Chapter 1

My wedding was just around the corner, yet I received an engagement invitation from my arch-nemesis.

She had publicly posted on her social media: "Sera, you’ve hated me for so many years. Now that we’ve both found our own happiness, I hope we can finally put the past behind us at my party."

I politely declined. There was absolutely no way in hell I was ever reconciling with her.

The people in our social circle immediately began trash-talking me on Snapchat while coddling her.

"What do you expect? Is Seraphina Vance ever capable of being a decent human being? Did you forget how she tried to steal your boyfriend back in college? Honestly, it’s better if she doesn’t show up!"

"Exactly! Anyone who associates with a snake like Sera is just waiting to have their man stolen."

Instead of getting angry, my nemesis even apologized to everyone on my behalf.

"Sera, sweetie, both my fiancé and I really wanted your blessing. We just want to move past the drama."

With that, she handed me a physical invitation.

The moment I opened it, my mind went completely blank.

The groom’s name printed on the card... wasn't that my freeloading fiancé?

"Fine! Since you want me there so badly, I promise I won’t disappoint you!"

1

Looking at the smug, triumphant smirk on Chloe Sterling's face, I turned and walked away without saying a word.

But only I knew that the elegant invitation card in my hand was already crumpled to pieces under my grip.

I drove home in a fury. When I walked through the door, I saw Ethan Hayes busy assembling our gold-embossed wedding invitations at the dining table.

Hearing the door, he looked up.

A warm, sweet smile immediately spread across his face. "You’re back, babe! Hungry? What do you want to eat? I’ll whip something up for you right now."

He was already standing up to head to the kitchen.

My gaze drifted down, landing on the table cluttered with wedding favors.

Our wedding was in three weeks. Honestly, we could have easily hired a coordinator to handle all of this.

But Ethan had insisted. He said it was *our* wedding, and that doing everything ourselves made it meaningful.

Yet, this exact man—who acted as if I was his entire world—was named as the groom on my arch-nemesis Chloe’s engagement invitation.

Could there really be such a ridiculous coincidence in this world?

I didn’t buy it for a second.

Thinking of the invitation in my bag, I decided to test him.

"Ethan, Chloe invited me to her engagement party. It’s the day after tomorrow. If you’re free, why don’t you come with me?"

The very next second after the words left my mouth.

His reaction was incredibly defensive. "I can’t. I’m busy."

Realizing his tone was too sharp under my suspicious gaze, he quickly tried to smooth it over.

"I mean... Chloe has always targeted you. She definitely has a hidden agenda!"

"Plus, I have a business trip that day, so I won’t be there to protect you. I really think you shouldn’t go."

He kept rambling, adding excuse after excuse.

But if my memory served me right, this was the first time Ethan had ever directly opposed me.

Usually, he was a total yes-man, always putting me and my wishes before everything else.

The obvious truth stared me in the face, making my chest feel incredibly heavy, like a physical weight was crushing my lungs.

After a long pause, I cut him off and quietly replied, "Okay."

The moment I said it, I distinctly saw Ethan let out a massive sigh of relief.

On the day of the party, however, I showed up at the luxury hotel right on time, invitation in hand.

Chloe was standing at the entrance of the grand ballroom, wearing a custom crimson designer gown.

With her flawless, radiant makeup and a sweet smile, she welcomed every guest. She looked like the happiest woman in the entire world.

It was just an engagement party, but I heard that almost the entire elite social circle of the city had showed up.

Before I even got close, I could hear the loud, flattering voices of her friends.

"Chloe, this engagement is so sudden! You’re going to break so many hearts today."

"I know, right? You’ve been so mysterious about the groom. Is he super handsome?"

"Are you kidding? If he wasn't gorgeous, our Chloe wouldn't even look at him!"

Surrounded by the crowd, Chloe blushed cutely. "You’ll see him soon."

Then, she turned her head and met my eyes.

Her smile widened instantly. "Sera! You actually came. I thought you’d ignore my invite."

She looked genuinely thrilled to see me.

But I knew exactly what kind of disgusting malice was hidden beneath that sweet, innocent mask.

I had absolutely no interest in playing "best friends" with her.

She didn't seem to mind my coldness, still gracefully gesturing for me to head inside.

However, the flock of mean girls surrounding her weren't about to let me off. They immediately stepped forward and blocked my path.

