Chapter 2

I stopped dead in my tracks, an absurd spark of hope flickering inside me.

She was the girl I had loved for seven years. If she came to her senses, I might have forgiven this momentary lapse of judgment.

"Take off your tuxedo," Chloe ordered coldly from behind me.

I turned, stunned. "What?"

She lifted her chin arrogantly, the exact way she used to boss me around. "You're not the groom anymore. Why are you still wearing it? Strip it off so Damian can put it on. The venue and ceremony are already set up. No point in letting it go to waste."

My eyes went wide. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Are you out of your mind? You're marrying someone else at our wedding, and you want him wearing my suit?"

Chloe nodded unapologetically. "My dad invited all our relatives. If I tell him the wedding is off, he'll kill me. But if I swap you out for an upgrade, he won't be mad."

She turned to Damian with a tender look. "Damian, you don't mind rushing into this, do you? We went through hell to find our way back to each other. I don't want any more delays."

Damian clasped her hand tight. "As long as I'm with you, I don't care if it's rushed. I'd take you without a single legal paper."

What an inspiring love story.

Damian glanced at me with mocking pity, his tone dripping with fake remorse. "Ethan, I know you're mad. But we're just so deeply in love. Please understand. If you want to take your anger out on someone, blame me. Leave Chloe out of it."

"Damian, don't waste your breath on him," Chloe snapped. "He's the homewrecker who got between us. If it weren't for his conniving schemes, we would've been together years ago!"

"My schemes? I got between you?" I asked, baffled. I had known Chloe long before Damian ever showed up.

Her glare turned lethal.

"If you hadn't sucked up to my dad back then, why would he suddenly favor a poor nobody like you? You wanted me so bad you went behind my back and told Damian I didn't love him! His business had just gone under, and he didn't want to drag me down, so he packed up and left town all alone! You stole years of our lives!"

When I first joined the firm right out of college, I never expected to cross paths with her again.

For the first two years, I knew I wasn't good enough for her, so I buried my feelings and threw myself entirely into work.

When Damian went bankrupt and dumped her, Chloe cried day and night, drinking herself stupid at clubs.

Terrified she’d get hurt, I kept watch over her from a distance. Her father happened to catch me looking out for her.

Later, Damian vanished into thin air, and her father started pushing us together.

Damian's departure had nothing to do with me.

Unless Damian had spun a pack of lies to paint me as the villain.

I narrowed my eyes at Damian. He smirked back, completely unfazed.

Then he gently patted Chloe’s shoulder. "Chloe, don't get upset on my account. I only ever wanted you to be happy. Leaving was my fault because I had nothing to offer you back then. Don't blame Ethan."

Hearing that, Chloe looked at him with even more adoration. "Damian, if it weren't for him, we would've stayed together. You don't owe anyone an apology. He does!"

She snapped at me, "Ethan, you drove Damian away. Apologize to him right now, and maybe I won't stay mad at you."

I let out a bitter scoff. "Why the hell would I do that?"

In the past, whenever she was upset, I would bend over backward to cheer her up, showering her with gifts, taking her tantrums and insults just to see a single smile.

Now I realized that everything I gave her couldn't compare to Damian lifting a single finger.

The difference between love and indifference was painfully clear.

"I planned every detail of this wedding," I said coldly. "If you think you're going to marry another man on my dime, think again. I'm going straight to Mr. Hayes to cancel everything."

"My family paid for half the venue! I'll marry whoever I want. It's none of your business!"

I was done arguing.

Just as I turned to leave, a commotion erupted outside.

"Bring out the bride and groom!"

A crowd of relatives burst through the doors, grabbing Chloe and me, pushing us out toward the aisle before we could react.

My protests and Chloe's struggles were drowned out by the noise.

It wasn't until I stepped onto the red carpet that I realized what was happening.