Chapter 2

Chloe looked back at me, intentionally shrinking closer into Ethan's chest, wiping away fake tears.

Ethan let out a cold snort, his eyes lingering on my pale face one last time.

"Until Chloe gets better, I will be by her side. Consider it my way of paying for your sins. As for our wedding... we'll talk about it later."

A sharp, stabbing pain shot through my chest.

Seeing me gasp for air, my parents frantically rushed to support me.

"And stop acting, Summer. Your performance is pathetic."

Ethan walked out of the venue without looking back.

My childhood sweetheart, the boy I loved for years, had intentionally ruined our wedding just to get revenge for Chloe.

The wedding I had spent a whole year dreaming of ended in a humiliating farce.

"Summer, why did you stop me from speaking? You haven't found a heart donor at all! You only lied about the donor to make Ethan stop worrying about you, didn't you?"

"And Chloe! She lied through her teeth! Our family gave her everything, and she knows it!"

My dad was furious, unable to understand why I let them go.

"Dad..."

I opened my mouth, but my throat felt like it was lined with glass. Before I could say another word, a warm rush of metallic taste filled my mouth, and I coughed up a pool of dark blood.

Looking up at the glittering crystal chandeliers, my mind drifted back to a few months ago...

Right here, in this very hall, Ethan had snuck me in while the venue was only half-decorated. He had awkwardly re-enacted his proposal just to make me smile for my birthday.

The lights had been so warm then. His ears had turned red as he smiled and said:

"Summer, I’ve finally waited long enough to make you my wife."

But that same boy had just personally destroyed every ounce of love I had for him.

When we got back to our estate, I saw Ethan walking out, his arm wrapped around Chloe.

Seeing me, Ethan’s face immediately twisted with impatience.

"Following me here won’t change anything. It won't undo what you did to Chloe."

"Ethan, the three of us grew up together. How can you say you don't know how I treated her?"

"When she had a high fever, I was the one who carried her on my back to the clinic!"

"When she was cornered by thugs in that alley, I was the one who grabbed a baseball bat and ran in to save her!"

"And..."

There were too many memories to count. My words seemed to strike a chord, and a flicker of doubt finally crossed Ethan’s eyes.

His footsteps paused. The arm holding Chloe loosened just a fraction.

That tiny detail made my dead heart spark with a tiny, foolish shred of hope.

He was remembering. Chloe, of course, noticed the shift in his tension. A flash of pure malice crossed her eyes.

Suddenly, she let out a soft, pained gasp, her body trembling violently.

Both Ethan and I looked at her.

Chloe looked up at Ethan with tear-filled eyes, her lips pale.

"Ethan... I... I can't breathe..."

Ethan instantly tightened his grip, pulling her flush against him. When he looked back at me, the brief doubt in his eyes was replaced by an even deeper disgust and irritation.

"Stop bringing up the past to guilt-trip me. Who knows if you were just playing the good sister to cover up your sick secrets!"

"I didn't do it! Chloe, stop lying!"

Chloe wept, clutching the lapel of Ethan's jacket.

"Ethan, please don't be mad at Summer. Maybe I was just born unlucky, and God wants to take my life back."

Hearing her venomous lies, a cold shiver ran down my spine.

"Enough, Summer. I don’t want to hear your excuses."

"I didn't officially cancel the wedding because I used to love you. I wanted to believe the sweet, innocent girl I grew up with was still in there. Don't make me regret giving you a chance."

"Otherwise, we are completely done."

He walked away, choosing to doubt me yet again.

Chloe’s cancer was real.

But it was only stage-one gastric cancer. It was nowhere near as fatal or dramatic as she had made it sound at the wedding.

"We raised a viper," my mom sobbed by my hospital bed. "Yes, your father and I were desperate enough to adopt her for that stupid superstition, but your health never even improved. We treated her like our own daughter, and this is how she repays us."

I lay on the bed, my body aching all over. "Mom, I want to go to London. I want to see the rose gardens."

My mom stared at me for a long time before slowly nodding.

My parents had wanted to send me abroad for treatment years ago, but I had refused, wanting to stay close to Ethan.

This time, I had absolutely nothing keeping me here.