Chapter 1

My childhood sweetheart spoiled me like a princess for twenty years, only to fall for Chloe, the new scholarship girl.

He skipped classes and got into street fights for her. He even demanded to call off our arranged engagement.

He had no idea she was playing multiple guys at once, just to hook a rich husband.

I warned him, "Don't let her innocent act fool you."

But Ethan just splashed his red wine right onto my face.

"Are you really stooping to petty catfights now, Serena? You disgust me."

After that, I completely gave up on him and got engaged to Logan—the man who had been silently protecting me all along.

On my wedding day, Ethan crashed his sports car through the church doors. Bleeding and desperate, he held out a wedding veil to me.

"Let's start over, please?"

I snatched the veil and ripped it to shreds.

"Do I look like a recycling bin to you? I don't pick up trash."

I found Ethan in a grungy downtown alley.

He was shielding Chloe behind his back, his fists covered in blood as he beat up a group of street thugs.

I rushed forward to stop him. "Ethan, stop! The paparazzi are already on their way."

Before this, he had already made a name for himself by skipping elite college classes for Chloe.

I was terrified he would anger his father, Richard, again, so I tried to drag him away.

But he shoved me back hard. "Serena Vance, I thought you just lacked empathy. I didn't realize you were actually this malicious."

"Ethan, don't blame Serena," Chloe sobbed, pretending to tremble. "She's right. I'm nothing but trouble."

As she spoke, she made a move to drop to her knees in front of the thugs.

"Please, just give me some time. Once my mom's surgery is over, I'll go dance at a strip club to pay you back."

Hearing this, Ethan's eyes practically overflowed with painful devotion.

"How could I ever let my woman work in a place like that? It's just fifty thousand dollars, right? I'll pay it!"

The exact moment he whipped out his checkbook and signed it, the flashing lights of the paparazzi captured everything.

"Mr. Thorne, rumors say you have a secret girlfriend. Is it her?"

"Is your upcoming engagement to Miss Vance still on schedule?"

The rain was pouring down.

The crowd of reporters surged forward, knocking my umbrella out of my hand.

Ethan only gave me a freezing look. "You can handle this yourself, right?"

"What?"

Before I could even process his words, he took Chloe's hand, sprinted to his car, and sped off. He left me standing entirely alone in the freezing rain.

I stood frozen.

That familiar feeling of abandonment rushed back, just like when I was a child.

When I was five, my parents divorced. My mother walked out, and my father couldn't care less about me, constantly cycling through new girlfriends.

Everyone abandoned me.

During the worst phase of my depression, Ethan was the only one who held an umbrella over my head.

"Don't cry, Serena. I'll always stand by your side."

Because of that promise, he spoiled me for twenty years, and my heart belonged to him for twenty years.

But now, he had abandoned me for a girl who had just dropped out of thin air.

The sudden drop from being cherished to being discarded pierced my heart like a needle. Even in front of the cameras, I couldn't stop my tears.

"Miss Vance, may we ask..."

"Can you please stop?"

I covered my face and tried to walk away, but a reporter grabbed my arm. "Please cooperate with our interview."

Just as I was about to break down, a black umbrella shielded me from the rain.

"She has the right to refuse."

A tall, familiar figure stepped in front of me. "If you have questions, ask me."

The reporters gasped.

"Mr. Logan Thorne! What is your relationship with Miss Vance?"

"I don't mind telling you, but it depends on her," Logan replied, flashing me a playful, boyish grin. He hadn't changed at all.

His manager quickly ushered me into a nearby SUV. "Logan is used to dealing with these media circuses. Don't worry about him."

With Logan's natural charm, he was practically born for the spotlight. I wasn't worried about him.

I was worried about tomorrow's headlines.

My fears were justified.

The next morning, Richard Thorne's fury descended. He threw a crystal glass that shattered right against Ethan's forehead.

Blood trickled down Ethan's face, but he stood his ground, stubborn as ever.

"I am calling off the engagement! Chloe is the love of my life. She doesn't care about our family's money at all!"

The love of his life?

Suddenly, a flood of memories rushed into my mind.

My eighteenth birthday party, my high school graduation, my first solo piano recital... At every milestone of my life, Ethan had sent me flowers.

The cards always read: *To Serena, the love of my life.*

When did his "love of his life" change?

Richard suddenly turned to me. "Serena, when is your father free? I think we need to move up the wedding."

I snapped out of my daze. "Okay. I'll call him."

But Ethan snatched my phone away and threw it. "Are you really that desperate, Serena? Do you have no dignity left?"