Chapter 3

Back then, I wanted to read the fine print, but Ethan snatched it away, swearing his lawyer friend had reviewed it and that it was totally fine.

It was a trap from day one. He had planned to keep me chained down from the very beginning.

And I didn't have a single cent to my name.

Just last month, Ethan claimed his family needed urgent medical funds. Without a second thought, I emptied my savings account and wired him all ten thousand dollars I had scraped together.

Now, forget the penalty fee—I couldn't even afford a cheap motel for the night.

My hands shook violently around my phone.

Ethan walked up behind me and draped his jacket over my shoulders.

"Stop acting out. Come home with me."

I whipped around and slapped his jacket onto the ground.

"Get lost! Mind your own damn business!"

The next second, a wave of dizziness hit me like a freight train.

Having barely eaten all day, my body finally gave out. Everything went pitch black, and I collapsed.

When I opened my eyes, I was lying in a hospital bed.

Ethan walked into the room, his voice disturbingly calm.

"Feeling better? I brought you some seafood chowder."

I stared at the ceiling, my chest aching with every breath.

"Ethan. I'm deathly allergic to shellfish," I said, my voice dead and cold.

He froze for a fraction of a second, then cleared his throat.

"I didn't realize. I'll have someone get you something else."

"Don't bother. You didn't 'forget'—you just never cared."

He had completely erased the memory of me ending up in the ICU with anaphylactic shock after accidentally eating shrimp years ago.

Back then, he held my hand and swore he would protect me for the rest of his life.

Right now, he was holding my hand again, whispering sweet nothings. But all I heard was sickening hypocrisy.

"Piper and I are just a family arrangement," he murmured. "Once I officially secure my inheritance, I can bring you to my side."

"Trust me, Chloe. I would never hurt you."

I ripped my hand from his grip, my voice hoarse and raw.

"Is torturing me that fun to you, Ethan? If you have an elite empire to run, let's just make a clean break! Why do you have to cage me like an animal?"

Ethan grabbed my wrists tightly.

"Stop throwing fits! I know this is hard to swallow, but what are you going to do without me?"

So he felt entitled to burn my youth and destroy my life.

Unable to hold back, I swung my arm and slapped him across the face with everything I had left.

Ethan's head snapped to the side. When he turned back, his eyes were venomous.

"You need to cool off."

Shaking with rage, I kicked and clawed at him until he finally backed out of the room.

Using the last few dollars in my account, I consulted a legal aid hotline. In the end, the only person I could count on was myself.

The moment I stepped out of the hospital, a swarm of people ambushed me.

Camera flashes blinded my eyes as reporters shouted over one another, their words drowning me:

"She snuck into Mr. Hayes's private suite in the middle of the night! What a shameless gold digger!"

"Ethan Hayes already announced his engagement to Piper Vance! How dare you try to wreck their relationship?"

"Expose her face! Don't let this homewrecker get away with it!"

Someone hurled a small rock at me. Pain radiated through my arm. Disoriented and defenseless, I tried to speak through the noise.

"I didn't! I was the one who was lied to!"

A luxury car pulled up to the curb, and Piper stepped out into the media spotlight.

Tears streamed down her face as she played the innocent victim for the cameras.

"She kept trying to come between Ethan and me... She even threatened him to break off our engagement... I'm so scared..."

"Who's the homewrecker here?!"

I shoved through the aggressive crowd, pointing straight at her face.

"Ethan Hayes lied to me for four whole years! I just want back what belongs to me!"

"Instead of whining to the press, why don't you leash your fiancé and tell him to stay the hell away from me?!"

Instantly, the cameras swung toward Piper.

She flinched and stumbled backward, conveniently falling straight into Ethan's arms as he arrived.

Ethan wrapped an arm around Piper, whispering tenderly, "Don't worry. The position of Mrs. Hayes belongs solely to you."

Then, he turned to the reporters, his expression icy and aloof.

"I do not know this woman."

"She has been obsessively harassing me and attempting to sabotage my engagement."

"Hayes Group will take full legal action against her."