Chapter 2

When Chloe's name was called by the nurse, her phone rang.

It was Ethan.

His voice was gentler than I had ever heard it. "Stop throwing a tantrum. I bought you a present."

Chloe let out a playful, haughty hum. "I don't believe you, you grumpy older guy. I'm not marrying you!"

Suddenly, a loud boom echoed from outside.

Countless colorful ribbons and confetti rained down from the sky.

A helicopter hovered above the hospital plaza, trailing a massive banner: Chloe, will you marry me?

Nurses, doctors, and random patients walked up to Chloe with smiles on their faces, each handing her a fresh, blooming red rose.

Within moments, she was buried in a sea of roses.

She was so moved she couldn't speak. Tears welled up in her eyes as she nodded frantically into her phone.

"Yes! Yes, I will!"

I don't even remember how I walked out of that hospital.

I was still holding the "rose of true love" Chloe had shoved into my hands.

"See, Elena? He truly loves me," she had said with a sweet smile. "I hope you find a man who loves you like this one day. As for your current boyfriend... you've been with him for years and he still hasn't proposed. Just dump him."

I closed my eyes, my throat tight with unshed tears.

I remembered our wedding. Because the Vance family had just survived an internal coup, everything was kept simple and quiet.

I had playfully begged for a single rose, but Ethan told me it wasn't the right time.

He promised that once all his enemies in the shadows were eliminated, he would buy me an entire field of flowers.

And now, the very first flower I ever received from him was a leftover prop from the romance he staged for another woman.