Chapter 2

Brenda had just finished warning me not to clash with Camilla, when Camilla deliberately invited me to walk the red carpet with her.

The Ashton heir's new flame and old flame.

Just the two of us standing together would be a social media explosion.

I knew she wanted to humiliate me in every possible way.

Not just because she was Ashton's current girlfriend, but also because we were wearing dresses from the same brand tonight.

Hers was the latest collection.

Mine was last year’s.

I could already imagine the trending topics later: her fans and my haters would tear me apart, mocking me for being cheap.

But it didn’t matter. I never cared about competing with her in fashion.

And I certainly never dreamed Ashton would come back to me.

If she wanted to be the star, I'd just be the backdrop, playing the supporting role.

But Camilla still seemed unsatisfied.

She lowered her voice and asked,

"Skylar, do you know Ashton is coming tonight?"

I didn’t.

Ashton and I had cut ties completely the day we broke up.

But hearing his name still made my steps falter for a beat.

Camilla noticed, a mocking smile playing on her lips.

"Don't overthink it. He's here for me, not you."

"I know."

Even though the Ashton family controlled most of Hollywood, Ashton himself had never attended any entertainment events before today.

Not even when we were at our best, did he ever show up for me.

Camilla then added, "Ashton and I are getting married soon."

I nodded, turning to offer her a genuine smile. "I wish you both happiness."

Perhaps my soft demeanor tonight left Camilla with no desire to tease me further.

Or maybe she was just eager to find Ashton.

The moment the red carpet ended, she ditched me and disappeared.

I posed for the photographers and answered a few questions.

The reporters were surprisingly cooperative; no one mentioned Ashton.

Our past relationship had been tumultuous, but the ending was truly humiliating.

Ashton, one of the parties involved, had found out about being dumped from a trending news headline.

During that interview, everyone expected me to spill details about our relationship.

But I simply looked into the camera and calmly said five words: "We’ve broken up."

No warning, no explanation.