Chapter 2

Ethan smiled warmly and waved at the waitress.

"Hey, bring us a glass of every single alcohol on this menu!"

"And one of every appetizer too!"

With that, he snatched a thousand-dollar bill from his friend’s pocket and tossed it to the waitress as a tip.

Seeing this, the realization hit me like a physical blow. I was just a clown to him. Again.

One of Ethan's friends complained loudly.

"Oh my god, Chloe, how can you be so stupid?"

"Anyone with half a brain could tell this was a prank! Why would a guy like Ethan ever put a ring on you?"

"Seriously, stop being so delusional. He would never marry you!"

Listening to their back-and-forth mockery, I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth ached.

Ethan threw back a shot of whiskey, his voice dripping with fake sincerity.

"Ah, free drinks taste the best. Thanks for paying the tab, boys!"

"But hey, Chloe, don’t be too sad. I did promise you a surprise, didn't I?"

He reached into a nearby trash can, pulled out a cheap, tarnished metal bracelet, and tossed it to me.

The girl sitting next to him couldn't help but chime in, giggling.

"Ethan, how could you give her something someone literally threw away?"

She intentionally shook her wrist, letting her expensive designer bracelet catch the light. Her eyes were filled with mockery.

Ethan stared at me, his lips curling into a smug smirk.

"Our Chloe isn't that superficial."

"As long as it's from me, she’ll cherish it like a treasure. Am I right, Chloe?"

Seeing me actually take the bracelet, his friends burst into another round of snickers.

"Wow, she really is a cheap doormat. She’ll take literally anything."

If this were the old me, I would have screamed, cried, and fought to defend my dignity.

But now, I just calmly used the cheap bracelet as a hair tie to pull my hair up into a neat bun.

"Thanks. I actually have wedding toasts to make today, so having my hair down isn't really practical."

Hearing this, Ethan froze for a second before letting out a loud laugh.

"Wait, Chloe. Are you seriously still playing along with this fantasy?"

"Toasts? Do you honestly think I’d ever introduce a girl like you to my parents?"

"You're daydreaming in broad daylight. There must be something seriously wrong with your head."

He crossed his legs, looking at me with nothing but disgust.

Even though I had expected this, hearing those words directly from his mouth still made my chest ache with a dull, throbbing pain.

The truth was, I already knew today’s proposal was a setup.

Yesterday at noon, I had made lunch and brought it to Ethan’s office, just like I always did.

But as I reached the door, I heard loud laughter coming from inside.

Peeking through the crack, I saw Ethan sitting on his couch, smoking a cigarette.

"Ethan, you’re the king of savage bets. Only you could pull this off."

"Let's see if that delusional girl actually believes you're going to marry her!"

"But you've played her so many times. Will she really fall for it again? She looked pretty pissed off last time."

"Tell you what, if you lose, you have to make Serena sing for us. I heard she’s a music major at—"

Before the guy could even finish his sentence, Ethan kicked him squarely in the chest, sending him sprawling to the floor.