Chapter 1

On our third anniversary, I planned to surprise Chloe with a proposal and take her straight to City Hall to get married. I even took a grueling red-eye flight back to the country just to make it in time.

I had been scrolling through social media looking for proposal ideas when a viral video with tens of millions of views caught my eye.

Under a stunning sky of artificial northern lights and a canopy of stars, thousands of pink roses swayed in the wind. In the center of it all, a man was down on one knee.

The comment section was flooded with congratulations, everyone envying the rich guy’s "financial superpower."

My grip tightened on my phone. With trembling fingers, I uploaded the video of my own engagement party from a year ago.

Because the woman receiving the grand proposal in that viral video was Chloe—my fiancée.

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The moment I posted the video, it blew up.

"What is going on here? A proposal on one side, and an engagement on the other?"

"Look at the timestamp in the photos! The engagement was a year ago. Bro, your green hat is brighter than those artificial northern lights."

"Run, bro! She's a textbook gold digger!"

Right then, Chloe called to check in, just like she did every day. She clearly had no idea she had just become an internet sensation.

"Hey babe, I’m still out of town on this business trip. I might have a business dinner tonight, so I won't be able to FaceTime. Miss me, okay? Mua!" she chirped, blowing a quick kiss into the receiver.

Through the phone, I could hear loud music and people cheering in the background. I even faintly heard someone shouting, "Kiss her! Kiss her!"

But Chloe didn't bother to explain.

She was always like this, never caring about my feelings.

To make it back for our third anniversary, I had spent over ten hours on connecting flights. I had pulled three all-nighters straight to cram a week's worth of business meetings into three days.

She always claimed she was an introvert who hated big, flashy crowds. So, I spent hours decorating our cozy apartment with her favorite pink roses.

But now I realized she didn't hate grand gestures. She just hated them with me.

"You can't make it back again?" My voice cracked. For three years, she had bailed on every single anniversary with the exact same excuse.

"It’s not even a big deal, Ethan. If I rush back now, I’ll have to drive for two hours. Do you know how tiring that is?" she whined, trying to act cute.

Right. A two-hour drive was too tiring for her. But my ten-hour flight and three days of no sleep meant absolutely nothing.

"It must be exhausting. After all, you've been busy getting proposed to all day. How could you possibly find the time to come back?"

The line went dead silent for a moment. Then, Chloe burst into defensive tears. "What the hell are you talking about? We aren't even married yet, and you're already spying on me? I work so hard every day for what? For our future! For our home!"

"If I don’t work, do you think we can survive on your pathetic salary?"

I let out a cold laugh and forwarded her the viral proposal video on Snapchat.

"Are the artificial northern lights beautiful? The roses look great too. And that diamond ring—so big and shiny."

"Since when did your job description change to 'stand-in fiancée'? How much do they pay you per day for that?"

For a long time, there was no sound from the other end of the line, only her rapid, panicked breathing.

She must have finally opened TikTok and seen the comment section.

"Ethan Miller! We aren't married yet, and you're already tracking my every move? Delete that video right now!" Chloe screamed, her voice shaking with rage.

"Julian and I were classmates in college! He has a girlfriend. He just asked me to help him test out the venue today!"

"Do you have to make such a big deal out of nothing? We've been together for three years. Don't you have any trust in me?"

"Besides, Julian has several major projects tied to our company right now. How could I dare offend a VIP client? You're just insecure because of your own lack of ability, you coward!"

As always, she turned it around to attack my competence, comparing me to Julian.

"Then what about the ring?" I asked.

A rock that size on her finger was hard to miss.

"My ring size is similar to his fiancée's! He was nervous, so he asked me to try it on to see how it looked. It was just a rehearsal to calm his nerves!"

Chloe only dared to lie so shamelessly because she knew how much I loved her.

But this lie was too ridiculous even for a toddler. She was only comforting her own guilt.

I was too exhausted to argue. Summoning every ounce of courage I had left, I said, "Return the $50,000 wedding fund I gave your family. The wedding is off."

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