Chapter 2

My announcement hit the ballroom like an explosion.

Ignoring the chaos, I turned around and walked out of the venue without looking back.

In the back of the town car, my phone buzzed with a message from my father.

His private jet had just touched down, and he was rushing toward the venue.

My fingers hovered over the screen. I typed and deleted the message multiple times.

In the end, I decided not to tell him about the canceled wedding over text. I simply asked him to meet me at my apartment.

Last month, after a routine blood drive, I was matched with my biological father.

That was when I learned I wasn't an abandoned orphan after all. I was the long-lost daughter of a billionaire who had spent twenty years searching for me.

After our emotional reunion, he immediately insisted on transferring his overseas assets into my name. That was why he had been out of the country this past week.

I had originally planned to introduce him to Ethan at the wedding and reveal the truth.

I wanted to tell Ethan that he didn't need to work himself to the bone anymore. He would never have to worry about money again.

I never expected fate to pull the rug out from under me first.

I locked my screen and stared at the passing streetlights, my chest aching.

I had always known about Vanessa.

She had dumped Ethan because his family was dirt-poor, leaving the country to chase after wealth.

Even when Ethan chased her to the airport in the pouring rain, she never once looked back.

I thought first loves were hard to forget, but I believed Ethan had moved on.

I never imagined he would crawl back to her the second she returned.

After all, he was the one who pursued me relentlessly.

He was the one who handed me his debit card, swearing with tears in his eyes that he would give me the best life possible and treat me like a princess.

Yet the moment Vanessa stepped foot back in the city, everything changed.

My vision blurred with tears.

So this was the man I gave five years of my life to.

Just then, Ethan’s call came through.

"Why did it take you so long to pick up?" he barked into the receiver, his voice dripping with irritation. "What kind of stunt are you pulling? You canceled our wedding just like that? Now every single one of my relatives is laughing at us! Are you happy now?"

No apology. No explanation.

Just pure, unfiltered blame.

I should have seen it sooner.

The tenderness in Ethan's eyes had vanished long ago, replaced by annoyance and cold indifference.

Even now, he didn't care about the humiliation I faced alone at the altar. All he cared about was his own ego.

My throat felt dry, and a bitter laugh escaped my lips.

"What did you expect me to do? Wait around until you showed up with Vanessa on your arm?"

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by an impatient scoff.

"I went to the airport for a reason! I can explain later! Leaving you there was wrong, okay? I'm sorry. But I told the officiant to push it back! Canceling the whole thing on your own—do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused me? My investors heard about it! If this ruins their impression of me, all my hard work goes down the drain! Alyssa, why do you have to be so childish?"

I closed my eyes, exhausted.

"Ethan, we're done."