He gave a glance at his grimaced father and continued. "I would rather abandon everything here and leave with my family."
"Chase!" Mrs. Ruiz gasped as she heard what her son was talking about. "What do you mean by that? You can't abandon us!"
Chase went soft when he saw how anxious his mother was, but he couldn't help wanting to protect his own family. "I am sorry, mother. If he goes around threatening Lia and Chelsea like he did earlier, I have no choice but to leave with them and start afresh somewhere."
He turned to Lia and smiled as he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Just like how we planned many years ago. We will go and live on our own."
Mr. Ruiz stood up abruptly and gave a death glare at Lia before he stomped into his room, slamming the door behind him.
"Chase, you don't have to do this." Lia shook her head. "You just can't-"
