Chapter 2

But just as she was about to press call, Chloe suddenly slapped the phone out of her hand, sending it clattering to the floor.

3

Chloe didn't explain her actions to her friend. She just turned to me, looking incredibly distressed.

"Sera, if the police actually arrest you, your reputation will be completely ruined."

"If you love this bracelet so much, I can just ask my fiancé to give it to you as a gift... but please, you can't keep living your life stealing from others."

She spoke with such gentle concern, as if she actually cared about my future.

I was so angry I almost laughed out loud.

Reputation? Did I even have one left in this room?

"You keep claiming this bracelet belongs to your fiancé. Do you have any actual proof?"

I stared at her, curious to see how she’d lie her way out of this one.

Without skipping a beat, she sobbed, "My fiancé wears this bracelet every single day. Since today is our engagement, I asked him to take it off so we could clean it. And suddenly, it magically appears on your wrist today of all days? Do you honestly think anyone believes that’s a coincidence?"

"The truth is right here. I don't even care about getting it back anymore, I just don't want to see you ruin your life over your jealousy."

Looking at her playing the righteous, magnanimous saint, I chuckled softly.

"Fine. Let’s wait until your fiancé gets here, and we can ask him ourselves how this bracelet ended up on my wrist."

This bracelet was indeed a gift from Ethan.

But what Chloe didn't know was that these were custom-made puzzle-lock couple's bracelets.

He had commissioned them specifically.

The unique thing about these bracelets was that once they were locked onto your wrist, they couldn't be taken off normally.

The only way to unlock them was to bring both bracelets together, touching them for about ten seconds, and the magnetic lock would automatically release.

And if I remembered correctly, when Ethan left the house this morning, his bracelet was still firmly locked on his wrist.

Under my steady gaze, a flicker of panic flashed across Chloe's eyes.

So, despite her big talk, she wasn't entirely confident either.

I saw her mouth open, trying to say something to salvage the situation.

But before she could speak, her angry minions lost their patience. One of them stepped forward and yelled:

"Why are we wasting our breath on her? She’s just being stubborn. Let’s just rip it off her wrist!"

"It’s not hers, period! Since her parents clearly didn't teach her any manners, we’ll do it for them today!"

With that shout, a few of the girls physically surrounded me.

I was trapped and outnumbered.

Within seconds, they grabbed my arms, pinning me down while trying to violently yank the bracelet off my wrist.

But the bracelet was custom-sized to fit my wrist perfectly.

Without the unique unlocking method, it was physically impossible to pull off.

In no time, my skin was scraped raw and turning a painful, angry red.

But they didn't care about hurting me. They only cared about tearing the jewelry off.

"Why is this stupid thing so tight? You bitch, what kind of trick did you use to lock this on?"

"Just cooperate and you’ll suffer less!"

Suddenly, a sharp pop echoed, followed by a searing flash of pain in my wrist.

The intense pain brought tears to my eyes, and I began to struggle violently, trying to push them off me.

With both of my hands pinned, I had no choice but to kick out blindly, trying to force them to let go.

My foot connected with one of the girls in front of me.

In response, they cursed loudly and shoved me hard onto the floor.

My hair fell wildly over my face. My knees and elbows scraped against the hard floor, tearing the skin.

I looked like an absolute mess.

But nobody was looking at my injuries.

Instead, everyone's attention was drawn to my handbag, which had fallen and burst open when I was shoved down.

The contents of my bag were scattered across the floor. Among the clutter, a few elegant, gold-embossed cards were glaringly obvious.

"What is this?"

"Why... why does this wedding invitation have your name and my fiancé’s name on it?!"

Chloe rushed over and picked up one of the cards, her voice trembling with shock.

4

Those were the wedding invitations for my upcoming wedding with Ethan.

I had kept a few in my bag to mail out later.

Now, Chloe held them up for everyone to see.

Her dramatic gasp drew the entire room closer. Everyone crowded around us.

