trap. While you were inside, I dug up some things…”“I heard Uncle Greg’s death might have something to do with Vanessa.”