Chapter 2

"No wonder Ethan kept claiming he was swamped with business trips and wouldn't let me visit! He was keeping a dirty little mistress behind my back!"

"If I hadn't caught you, fine! But today is my engagement party, and you have the audacity to shove your face in mine?!"

Chloe screeched, flailing her arms and clawing at me like a maniac.

Instinct kicked in. I blocked her swing, grabbed her wrist, and twisted her arm behind her back, pinning her in place.

I was a trained police officer. I wasn't about to let Chloe Sterling assault me.

I wanted to demand an explanation, but words died in my throat. Everything unfolding before me was completely bizarre.

If I really had crossed into an alternate timeline, wouldn't I be the one destroying someone else's happy family?

No. Ethan was "my" husband!

My thoughts were a chaotic blur. Meanwhile, the surrounding classmates rushed forward, yelling:

"Claire Miller! Let Chloe go right now!"

"I always knew you were rotten to the core! Becoming a cheap mistress is bad enough, but now you're assaulting his fiancée?!"

Chloe thrashed against my grip, screaming, "Let me go, Claire, or I swear to God I'll make you wish you were dead!"

"How dare you seduce my man! Just you wait!"

Mr. Higgins caught me completely off guard and struck me hard across the face.

"Claire Miller! Is this how I raised you to behave?!"

"Are the rest of you blind?! Get over here and pull her off Chloe!"

"Having a student like you is the ultimate disgrace to Oakridge High!"

The crowd swarmed me. Outnumbered, I had to let Chloe go.

They formed a protective wall around Chloe, hurling vile insults at me.

I forced myself to speak calmly. "I am not a mistress. The man on my lock screen is my legal husband. Everyone calm down."

Hearing that, Chloe’s eyes turned blood-red with fury. "Are you saying "I'm" the mistress?!"

"You seducing whore! You stole my man and you assaulted me! You're dead!"

I frowned. "You swung at me first. I restrained you to protect myself. That’s legal self-defense."

"Even if we take this to the police department, I am completely in the right."

Chloe’s chest heaved violently. Dressed in pristine white silk, she looked like an angel, but her face was twisted into pure demonic malice.

"You dare lecture me on the law, you little homewrecker?!"

"You think knowing a few combat moves makes you untouchable?"

"Hold her down! Pin her! I want to ruin her!"

A few classmates hesitated. "Chloe... isn't this going too far? We're all old classmates."

Chloe spat contemptuously, "Too far? I'll take full responsibility!"

"At worst, I'll pay a settlement! I have more money than I could ever burn!"

Mr. Higgins immediately chimed in, "Exactly! Chloe has wealth and power. Teaching a little home-wrecking tramp a lesson is doing society a favor!"

I took a defensive stance, my voice turning icy. "Don't do anything stupid. We live in a society of law and order."

Chloe lunged forward and slapped me across the cheek.

"To hell with your law! Around here, I "am" the law!"

"Didn't you all want six-figure jobs at Vance Corp?! Grab her!"

The greed in their eyes ignited. Several classmates stepped toward me.

"Claire, don't blame us. You brought this on yourself by being a side chick."

"Getting beaten up by Chloe is a blessing in disguise. When she settles with cash, you won't have to work another day in your life."

"Yeah, remember to buy us dinner with your payout!"

Before I could back away, several girls rushed me from behind, grabbing my arms and tackling me to the floor, pinning me down.

The sheer audacity of their greed made me scoff in disbelief.

"You are committing a felony!"

Chloe loomed over me, wild-eyed, and struck me hard across my face again. With my arms held down, I couldn't dodge.

"I told you! I make the rules here!"

The blow echoed loudly, leaving a scorching, throbbing pain across my cheek.

"Seducing my fiancé? A gutter rat like you thinks you're worthy of a couple's photo with Ethan Vance?"

Still unsatisfied, Chloe snatched my phone from my hand, smashed it onto the marble floor, and stomped on it repeatedly with her sharp stilettos.

I watched the screen crack, flicker with green static, and die. The photo of Ethan and me vanished forever.

A sharp, tearing pain ripped through my heart, as if the most precious thing in my life had been violently ripped away. Tears spilled down my cheeks.

"Chloe, what else do you want me to say?! I'm not a side chick!"

"I don't know why my husband is suddenly your fiancé!"

Chloe leaned down, digging her sharp nails into my jaw, hissing, "He's "my" husband, you shameless whore!"

"Dressed like a homeless beggar, yet wearing such an expensive gold necklace? Which dirty trick did you use to get a man to buy this for you?!"

She clamped her fingers around the chain and yanked hard.

Panic seized my entire chest. "No! Stop! That’s our promise necklace!"

"Please! Give it back to me!"

My vision blurred with tears as I begged her, but my desperation only fueled her sadistic rage.

"A promise necklace?! Even I don't have a promise token from him yet, and a cheap tramp like you gets one?!"

She violently tore the gold links apart and tossed the broken pieces into the air.

"Here! Gold for everyone!"

The classmates cheered and scrambled across the floor like wild dogs, snatching up the shattered gold.

Watching the token of my marriage being trampled and looted tore my soul apart.

Chloe walked over to the banquet cart, grabbed a large platter of shredded chicken drenched in fiery red chili oil, and brought it back to me.

"Aren't you a hungry little chick?"

"Come on. Open wide."

"Let's choke this little homewrecking chick on her own kind."

I clamped my teeth shut. They could beat me, but they would not degrade me.

Seeing my resistance, Chloe wrapped her manicured fingers around my windpipe and squeezed with all her might. The suffocating agony forced my jaw open as I gasped for air.

Instantly, she dumped the burning chili oil straight down my throat, cramming chunks of meat into my mouth.

The fiery oil seared my lungs. I gagged violently, coughing and choking.

Then, Chloe raised the heavy ceramic platter and smashed it directly over my skull!

"CRASH!"

The platter shattered into sharp shards, slicing deep gashes across my cheek and forehead. Between the blinding pain on my skin and the burning acid in my throat, I curled up on the floor, convulsing in agony.

Chloe looked down at me with cold disgust.

"You almost ruined my wedding dress, you filthy slut."

"You honestly thought a nobody like you could steal my fiancé? Go look in a mirror."

"Even if I beat you to death right here, do you think Ethan would care? You think he'd say a single word to defend you?"

I choked and dry-heaved, desperate to clear the chili oil from my airways, unable to utter a single sound.

"What is going on out here?!" a sharp voice demanded.