Chapter 2

Deep down, I had seen this coming.

Yet, when it actually happened, I was completely unprepared.

It felt as if someone had shot me straight through the chest. A dull, numbing pain radiated to my fingertips.

Manuel was a motorcycle fanatic. We had been together for two years, and since both of our families highly approved of the match, our engagement had been smooth sailing.

To celebrate, we had planned this mountain camping trip a week ago.

Today, right on schedule, he rode his bike up here, packed with all our camping gear.

What I never expected was that the moment we reached the summit, we would run into his first love, Hathaway.

The second I saw Hathaway, every muscle in my body tensed.

After all, the love Manuel once had for her had been loud, fierce, and destructive.

Manuel was the ultimate bad-boy heir of New York high society, and Hathaway had been the city’s most dazzling "it girl."

Back when they were at their peak of young love, Manuel had gone so far as to sell off a dozen of his rare sports cars and custom bikes just to help the Miller family pay off their mounting debts. But even that couldn't stop the Miller empire from crumbling.

Once the Millers went bankrupt, Hathaway blamed Manuel.

She claimed he was useless because he couldn't drag her out of the abyss. They broke up, and rumor had it the split was incredibly toxic and messy.

Later, Manuel met me through a mutual friend.

It was love at first sight for me, though I knew a bit about his past with Hathaway.

I had assumed Manuel wouldn't want to get into another relationship anytime soon.

But at that charity gala, he had walked up to me, taken my hand, and shared a near-perfect waltz with me.

After that, everything fell into place. We dated, got engaged, and made it to where we were today.

But even so, seeing Hathaway made my stomach drop.

She was a mess. Her clothes were disheveled, but she still carried a sort of tragic, ruined beauty. Her eyes were red from crying, making her look like a startled, helpless rabbit.

She was the classic damsel in distress, a fragile doll that men just couldn't resist.

Being the sensitive person I was, I instinctively reached out to hold Manuel’s hand.

But in the next second, a cruel, mocking laugh escaped Manuel’s lips. "Well, well. Hathaway. What happened to you? Fallen on hard times?"