Chapter 2

Tyler's face drained of color instantly. I gave him a sweet, cold smile. "Nothing Ashton does will shake my position. But as for you? You might want to think carefully about how you treat me from now on."

Without giving him a second glance, I turned around to mingle with the guests.

A while later, Ashton returned. He was rubbing his temples, looking exhausted.

"How is Chloe?" I asked.

"She's just throwing a tantrum. I'm used to it after all these years. Sorry you had to deal with that, Serena."

"It's fine," I smiled softly.

He wrapped his arm around my waist, and we continued greeting our guests. Not far away, his buddies were watching me with dark, unreadable expressions. I raised my glass to them from afar and smiled.

They thought I was in over my head. I thought they were idiots.

By staying by Ashton's side, my professional network had expanded tenfold. No matter what his friends thought of me, I wasn't going to let go of this golden ticket.

Besides, Ashton wanted to marry me, and his parents approved. This meant I had already passed the real test.

As for the girls buzzing around him, I trusted that a mature man would handle them himself.

Sure enough, Chloe didn't show up for the rest of the night. But Ashton's friends couldn't stop making snide remarks and passive-aggressive comments.

Eventually, Ashton snapped.

"Serena is my fiancée, and she's going to be my wife. If you guys consider me a friend, you will treat her with respect. If I hear one more disrespectful comment about her, don't blame me for cutting ties with you forever!"

His outburst terrified them. They exchanged uneasy glances. Finally, Tyler blurted out, "Ashton, you're blinded by this woman! Chloe is your—"

"Chloe is just a friend," Ashton interrupted him coldly. "Yes, we grew up together. But Serena is the woman I love. Don't ever bring up Chloe in the same breath again."

Everyone looked at Ashton like they had seen a ghost. They realized he was completely whipped.

I looked at Tyler's furious face and sneered inwardly. Tyler was Chloe's ultimate puppet and her spy in the city. He reported my every move with Ashton back to Chloe.

With that kind of dedication, he should have been a paparazzo.

Tyler looked like he wanted to spit fire, but in the end, he kept his mouth shut.

This engagement party made one thing clear: Ashton's feelings for me were real. Too bad some people refused to believe it, thinking I was just a gold-digging witch who had cast a spell on him.

I didn't care to explain myself. After all, I was the one who was going to spend the rest of my life with him.

After the party, Ashton drove me home. On the way, his phone rang again. He hung up impatiently.

I caught a glimpse of the screen. It was Chloe.

"She's probably upset because you were ignoring her all night," I said softly. "Why don't we go check on her? Just in case she does something stupid."

Ashton sighed, steering the wheel. "Thanks for being so understanding, Serena. I wish she could be half as mature as you."

I chuckled. "I wasn't born mature, Ashton. Chloe is just spoiled by everyone around her."

I had seen these kinds of childish mind games back in college. Now that I'd been in the corporate world for years, Chloe's tactics looked pathetic.

Ashton seemed to take my words to heart. "We're not going. Today is our engagement day. I'm not letting her ruin it."

He ignored her calls for the rest of the night.

When we got back to our apartment, Ashton turned his phone off completely.

But Chloe, driven mad by the silence, actually showed up at our door.