Chapter 1

My best friend, Lily, couldn't stop bragging in our Snapchat group chat about her wild sex life with her boyfriend.

One day she was trying a new position in bed, the next she was showing off a million-dollar designer bag, and the day after that, she was wearing priceless diamond jewelry.

Meanwhile, my fiancé, Ethan, treated me like the plague.

He claimed he was severely allergic to my bodily fluids, so we had almost zero intimacy.

Even if I accidentally brushed his hand, he would flinch and pull away immediately.

Once, in the middle of the night, I had a burning fever of 102°F. I begged him to take care of me, but he just threw a cold glance at me and said,

"Don't touch me. I can't stand it."

I silently watched Lily post her happiness every day. I felt a mixture of heartache and envy.

Until the night before our wedding, she suddenly posted a picture on her Snapchat story.

"Tomorrow morning, I'll watch you marry her."

I instinctively tapped the photo to zoom in.

The man in the photo only showed his bare chest.

But right below his collarbone, there was a tiny, faded scar.

I had seen that scar countless times.

It was exactly the same as the one on my fiancé's body.

I sped all the way to the VIP lounge of the bar where Ethan was holding his bachelor party.

Pushing open the heavy oak door of the private suite, I saw Ethan tightly wrapping his arms around Lily.

The way he looked at her was filled with an adoration and tenderness he had never once shown me.

The room was filled with rowdy laughter, and the two of them kissed passionately, completely ignoring the crowd around them.

At that sight, my stomach churned, and I almost threw up on the spot.

Ethan was the first to notice me.

He abruptly let go of Lily, his face instantly turning pale with panic.

"Chloe? What are you doing here?"

I didn't say a word. I grabbed my designer clutch and hurled it straight at Lily's face.

"Chloe Carter! Are you out of your mind?!"

Ethan threw himself in front of Lily to shield her. In the chaotic scuffle, his hand swung out and slapped me hard across the face.

With a sharp crack, a burning pain flared on my cheek.

Yet, he didn't care about me at all. He gently wiped a speck of blood from Lily's lip, glaring at me as if I were his worst enemy.

"Are you sick?!"

"You just walk in and start attacking people?"

I stared blankly at Ethan, my heart breaking into a million pieces.

"You ask me why I hit her? I want to ask both of you. When the hell did you start screwing around behind my back?!"

Ethan stammered for a long time, his face flushed with guilt, unable to utter a single coherent word.

Lily snuggled deeper into Ethan's chest, putting on a pitiful, victimized act.

"Chloe, don't be mad at Ethan. It's my fault. I just couldn't control my feelings."

"But honestly, it's just your bad luck. Who told Ethan to be allergic to your bodily fluids?"

"Besides, Ethan sleeping with me is better than him sleeping with some random stranger, right? Think of it as me test-driving him for you."

My eyes locked onto the brand-new Bvlgari necklace around her neck.

I had seen the payment record for this exact necklace on Ethan's phone weeks ago. I had even seen the box hidden in his closet.

At the time, I foolishly thought it was a surprise wedding gift for me.

On the night he bought it, I waited up for him until dawn, but he never showed.

It wasn't until 3:00 AM that Lily brought him back, completely wasted.

As if her words weren't humiliating enough, Lily kept going.

"Oh, by the way, I taught Ethan a lot of positions that women love."

"So on your wedding night, you won't have to worry about him not finding the right spot, or hurting you."

Ethan gave Lily an appreciative look, then turned to scold me with deep annoyance.

"Lily did all of this for our future. Look at you. So what if I slept with her a few times?"

"We live in a sexually liberated society now. Do you have to be so uptight and dramatic?"

He knew exactly how much his betrayal cut me, yet he used "freedom" as an excuse to force me to tolerate his disgusting behavior.

I let out a cold, hollow laugh.

"Since you want your freedom so badly, we don't need to have the wedding tomorrow!"

As I turned to leave, Lily blocked my path.

She pulled a black credit card from her pocket and smugly tapped it against my cheek.

"Don't say I'm not a good friend. There's fifty thousand dollars in here. Consider it compensation for your emotional distress."

Instead of taking the card, I kicked her hard right in the stomach.

Caught off guard, Lily gasped in pain and doubled over, clutching her abdomen.

I grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at me.

"Keep this pocket change. Consider it your whore fee."

The next second, a blinding pain exploded at the back of my head.

I clutched my head and spun around.

Ethan was standing there, holding a heavy crystal ashtray he had just smashed over my skull.

"Don't blame me," he muttered, his voice trembling but cold. "You laid hands on her first."

I looked down at the warm, sticky blood pooling in my palm. Then, the world went black, and I collapsed.