Chapter 2

Luke was a boy I found outside the orphanage.

At that time, he was crying, eating food discarded by others in a trash can.

He was small and filthy, resembling a stray dog.

Nearby, some children were throwing stones at him, taunting, "Are you a dog? Bark for us, and we’ll give you something to eat."

They laughed, heedlessly humiliating the homeless Luke.

It was I who drove those children away, took Luke by the hand, and led him into the Sunrise Orphanage.

"Thank you. What's your name?" he asked.

"My name is Theresa. And you?"

"I am Luke."

Luke became like my little follower, as if a stray pup who had finally found a master.

He always lingered around me.

There weren’t many children at the orphanage. Naturally, Luke and I became inseparable, the best of friends.

On my eighteenth birthday, Luke, who had been saving up from his part-time job for three months, set off fireworks all around the yard for me.

Because I had once said that if someone set off fireworks for me, I would marry him.

The thoughts of youth were pure and innocent.

Just a little stir could create ripples, filling the void with love in our hearts.

At that time, I was about to go to another place for university.

Finally, Luke could no longer hold back and confessed his feelings.

He looked at me with eyes full of expectation.

In his eyes, I saw my own figure, as if his heart and eyes were filled with nothing but me.

Having no family since childhood, I appeared strong but was inwardly fragile.

I envied those with families, yet I also longed for pure love.

Thus, faced with Luke's sincere feelings, I agreed.

He said, "Theresa, I can't see you as my sister but a grown woman."

"I will treat you well and cherish you with my life."

"After we graduate, I'll marry you. Then we’ll have a home."

I believed him, truly thinking I would finally find a place to belong from then on.

The word 'home' held an incomparable appeal to me.

Luke did indeed keep his word.

However, he never specified when.

During the internship he had in college, Luke was recognized by his wealthy parents and taken back home.

Unfortunately, not long after, his parents passed away from illness.

Now, the one in charge of the White Group was their adopted son, Neil.

Neil had shown strong business acumen from a young age, and later single-handedly led the White family from a second-tier luxury family to the pinnacle of opulence.

Without Neil, the White Group would have gone bankrupt during a crisis ten years ago.

Now, the White family belonged to Neil, not to Luke.

But Luke couldn’t bear to be suppressed by his brother.

He was eager to make a name for himself, surpass Neil, and reclaim what he believed was rightfully his.

Thus, he rushed to take over as the general manager of Blueprint Industries, networking and pulling in investments everywhere.

He persuaded me, who had already signed with a company, to instead come and assist him.

And he never brought up the topic of being boyfriend and girlfriend or getting married again.

Perhaps only the fireworks that night remembered Luke’s vows.

And I was naive, not understanding at the time.

So-called vows and affection all came with an expiry date.