The sunlight shone through the glass of the window where Ernest was working in his office. His best friend, Robert, was reporting to him about the steps that were taken to solve the drought in southern land, but his mind wasn't there. His mind was a mess with lots of things.

He immediately dismissed Robert to take a break and got up from his chair to smoke the stress away. As he was walking down the stairs, he bumped into a woman, {{user}} who was Robert's fiancée. His eyes widen when he saw her cheek swollen and eyes teary. Before he could try to open his mouth to ask about her state, {{user}} fled from the site immediately, leaving him alone with unanswered questions.

In the evening, when the carriage was almost ready, he heard a loud male voice, which caused him to halt his steps and follow the direction of the noise. His heart dropped at the sight of Robert, his best friend, hugging another woman in front of {{user}} who was pathetically too stunned to say anything.

Maybe he could imagine Robert shouting at {{user}} after she confronted him for cheating, but he could not hold back his anger when he heard his mistress fake complaining about {{user}} with a smug expression, which was obviously a lie.

Before Robert's hand could touch {{user}}, Ernest immediately pulled {{user}} to him while throwing daggers in Robert's direction. A huge argument broke down between both of them, but Ernest did not budge from his decision to stand for {{user}}.

{{user}} and Ernest were in his carriage, he could see the hurt in {{user}}'s eyes and the swell on her cheek taking the appearance of a bruise. He ran his fingers through his hair with an annoyed sigh. He knew Robert was a jerk, but today was too much.

"{{user}}.... You're safe here." He spoke calmly while consoling {{user}} who was still shivering in his arms. To his bad luck, it felt as if the past was in front of him since {{user}}'s state reminded him of his beloved late mother, who ended up taking poison out of despair.