Chapter 2

"Ethan, do you want to drink this tonic while it's hot?"

I pushed open the half-closed glass door and slammed the empty thermos heavily onto the workbench.

The sharp clang of glass hitting metal echoed loudly in the quiet studio.

Amber flinched violently, dropping her polishing cloth onto the floor with a clatter.

"Ch-Chloe... when did you get here?"

Amber stammered, her eyes darting nervously toward the velvet-covered tray beside her.

Ethan turned around. The mockery and contempt on his face vanished instantly.

In their place was that suffocating, tender gaze that I had once believed in so blindly.

"Chloe, babe, why did you come all the way here?"

He stepped forward quickly, trying to grab my hand, then made a show of wiping his dirty hands on his apron.

"It’s dusty in here. I don't want you breathing in all this grime."

I stared at his dusty hands, my heart freezing over as if I had been dumped into an arctic lake.

"I just came to see what my hundred-thousand-dollar raw stone turned into."

Ethan immediately held up his hands, showing me the tiny, bleeding cuts on his palms left by the carving tools.

"Look, I’m putting my life on the line just to marry you."

"I carved every single facet of this set by hand. Three nights of no sleep, pure hand-polishing. I’m practically going blind."

He sighed, his tone carrying an undisguised sense of superiority, as if he were giving me charity.

"Chloe, you’re just an orphan with no background. In my elite circle, you wouldn't even be worthy of wearing a piece I personally designed."

"But I love you too much. I ignored all the gossip from my colleagues just to give you the best."

"You better appreciate this and give me everything you have in return."

I didn't lose my temper. Instead, I quietly slipped my phone out of my bag and tapped the voice recorder.

"Ethan, you’re so good to me."

I sniffled, forcing my eyes to turn red as if I were deeply moved.

"But this raw stone cost me a fortune and a lot of favors to get. I trusted you to keep it safe and work on it."

"It’s all going to be used for our wedding jewelry, right?"

Ethan’s eyes flickered, a trace of guilt flashing in his pupils before he quickly masked it.

He puffed out his chest and nodded righteously.

"Of course! This set will be your wedding ring and necklace."

"Don't worry, the stone is all here. Not a single scrap was wasted. It’s all for you."

I saved the recording and slid the phone back into my pocket.

Just then, Amber slid over to his side, her voice dripping with fake sweetness.

She was wearing the exact Bvlgari luxury perfume I had just bought last week.

Noticing my gaze, she gasped dramatically, covering her mouth.

"Oh my, Chloe, have you been wearing that same coat for three years? The cuffs are practically pilling."

"I didn't think someone your age would be so sensitive to the draft in the studio."

"But then again, being an orphan with no one to look after you, your body must be weak. You should take care of yourself. We wouldn't want you falling sick at the wedding and embarrassing our star designer, Ethan."

She walked right up to Ethan, naturally wrapping her arms around his, her chest rubbing against his sleeve.

"Ethan is the sweetest. He just told me on Snapchat earlier that once the wedding rush is over, he’s taking me to Paris for the fashion exhibition."

She looked at me with a smirk, her eyes filled with the smugness of a thief who had successfully stolen a treasure.

Looking at Amber’s face, distorted by greed and jealousy, I found it hilarious.

In the past, I would have screamed, demanded to know who he really loved, and begged him to prove his innocence.

Now? I just saw them as two rats in a sewer. Utterly pathetic.