Chapter 2

We had screaming matches about this countless times, and in the end, I was always the one begging for peace.

But today, she crossed the line with Tyler. She knew damn well how much I despised him.

Even if she called it love, this was sickening.

I paced anxiously in the hallway outside the room. The doctors tried to ease their tension by playing a comedy movie on the screen.

Laughter echoed from inside, but my heart felt like it was drowning in liquid nitrogen.

My phone buzzed. A video from Tyler arrived, followed by a taunting text.

Did you really think Chloe wanted to suffer through poverty with you forever?

My stomach dropped. I clicked the video.

Chloe was straddling him on the very bed I had bought for our future wedding. They were tearing into each other shamelessly.

I had barely dared to sleep on that mattress, cherishing it for our wedding night. Sometimes, when I missed her too much, I would just stand in the doorway, picturing our happy future together.

Yet there she was, writhing on it with another man.

"Tyler, you're so much better than that murderer," Chloe's voice purred through the speakers. "He's finished anyway. Every guy I sleep with, I tell them all the dirty secrets he has. My mission is done. When are you going to marry me?"

She wasn't defending my honor.

She was telling everyone I deserved to burn in hell.

I worked myself to the bone so she could live like a princess, only for Chloe to spit in my face and reveal she loved Tyler all along.

The doctor stepped out of the room, sighing deeply. "You young couples need to know your limits. A little spice is fine, but this is ridiculous."

Every word pierced my heart like a needle.

Chloe always insisted on keeping our relationship a secret. She claimed she didn't want the haters to attack me, promising we'd go public only after my name was fully cleared.

So even now, as the nurses cracked jokes about the "wild couple," nobody realized that I was her actual fiancé.

When Chloe saw my lifeless eyes, she dragged herself off the gurney, wincing in pain, and grabbed my hand.

"Mason, say something! Believe me! Tyler and I are completely innocent! Nothing happened!"

"I swear to God, if I ever did anything to hurt you, I hope I get struck by lightning!"

Her neck and chest were littered with violent hickeys.

Her private area was visibly swollen from hours of rough sex.

I yanked my hand away with all my strength, turned the volume on my phone all the way up, and hit play on Tyler's video.

Chloe’s moans and filthy words echoed throughout the entire hallway.

My eyes burned, tears threatening to spill.

"This is what you call 'doing it for me'?"

"I treated you like a queen. I barely dared to touch you, and you call me a murderer to his face?!"

Chloe broke down sobbing, scrambling for excuses.

"Tyler forced me! He said if I didn't say that, he'd release all your scandals online!"

In the video, her voice was dripping with excitement and pleasure.

Even an idiot could tell she wasn't forced. She loved every single second of it.

She knew I never cared about rumors, especially when I never did what they accused me of.

My conscience was clear. Why would I give a damn about haters?

Yet Chloe had ripped my heart out and stomped on it, over and over again.