"Seraphina Vance! I’m warning you. Chloe was nice enough to invite you because she’s a saint, but don't you dare ruin this for her."

"If you try to cause any drama today, we will make sure you regret it."

Hearing this, Chloe immediately feigned a worried look and stopped them. "Guys, don't say that. Sera wouldn't do that."

"Chloe! Have you forgotten how she tried to steal your boyfriend in college? She has a history of being a homewrecker. Who knows what she’s planning today?"

"Exactly. Look at her, dressed up like she’s trying to seduce—"

The girl suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Sensing something off, I followed her gaze and realized she was staring intently at my wrist.

Then, she asked in a loud, shocked voice, "Wait, why is that bracelet on your wrist?"

I frowned, not immediately catching her drift.

I snapped back, "It’s on my wrist because it’s mine. Why else?"

Chloe stepped closer to me, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief. "You... you’re lying. That bracelet belongs to my fiancé!"

2

The guests nearby began to gather around us, their curious eyes pinning me down.

Whispers broke out in the crowd. "What’s going on over there?"

Seeing the audience grow, Chloe’s friends raised their voices even louder.

They sneered and pointed at me. "Seraphina Vance, you are truly disgusting. Do you have a pathological need to steal other people’s things and men?"

"Actually, let me correct myself. Do you just have an obsession with stealing everything that belongs to Chloe?"

They stared at me like they were interrogating a criminal.

Standing in the center of the drama, Chloe’s eyes welled up with tears, looking like the ultimate victim.

At first, I thought she threw this engagement party just to humiliate me by showing off that she had stolen my fiancé.

But now I realized it was much worse.

Chloe wanted to completely ruin my reputation and destroy my life.

My eyes darkened as I watched her look at me with a deeply hurt expression.

"Why, Sera? Why did I sincerely invite you to celebrate my happiness, only for you to do something like this?"

"I don't know how you managed to steal that bracelet, but if you hand it back right now, I promise I’ll pretend none of this ever happened."

The moment she finished, one of her loyal minions immediately barked, "Why should we let her off? If you ask me, we should call the police and have her arrested!"

"Such a beautiful day, completely ruined by her presence. How pathetic!"

I glanced at the two girls shouting the loudest. They were Chloe’s ultimate bootlickers.

Everyone in the room was looking at me with absolute disgust.

Thanks to Chloe's years of rumors and manipulation, I had always been completely isolated in this social circle.

This wasn't my first time experiencing this kind of setup.

I vividly remembered the first time she pulled this. We were in elementary school.

Chloe accused me of stealing her favorite necklace. Back then, I was too young to do anything but cry and clumsily try to explain myself.

But nobody, not even the teachers, believed a single word I said.

As we grew older, her schemes got smarter.

She plagiarized my essay, then turned around and told everyone I was the one who copied her.

On the day I was scheduled to give a major presentation, she went into the system and deleted my entire slides deck.

I couldn't beat her at her dirty games, so I tried my best to just avoid her.

But she was like a piece of cheap gum stuck to my shoe—no matter what I did, I couldn't shake her off.

Eventually, I gave up trying to fit in and stopped attending these social events altogether.

Since she couldn't frame me in person anymore, she started spreading rumors behind my back, painting me as a spoiled, arrogant, and tyrannical rich girl.

I didn't even notice when it happened, but suddenly, everyone started comparing me to her.

They put her on a pedestal while dragging my name through the mud.

The last major incident was the infamous "homewrecker" rumor from college.

The absolute truth was that her boyfriend at the time had randomly blocked me in the hallway, confessing his love to me out of nowhere while saying a bunch of creepy things.

I didn't say a single word. I just rolled my eyes and walked away.

Yet, the very next morning, photos of us standing in the hallway were plastered all over the campus forums.

With Chloe fueling the fire, everyone began calling me a slut and slut-shaming me online.

I didn't bother to explain. First, because I couldn't care less about what those idiots thought. Second, because I knew they wouldn't believe me anyway.

Though, after I slapped a few of those trolls with defamation lawsuits, everyone shut up pretty quickly.

Coming back to reality, I heard someone snap at me.

"Sera Vance, are you staying silent because you’re guilty?"

I let out a cold, mocking laugh, looking straight at Chloe. "Since you guys are so confident that I stole this bracelet, go ahead. Call the cops."

Hearing this, the girl next to Chloe immediately unlocked her phone to dial 91