Chapter 3

Chloe's POV

"Liam," my voice was barely a whisper. "We are getting married next month."

"So what?" Liam sneered. "It's just a piece of paper. Do you really think of yourself as Mrs. Hudson already?"

He stood up, looking down at me.

"Chloe, you are so boring. You're like a programmed machine. You never make mistakes, but you never surprise me either."

He pointed to Summer behind him.

"Summer is different. She is real, she is alive, and she never lies. With her, I actually feel like a living human being."

I looked at him.

For a long, long time.

"Are you done staring? If you're done, get out." Liam turned around and stepped directly on one of the cufflinks.

Crack.

The sound of stone shattering.

My heart shattered completely along with that sharp noise.

I didn't cry.

I didn't throw a tantrum.

I simply bent down, using my uninjured right hand to pick up the broken pieces one by one, squeezing them in my palm.

The sharp shards sliced into my skin.

But I felt no pain.

"Sorry to bother you."

I stood up and walked out of the suite.

The moment the door closed, I heard Summer's soft voice from inside.

"Liam, treating Chloe like that... won't she be really sad?"

"Why care about her? A woman like her doesn't have a heart."

I closed my eyes.

I took a deep breath.

When I opened them again, there was nothing left but icy silence.

Liam, you're right.

I don't have a heart anymore.

The next day.

I went to work as usual.

I am the CEO of the Vance Group.

Though the Vance family isn't as massive as the Hudson conglomerate, we are still a highly respected prominent family in New York.

However, over the last few years, our cash flow had run into issues, and we had been relying on joint projects with the Hudson Group to stay afloat.

That was why everyone in our social circle said I was marrying up.

At 10:00 AM.

My office door was pushed open.

Liam walked in.

He was wearing a tailored suit, his hair perfectly styled.

He looked nothing like the man from the bar last night.

He walked straight over to the couch, sat down, and crossed his legs like he owned the place.

"Is there something you need?" I didn't even look up from my documents.

Liam frowned.

"Summer's media channel is doing a special feature on prominent New York entrepreneurs," Liam got straight to the point. "She needs a high-profile interview subject."

My hand pausing on the page.

"And?"

"You will accept her interview," Liam said, his tone commanding.

I raised my head and looked at him.

I looked at him as if he were a complete stranger.

"Liam, have you lost your mind?"

Liam's face darkened. "Chloe, watch your mouth."

"Watch my mouth?" I let out a cold laugh. "You want me to do an interview with your mistress just to help boost her career? What do you take me for?"

"She is not a mistress! Stop using such disgusting words!" Liam stood up abruptly. "Summer is a professional reporter! She just needs an opportunity to prove herself!"

"If she wants to prove herself, why does she have to step on me to do it?"

"Chloe, stop throwing a tantrum." Liam walked over to my desk, leaning over to stare down at me. "You must do this interview."

I leaned back in my chair, meeting his gaze without flinching.

"And if I refuse?"

Liam narrowed his eyes, a cruel smirk playing on his lips.

"The Vance Group is currently developing the Brooklyn Waterfront Project, right? You still have a three-hundred-million-dollar funding gap. If the Hudson Group pulls its investment right now..."

My face paled instantly.

The Brooklyn Waterfront Project was my father's lifelong dream. If the funding cut, the Vance Group would go bankrupt.

Liam knew exactly where my weakness lay.

He was using my father's dream to blackmail me into pleasing another woman.

Looking at this man, I felt utterly disgusted.

"Liam, you are despicable."

"Say whatever you want." Liam stood up and straightened his suit jacket. "Summer will bring her team here at two this afternoon. You better cooperate."

With that, he turned and walked out.

The door clicked shut.

I sat in my chair, my body freezing cold. The wound on my left hand began to throb again.

I opened my drawer, pulled out a bottle of painkillers, and swallowed two pills dry.