Chapter 3

In the end, Carter agreed to my terms.

I didn't waste any time. Right in front of him, I drafted a quick statement on my phone: [Carter Cole and I have officially ended our engagement due to personal differences. This decision does not involve any third party. We wish each other the best.]

I turned the screen toward him. "Is this good enough?"

Carter stared at the words, his eyes filled with a complex, unreadable emotion.

His lips parted as if he wanted to say something else.

But my patience was entirely gone. I pulled my phone back and hit 'post.'

"The statement is live."

"Carter, we are officially even. Now, get out of my apartment."

Without waiting to see if he looked regretful or relieved, I slammed the door in his face. It took a long moment of silence before I finally heard his footsteps fading down the hallway.

Once the statement was out, Carter tried to focus all his attention on Serena.

Now that his arranged engagement was over, he finally had the woman he claimed to love.

He should be happy.

Right?

"Carter? Carter!"

"I’m talking to you! Why are you ignoring me? Have you been working too hard lately?"

Serena gently shook his arm, pulling Carter back to reality.

He rubbed his temples. "Sorry, I was just spacing out. What were you saying?"

Suppressing her annoyance, Serena pouted.

"You’ve been distracted since yesterday. You can't even focus when you're shopping with me."

"I was asking about this dress. How does it look?"

Carter glanced at it.

He instinctively frowned and said, "It’s too flashy. You look better in clean, minimalist cuts. Maybe something with structured lines and muted tones..."

Mid-sentence, Carter froze.

His eyes went blank for a second.

He suddenly realized that his subconscious standard of beauty was entirely based on my taste.

Over the past three years, I was always the one dragging him to go shopping, endlessly babbling while ignoring his cold attitude. My aesthetic had quietly woven itself into his mind.

Serena was quick to notice his reaction.

She immediately changed the subject. "Actually, you're right, it doesn't really suit me. We’ve been walking for so long, I'm starving! Let’s get some dinner. I know a great new spot nearby."

Carter nodded, forcing down the uneasy feeling in his chest.

Once they got to the restaurant, the atmosphere seemed to warm up.

Serena flipped through the menu and said excitedly, "Their cilantro-lime chicken is their signature dish! You have to try it!"

Carter nodded. Almost like a reflex, he looked up at the waiter and said, "Sure, we'll try that."

"And that’ll be all. Just make sure there is absolutely no cilantro in any of our dishes."

The moment the words left his mouth, the air at the table turned ice-cold.

Serena’s hand froze on the menu. She looked up at him, bewildered.

"Carter, did you mix something up?"

"I love cilantro."

Carter snapped out of it, his grip tightening around his water glass.

He had mixed it up.

The one who hated cilantro was me. Vivian.

The smile on Serena’s face finally crumbled.

She reached across the table, grabbing Carter’s hand, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Carter, your eyes are on me, but who is actually in your heart?"

"Have you... fallen in love with Vivian?"

Fallen in love with Vivian?

Those words pierced Carter’s ears like sharp needles, shocking him out of his weeks of melancholy.

How could he possibly love me?

What Carter hated most in his life was being controlled and arranged. When his parents pushed us together, they only cared about the Vance family's wealth. That blatant corporate merger masquerading as a marriage made him sick.

He was a free man.

His love should be free too.

At that thought, Carter immediately denied it. "Of course not! Serena, you’re the one I love."

"Even if the whole world is against us, I want to be with you."

Serena’s heart leaped with joy. Striking while the iron was hot, she said, "Then marry me. Let’s get engaged next month, okay?"

"Okay!"

Carter agreed without a second thought.

It didn't sound like an declaration of love. It sounded like he was desperately trying to prove something to himself.

Meanwhile, my visa and transfer paperwork were fully processed. As soon as tomorrow night's charity gala was over, I would fly straight to Switzerland.

Carter Cole and Serena Shaw would have absolutely nothing to do with me anymore.