Chapter 4

"Audrey! Are you trying to bully Chloe again?!"

"I told you a thousand times, there's nothing going on between us! Why do you keep harassing her?!"

Andrew’s furious voice roared behind me, followed by a stinging slap across my face.

My cheek burned with sharp pain.

I looked at him, letting out a mocking laugh. He felt completely like a stranger now.

"Hitting me without even asking what happened? Is this how your prestigious family raised you?"

Andrew's face drained of color.

He bit his lip, seemingly unable to find a comeback.

Since Chloe didn't show up, there was no point in keeping the truth to myself anymore.

"If I wanted to harass her, would I have called your phone?"

"Could I have predicted she would answer? Don't make me laugh."

I took a step toward him, forcing him to look into my eyes.

His expression crumbled, and he took a step back.

I found the whole thing incredibly pathetic. I turned around and walked away.

Andrew didn't contact me again, but the wedding day was fast approaching.

With only one day left, he sent someone to deliver a necklace to my office.

There was no wrapping, no box.

Just a bare, tarnished silver necklace.

"Didn't you always want this necklace? I bought it back for you." Andrew's text read.

I found it hilarious.

I called him and said, "Andrew, if you think I’m going to cherish a secondhand piece of trash that was stolen by Chloe first, you are sorely underestimating me."

Andrew sounded guilty, his voice cracking. "Why do you always have to make such a big deal out of nothing?"

"You got the thing you wanted, and I'm still by your side. What more do you want?"

"After tomorrow, we'll be husband and wife."

I smiled mockingly. "I see."

That was all I said before hanging up.

"Where have you been staying these past few days? You couldn't possibly..."

He suddenly called back, his voice laced with a strange anxiety.

For a moment, I felt a deep, piercing humiliation.

Anger flared in my chest. "Andrew! If you knew I had nowhere to go, why did you kick me out in the first place?!"

"Did you really think..."

He dodged the question, murmuring guiltily, "I thought you'd give in and apologize after half a day."

At that moment, I was just so tired.

"Forget it." I hung up and blocked his number.

When I walked down to the lobby of my office building, an unwelcome guest was already waiting for me.

"Audrey."

I turned and saw Chloe.

"Did you get the necklace?"

"Consider it a little compensation from Andrew and me. Weren't you dying to have it?"

I looked at Chloe. Around her neck hung the Heart of the Ocean—a blue diamond necklace worth millions that had recently been auctioned off.

Noticing my gaze, Chloe raised her chin proudly, running her fingers over the massive diamond.

"Andrew said you liked that cheap silver thing, so he used this multi-million dollar diamond to trade for it with me."

Her tone was dripping with smug satisfaction.

I laughed. "It's just trash. Keep it for yourself."

Chloe's face twisted in rage, but I walked right past her.

The next day, I boarded my flight to London.

I ignored the dozens of missed calls from Andrew and Chloe.

But just as I was about to pass through the boarding gate, a violent force slammed me to the ground.

"You skipped our wedding just to run away?!"