Chapter 2

When I woke up the next morning, Ethan was already gone.

A homemade breakfast sat on the nightstand, along with a handwritten note.

*【I’m sorry about last night. Bridal shop at 3:00 PM. I’ll pick you up.】*

Under the note lay a diamond ring.

It was the one I had fallen in love with six months ago—the one I couldn't bring myself to buy because of the absurd price tag.

I stared at the sparkling rock for a long time, the bitterness inside me slowly giving way to exhaustion.

Ethan was always like this.

Every time Chloe pushed me to the brink of a breakdown, he would compensate me in the sweetest, most tender ways imaginable.

He remembered every single thing I liked. He would hold me through the night whenever insomnia hit me, and whenever I missed my dad, he wouldn't hesitate to drive hours just to take me to the cemetery.

He was so good to me.

So good that every time I thought about walking away from this relationship, I would question whether I was being overly petty.

After all, Chloe was just a sick girl.

At three o'clock sharp, Ethan arrived outside.

He opened the car door for me, leaning in to buckle my seatbelt. His warm breath brushed against my ear.

"Still mad at me?"

I turned my face away. "No."

He chuckled softly, took my left hand, and slipped the diamond ring onto my ring finger.

"After the wedding, I'm taking you to Iceland."

I didn't pull away.

When the car pulled up in front of the bridal boutique, I caught sight of Chloe through the glass window immediately.

She was wearing my wedding dress.

The pure white train trailed along the carpet. She stood before the floor-length mirror, clutching a bouquet of red roses.

The boutique staff looked completely helpless.

"Ms. Carter, this lady said she's Mr. Hayes's sister. We couldn't stop her..."

Chloe turned around, the delicate fabric whispering against the floor.

She locked her eyes onto me, her voice trembling yet vicious. "Evelyn, you can't marry my brother."

"You can't marry him! I won't let you!"

I frowned, my chest tightening. "Why?"

Chloe's lips parted, but before she could speak, Ethan marched past me with long strides.

As he rushed past, his shoulder slammed heavily into mine. The impact knocked me against the sharp corner of a display table, sending a searing jolt of pain through my hip.

Ethan didn't even look back. He grabbed Chloe by the arm. "Did you skip your meds again?!"

Chloe’s eyes were bloodshot.

Ethan gritted his teeth. "We're going to the hospital. Now!"

He dragged Chloe toward the exit, brushing past me without stopping.

Clutching my bruised side, I called out his name, my voice shaking. "Ethan!"

He didn't turn around.

I stood frozen in the boutique, feeling a cold dread seep deep into my bones.

Half an hour later, my phone buzzed with a text from Ethan.

*【I'm so sorry, Eve. Chloe missed her dose and had another breakdown.】*

*【I'll come home to you as soon as I'm done here.】*

I stared down at the screen, unable to type a single word.

Chloe’s desperate scream echoed in my mind.

*"You can't marry my brother."*

*"I won't let you marry him."*

Why did she say that?

Chapter Three