Once I arrived home, I retrieved my suitcase and promptly booked a flight for two days later.
Caesar maintained his silence, expecting me to swallow my pride and make the first move. This tactic had been his game for eight long years.
As I set my keys down at the front desk, Caesar’s mother swept in like a whirlwind.
I opened my mouth to say hello, but she slapped me hard across the face before I could speak.
“Zelia, our family has nurtured an ungrateful snake! After eating and drinking at our table for over a decade, how could you turn on us? How heartless!”
I pressed my burning cheek, stunned, but the words caught in my throat.
She became increasingly aggressive, yanking my hair and delivering sharp slaps with a voice dripping with fury. “My son is perfect, looks, family status, everything. And you still turn him down?”
“You can leave if you want, but you’ll have to pay back every penny we’ve spent raising you!”
I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Over the years, the amount Caesar’s family had spent on me seemed almost a joke.