The girl standing next to Chloe snatched one of the cards and read the contents out loud so even the people in the back could hear.

A terrible, sinking feeling settled deep in my stomach.

But in my current state, I couldn't physically fight them to get the cards back.

I could only sit on the floor, forced to listen to her mockingly read the words while the crowd’s judging, disgusted stares rained down on me like daggers.

"And here she was pretending she didn't care about Chloe's man! She literally printed fake wedding invitations! Sera Vance, are you seriously going to deny that you’re trying to steal Chloe’s fiancé now?"

"Writing someone else's fiancé’s name on your own wedding invitation... how desperate and sick do you have to be?"

"If someone did this to my man, I’d throw up for three days straight."

"Sera, are you genuinely delusional? Do you seriously hallucinate that everything Chloe has belongs to you? Do you have no shame?"

My standing in this circle was non-existent.

Which was exactly why I had never planned on inviting any of these people to my wedding in the first place.

Ethan had agreed, saying that our wedding should be about our happiness, not about showy rituals.

We only wanted people who genuinely loved and supported us to be there.

I never imagined that this beautiful sentiment would be twisted into proof of my "obsession" and "delusion."

They even started whispering that the engagement photos inside were probably photoshopped.

They only believed what their warped minds wanted to believe. They only believed Chloe.

Anything I said would just be white noise to them. To them, I was the ultimate villain.

As the crowd’s insults grew louder, Chloe suddenly raised her hand. "Enough!"

She wiped away a fake tear, looking incredibly brave as she looked down at me.

"No matter what your sick goal is, Sera, you won't break us apart. I trust my fiancé."

"He’ll be here any minute. Once he arrives, the truth will come to light."

Hearing Chloe’s absolute confidence.

I didn't need to be a genius to realize that she and Ethan had already hooked up behind my back.

Simply put, Ethan was going to take her side.

I was too exhausted to analyze how or why he betrayed me. The throbbing pain in my sprained wrist was getting unbearable.

I was genuinely worried that if I didn't go to the hospital soon, I’d end up with permanent nerve damage.

I reached for my phone on the floor, intending to call the police.

But before my finger could even touch the screen, a bucket of ice water was violently splashed all over me.

My phone screen was instantly covered in water, making the touch screen completely unresponsive.

I gasped from the freezing shock and looked up. One of Chloe's close friends was standing over me, dropping an empty ice bucket onto the floor.

She sneered down at me, suddenly pulling a small Swiss army knife out of her purse.

"Are you awake now, Sera Vance?"

"Since you’re awake, I think it’s time someone taught you a lesson on how to behave."

"Aside from your pretty face, you’re inferior to Chloe in every single way. You’re nothing but a cheap whore who uses her looks to seduce other women's men."

She took a slow step toward me, playing with the small blade.

"I’d be doing the world a favor by ruining that pretty little face of yours today!"

Chloe was insane, and her friends were completely unhinged.

No girl would ever be indifferent to having her face mutilated.

I tried to scramble backward to escape, but my sprained wrist gave out, and I couldn't get up.

Chloe stood in the background, whining, "Guys, please don't do this," while simultaneously listing all my "crimes" to egg them on, ending with a hypocritical, "Aren't we being too harsh on her?"

She had absolutely no intention of stopping them.

This was exactly the bloody show she wanted to see.

Seeing the girl raise the knife, aiming it right at my face, I forced myself to sound cold and steady. "If you touch me, I promise you will spend the rest of your life in prison!"

"Oh, please! Who are you trying to scare? I’d love to see how you’re going to make me regret this!"

"Did you honestly think anyone in this room is going to help you?"

But just as her words echoed through the room, the loud, aggressive roar of multiple luxury sports car engines sounded outside the venue.

Everyone froze and turned toward the glass entrance.

A fleet of black luxury sedans pulled up, and a tall, incredibly handsome man in a tailored suit stepped out, his face carved of pure ice.

"What the hell is going on here?"