Chapter 2

Chloe's POV

The moment I walked out of the hotel, Liam's Maybach was already idling at the curb.

"If you really don't want to marry him, get in," Liam said, looking at me. That was all he said.

With red eyes, I pulled open the door. "I need to go back and get my documents."

I drove back to the penthouse I had spent six months decorating. But when I pushed the door open, the entryway was piled with baby sleeping bags and unopened prenatal vitamins.

Victoria, Carter's mother, was directing the housekeeper to clear out the guest bedroom. Seeing me return, she smiled as if nothing had happened. "Chloe, you're back just in time. Iris is in her first trimester, and she has no one to take care of her out there. I had her move in here for a few days. You're the real Mrs. Sterling, so you need to be understanding. That's the only way to keep peace in the family."

I stared at her coldly. "This is my and Carter's home."

"Our family co-signed this penthouse, and Iris is carrying a Sterling baby. Why shouldn't she stay here?" Victoria's face hardened. "Carter is a successful man. It's only natural for him to have some temptations outside. Do you not even understand how high society works?"

"Then go find someone who 'understands' and let her marry him."

I didn't waste another breath. I walked straight into the bedroom, packing my passport and important documents into a suitcase.

Hurry footsteps echoed from the hallway.

Carter rushed in, looking completely disheveled. He slammed his hand against the doorframe, blocking my way. "How long are you going to keep making a scene? If you walk out that door tonight, what are we supposed to do tomorrow?"

"When you let Iris move into our home, did you think about what we were supposed to do?" I shoved him away, my eyes filled with nothing but absolute coldness. "I'm not making a scene. I am leaving. Did you seriously expect me to stay, give up my room, accompany her to OB-GYN appointments, and then smile while taking care of her tomorrow?"

Victoria got defensive. "Iris is pregnant! Watch your mouth!"

"That's why I'm leaving!"

Carter didn't believe I would actually walk away.

I had chased him for four years. Everyone knew it. I was the one who brought him homemade soup when he pulled late nights for his startup. I was the one who remembered all his food allergies. I was the one who saved every single Sterling family member's birthday in my calendar. Carter was used to my gentleness. He was used to me hiding my own wounds whenever he hurt me.

So, he reached out to grab my suitcase. "Go to a hotel to cool off tonight. The makeup artist is still coming tomorrow morning."

I dodged his hand. "No need."

"Chloe Vance," Carter warned, lowering his voice. "Don't force me to say something ugly in front of my mother."

Liam walked over from the elevator lobby. He smoothly took the suitcase from my hand. "Go ahead and say it. I'd love to hear it."

Only then did Carter notice him. His face instantly changed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Picking her up," Liam said flatly. "She doesn't want to stay here, so I'm taking her."

Carter let out a harsh laugh. "Since when is our business any of your concern?"

Liam looked down at me. "Is he still your fiancé?"

I answered instantly. "No."

Victoria stood up, furious. "Chloe! Do you even know what you're saying? Marriage isn't a game! If you walk out with another man tonight, what do you think people will say about you tomorrow?"

"They'll say I found out my fiancé knocked up another woman right before our wedding, and I cut my losses in time." I paused. "Honestly, that sounds great. I'm not ashamed."

Carter stared at me, suddenly letting out a cold smirk. "Cut your losses? Chloe, you sound tough right now, but don't come crying back to me in a few days."

I didn't look back.

Carter lunged forward to grab me. "Chloe, you are not leaving with him!"

I stepped back, swatting his hand away with pure disgust.

"Don't touch me. You make me sick."

The elevator doors slowly slid shut, completely blocking out Carter's enraged face.

The moment the doors closed, my tense shoulders finally slumped. Liam stood beside me. He held back for a long time before asking softly, "Are you hurt?"

"Where?"

"Everywhere."

I looked up at him, tears threatening to spill over. I forced them back and whispered, "Even if it hurts, I'm never going back."

Liam shifted the suitcase to his other hand. "Then we don't go back."

The next morning, the Sterling family tried to push through with the wedding anyway.

Victoria kept calling my family's house, screaming that I had no respect for the bigger picture.

My father answered with just one sentence: "The wedding is canceled. Don't ever contact my daughter again."

Carter tried to call me, but his number was already blocked.

He used his assistant's phone to dial. Liam answered it.

"She's resting," Liam said. "Mr. Sterling, stop calling."

Carter roared through the receiver, "Put her on!"

"Why should I?" Liam paused. "You owe her some peace and quiet."

He hung up.

Robert Sterling tried to reach my father. When the call finally went through, he only got half a sentence out before my father coldly cut him off.

"My daughter isn't marrying into your family," my father said. "If the Sterlings feel humiliated, you should ask your son what kind of trash he projected onto the screen at the rehearsal."