Chapter 3

Hearing her warm, caring voice made my heart melt.

"Don't worry, I’ll wait for you. Drive safe."

"What are you doing out here?"

An old classmate walked up and slapped me on the shoulder, pulling me back toward the room.

"Everyone’s inside eating. Why are you standing out here alone?"

The moment I walked in, Julian Sterling walked over.

"Hey, Ethan. Try these Gillardeau oysters. I had them flown in from France. They’re about a hundred bucks a pop."

I took a small bite and set it down.

I didn't care for seafood, and my wife was highly allergic, so I rarely touched it.

But Julian wouldn't let it go.

He wanted to use the oysters to make a point.

Technically, he was my junior in college, yet he talked down to me like I was his assistant. He clearly wanted to humiliate me.

A few classmates immediately chimed in to please him.

"Ethan probably has never tasted anything this expensive. He doesn't know the difference."

"Seriously. If Julian hadn't hosted this, you wouldn't even be able to step foot inside The Grand Riviera. Just take this opportunity to see how the other half lives, man."

"It's a waste to feed luxury food to someone like him anyway."

They were practically screaming that I didn't belong here.

Julian chuckled and took a sip of his wine.

"Come on, guys. You’re making me look like the bad guy. I just wanted to share some good food with Ethan. I actually brought a bunch of cases. I’ll have the staff bring some more out for everyone."

But his smug smile was a direct provocation.

I couldn't stand the fake atmosphere anymore, so I walked back out to the hallway.

My phone vibrated with a text on Snapchat. It was my wife.

*Olivia: Traffic is terrible, babe. I’m going to be a little late.*

*Ethan: It’s fine. Drive safe!*

As soon as I locked my phone, Chloe appeared in front of me again, looking down her nose at me.

"Look at you. It’s honestly sad. You can't even appreciate a decent oyster."

So she had been watching.

"Julian and I are engaged now. We’re planning the wedding."

"If you hadn't been so stubborn and came to New York with me, we’d probably have kids by now."

She gently stroked the giant diamond on her finger.

"But sadly, you didn't just miss out on success. You missed out on me."

I looked at her calmly.

"Then let me be the first to congratulate you."

Chloe’s expression tightened.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm congratulating you on marrying Julian. You finally get to live your dream life without worrying about the boring stuff."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"Yes."

Her face flushed with anger.

She stomped her heel and glared at me.

"I hope you mean that!"

Without waiting for my reply, she turned and stormed off.

What a drama queen.

I shook my head and decided to go back. On my way, the hotel manager spotted me and rushed over to greet me. I waved him off and whispered a few instructions, telling him not to expose my identity yet.

But when I walked back into the private room, everyone was staring at me with weird, hostile expressions.

I frowned, confused.

Then I heard Julian speak up.

"It’s fine, guys. It’s just a few cases of oysters. If they're ruined, they're ruined."

It turned out Julian had ordered a bunch of premium seafood and kept it in the storage room next door.

Now, all of it was dumped on the floor, trampled and ruined.

And since I was the only one who had been wandering around the hallway...

Along with our earlier tension, everyone immediately assumed I did it out of spite.

The manager had mentioned that someone had reserved the side room, but I didn't know it was Julian’s stuff.