Chapter 4

I had already told her who I was, but she clearly didn't care.

"Chloe? What are you doing here?"

Just as I was debating whether to call Damian again, Ethan suddenly appeared in the lobby of the Cole Group.

I didn't even bother giving him a glance. But men are truly pathetic—the colder you are, the harder they cling.

"Chloe, you're my wife. What is this messy affair you're having with my uncle?" Ethan said loudly.

I whipped my head around, staring at him in shock.

"Wow, this girl is shameless. Jumping between Mr. Cole and his nephew?"

"Exactly. Why would Mr. Cole want someone so loose?"

Hearing the whispers from the employees nearby, I finally understood Ethan’s game. He was trying to ruin my reputation.

"Chloe, my uncle might have power and money, but he can't give you the love you actually want," Ethan said, looking incredibly devoted. He was successfully painting me as a gold-digging heartbreaker who played with his feelings.

He was humiliating himself just to drag me down with him.

"Wow, the heir to the Miller family is so naive. Why is he begging a girl like that?"

"I know, right? Why do the loyal guys always get hurt?"

This was exactly what Ethan wanted. To throw dirt all over my name.

But even if my reputation was dragged through the mud, I would never, ever go back to him.

"What makes me so much worse than Damian?" Ethan snapped, visibly angered by my cold demeanor. He couldn't understand why I still wouldn't bow down to him.

"What makes you worse? For starters, Damian doesn't keep running back to his ex, and he didn't abandon me at the altar."

My words made Ethan's face turn pale. The loving, devoted persona he had just built began to crumble.

"Chloe, why can't you just let Hailey go? She already left the city! Why do you keep bringing her up?"

Left the city? What a joke. He was probably only saying that to fool the onlookers.

"Just come home with me. My uncle will never love you anyway. I don't want to see you get hurt."

The crowd was swayed by Ethan's acting again, completely ignoring what I had just said.

Ethan stepped forward and grabbed my wrist, trying to drag me out by force.

"Touch my woman again, and see what happens."

My other wrist was suddenly caught in a warm, firm grip.