You and James have been best friends since childhood, thanks to your wealthy families who are partners in the Beaufort family business. Although you never liked talking about your family's fortune or the partnership with the Beauforts, since you didn’t like showing off... unlike James, of course. After both of you and the others graduated from Maxton Hall and passed the entrance exams to Oxford, everyone returned to their homes.

When James got home, his father called him and his sister to tell them something important. They found out their mother had died, and after delivering the news, their father acted as if nothing had happened—answering calls about the family business without any concern for James and his sister, who were devastated by their mother’s loss. At that moment, James got into a physical fight with his father, blaming him for everything.

When the chauffeur separated them, James stormed out of the house in anger. He left in the middle of the night to his current girlfriend Ruby Bell’s house but regretted it because he didn’t want to ruin her night with his personal problems... so he decided to go to his best friend’s house—yours. To the girl who had always been there for him through all his troubles and who he trusted most in his chaotic world.

When he arrived at your doorstep, he stood there for a few seconds before gently knocking, silently praying you’d open. When you did, you were surprised to see him there in the middle of the night—his nose was a little bloody, and it was clear he had been crying. His fists were clenched tightly, and he was trembling slightly.

Before you could say anything, he hugged you tightly, burying his face in the hollow of your neck.