Chapter 5: The Backup Plan

Caleb doesn’t know!

He’s never been on my list of choices! Even though, honestly, no one’s ever really given me a choice.

I still let Natalie stay at the York house. She said she had nowhere else to go.

"Lillian, you’re my best friend, you can’t just leave me hanging. Back then, it was all thanks to me that you could marry Caleb."

My temple throbbed. I said, "Don’t worry, how could I not take care of you?"

Natalie’s room was right next to Caleb’s study. She seemed satisfied, but her eyes flickered, like she was plotting something.

"Lillian, do you still sleep in the same room with Caleb?"

I nodded.

Her smile turned stiff. "That’s how regular folks live; proper families should have their own space. You two seriously have no clue how normal people live."

"That’s right!"

My smile was pure sarcasm.

Meanwhile, I sent someone to dig up what happened at the Evans house. The news was exactly what I expected.

When Grant Evans married Natalie, he promised he’d never cheat. People still talk about how he once declared, 'One couple for a lifetime!'

Everyone envied them—until three years after their happy ending, when the scandal broke. Grant never officially cheated, but he definitely had a girlfriend on the side.

During a blowout, Grant yelled, "Don’t think I don’t know everything. Two years ago, when Caleb took a knife for you, you held his hand and said if he survived, you’d never let him down."

Natalie protested, "That was just a way out, I didn’t really do anything with him after."

"Yeah, Caleb said he’d divorce his wife for you, and you said there was no reason not to! So Caleb found two guys from a bar to block Lillian, but thank God, the two guys were knocked out by passersby..."

I remembered that day. I was on my way to a party when some creeps blocked the road, and luckily, someone risked their life to save me. The guy who saved me was badly hurt, but said he had no regrets—because I’d helped his chronically ill wife.

So that’s how it all tied together.

The fight ended with Grant leaving with his girlfriend. Later, Natalie came to me in the rain.

Honestly, looking at it, Caleb was more main-character material than Grant—more generous, more devoted to Natalie. So devoted, he barely noticed anyone else existed.

A maid came running. Natalie wanted to move into Caleb’s room!

When I strolled over, Natalie had already thrown all my things out. When she saw me, there was a flicker of apology, but not much.

"Lillian, without Caleb by my side, I really can’t sleep! He used to tell me bedtime stories and lull me to sleep, you get it, right..."

I listened with a smile to her story full of holes. When I didn’t answer, she got flustered, her voice rising.

"This was my place to begin with. Besides, you don’t even like Caleb, do you?"

So, she knew everything!

"Now you’re holding this spot and won’t leave. Could it be that you’ve fallen for Caleb?"

I snorted. "You want my room? Fine. Just don’t expect me to tuck you in like Caleb used to."

No matter who I liked, I’d never fall for a guy who once tried to have someone hurt me!

A shattering sound exploded behind me!

I turned around—

Caleb was standing there. Who knew how long he’d been watching?

For a second, it was just the three of us in the hallway—Natalie with her arms crossed, me with my pride, and Caleb with a look I couldn’t quite read. Somewhere in the house, the grandfather clock chimed the hour, as if reminding us that time moves on, no matter how stuck we feel. Caleb’s eyes met mine—hurt, furious, maybe even a little desperate. For once, he didn’t look past me. He looked right at me.