Chapter 1

During our seven years of dating, Ethan proposed to me seven times.

I was a firm believer in remaining unmarried, while he desperately craved the traditional family life.

From day one, we both laid our cards on the table, and the rest of our time together was a constant tug-of-war.

By the eighth year, I got pregnant by accident. Ethan thought he finally had the upper hand. He didn’t even bother putting together a proper proposal anymore. One lazy afternoon, he just asked me casually, "Should we just head to City Hall and make it official?"

I pulled out a photo of him successfully proposing to another girl, tossed it right in front of him, and sneered, "Are you planning on committing bigamy, Ethan?"

Every betrayal leaves a trail. You’re just usually the last one to find out.

Or maybe you just numb yourself because you don’t want to believe it. But mostly, it’s because of the cover-ups.

He was hiding it, the people around him were hiding it, and I was just the blindfolded fool in the middle of it all.

Honestly, if the girl hadn't been so eager to take my place, I would have never known. This three-year underground affair had been going on right under my nose, and apparently, everyone in our circle already knew about it.

When I threw the photo in front of Ethan, he froze for a split second. Then, he quickly regained his composure.

"You’re overthinking again, Chloe," he said smoothly. "A random bystander must have taken this. The lead actor on set couldn't get the proposal scene right, and since I happened to be there, everyone started teasing me. They said I had the most proposal experience and insisted I demonstrate it myself."

There was even a hint of resentment in his voice, as if the fact that I had made him propose seven times had turned him into a laughingstock.

"Since when do executive producers start coaching actors on set?" I asked, my voice cold.

"I was just passing by for business. I stopped to watch, and they dragged me into it."

He looked up at me, checking my reaction before continuing, "Besides, I know you and Mia don’t get along. I wouldn't go see her on purpose."

I never play a game I’m not prepared for. This was just a small test, and clearly, Ethan was rattled.

At least this proved one thing: he wasn’t ready to end things with me yet.

Over the years, even though we weren't married, our careers and finances were deeply intertwined. Until I sorted out all the assets, I wasn't going to make any reckless moves.

I took out my phone and sent the audio recording of our conversation to the unknown number that had sent me the photo.

*“Ethan says it was just a misunderstanding, just blocking out a scene. I choose to believe him. You should stop trying to break us up. Your acting skills are honestly pathetic.”*

I wasn't in a hurry. But someone else was.

I just needed to throw some more wood onto the fire.

If you want to play with fire, you’d better be prepared to get burned.