Chapter 2

"Cassie? Are you listening or not? Just help me this once, please? I'll treat you to dinner tonight!"

Chloe's voice on the other end of the phone continued to nag.

I took a deep breath, suppressing the rising hatred. "Okay."

Chloe's voice instantly brightened, full of undisguised eagerness. "I knew you were the best! You wouldn't just stand by and let me be fooled."

I clutched my phone. "Well, he is your boyfriend. You need to know the truth. Tell me, what should I do?"

"Just find a chance to ask Ryan out for dinner." Chloe lowered her voice, a calculated excitement in her tone. "Just say... say that I've been complaining to you lately about him not being attentive enough, and you're sticking up for me, wanting to talk some sense into him."

"Then you can subtly ask if he has something on his mind, or... if he's met any girls who caught his eye."

She paused, then added, "Remember, don't be too direct. Act like it's just casual conversation."

"If he avoids eye contact or speaks vaguely, then something's definitely wrong! Make sure to tell me right away so I can make my plans."

I intentionally dragged out my words, pretending to hesitate. "Is that really okay? What if he finds out you put me up to it? Won't he get mad?"

Chloe scoffed, her voice confident. "Don't worry, he trusts you so much, why would he suspect anything?"

"Besides, even if he found out, he'd only blame me for being nosy. At most, we'd have an argument, which would be a perfect chance to see his true colors."

I "reluctantly" agreed. After hanging up, the smile on my face instantly vanished.

Chloe wasn't looking for the truth at all.

She clearly wanted to use me to plant a seed of doubt in Ryan's mind, paving the way for her future "victim" persona.

In my past life, she taught me the exact same way, step by step, leading me into the trap she had dug.

But this time, the hunter and the hunted were about to swap places.

After hanging up, I immediately opened Amazon and ordered a tiny voice recorder and a few miniature pinhole cameras.

Then I contacted a realtor, giving "roommate's incompatible schedule" as my reason for urgently seeking a new apartment.

I didn't want to spend another day in that place.

Soon, I arranged to meet Ryan, following Chloe's "script." The location was a nice Western restaurant.

I specifically booked a private room, making it easy to set up the equipment.

Arriving half an hour early, I skillfully hid the cameras in a potted plant in the corner of the room and behind a framed painting.

I also placed the voice recorder in the side pocket of my canvas bag, ensuring it could clearly pick up sound.

As expected, after only a few minutes of chatting, Chloe "surprisingly" appeared with a few mutual friends.

"Oh, Cassie, what a coincidence!"

She beamed, intimately linking her arm through mine, her eyes quickly scanning the private room as if checking for something.

"My friends and I were just shopping, and we happened to pass by here. We just came to say hello, hope we're not interrupting?"

I scoffed inwardly but kept my face neutral. "Of course not, the more the merrier."

Ryan was clearly a bit surprised but still stood up and greeted them with a smile.

He had indeed been troubled lately by Chloe's hot-and-cold attitude, and a hint of subtle fatigue was etched on his brows.

During the meal, Chloe acted incredibly dependent on Ryan, showing him much care and concern, as if their relationship was perfect.

But I noticed that when she lowered her head to play on her phone, her sweet smile would vanish instantly.

Her eyes even held a hint of subtle distortion and annoyance.

Mid-meal, the private room door opened.

A waiter entered, pushing a beautiful cake, singing "Happy Birthday."

Ryan stood up, holding a bouquet of Chloe's favorite white roses. He awkwardly scratched his head. "Happy Birthday, sweetheart. I meant to surprise you tonight, but I didn't expect everyone to be here."

Everyone immediately started cheering and clapping, exclaiming, "How romantic!" and "Ryan's so thoughtful!"

Chloe's smile froze for a second.

Then it became exaggerated, and with reddened eyes, she threw herself into Ryan's arms. "You scared me! I thought you forgot!"

But I was sitting diagonally across from her and saw it clearly.

When her face was buried in Ryan's chest, her lips were turned downwards, and her eyes were filled with a grim, hateful look.

I picked up my water glass, hiding the coldness in my eyes.

While everyone's attention was on them, I casually leaned towards Ryan and said:

"Ryan, you're so good to Chloe."

"Honestly, girls love these kinds of surprises, especially when you feel she's been a little distant lately. Maybe a surprise like this can cheer her up."

Ryan paused, then thoughtfully glanced at Chloe. "You're right. Maybe I've been neglecting her too much lately."