Chapter 2

Hearing those words, even without sitting in on the negotiation, I knew instantly: Chloe had been played like a fiddle.

I had dealt with Leo Vance before. He was never an easy man to bargain with.

Not to mention, he had stayed underground for eight whole years.

After lying low for nearly a decade, his comeback target was a Hollywood superstar's hidden child.

He wasn't going to let her off without stripping her down to the bone.

Yet looking at the actress, she seemed totally relieved—as if whatever Vance demanded was pocket change to her.

Everything pointed to one thing.

Chloe must have said something during the talk that pissed Vance off.

So he feigned compromise to screw with them.

Yet Chloe was still standing there, brimming with confidence, genuinely believing she had nailed her first negotiation.

Or maybe she just had miraculous beginner's luck?

I shook my head, deeply skeptical.

Chloe seemed to finally notice me standing there.

Her mouth opened in exaggerated surprise. "Sierra! What are you doing here?"

Then she quickly put on a comforting, patronizing tone:

"Don't worry, Sierra, it's all handled. But next time, if you're not ready, just don't take the job. Bailing at the last minute is pretty unprofessional, you know?"

Right. I bailed, and she was the brave soul cleaning up my mess.

I looked at her with pure disgust and let out a cold laugh.

Out of sheer rage, of course.

"What really went down—others might not know, but do you really think I don't? Cut the act."

Logan was revolting, but she was hardly an innocent bystander.

Chloe’s expression flickered, immediately melting into wounded victimhood:

"Sierra, if you're mad, take it out on me. Logan was just worried that if things went south, they'd come after you. That's why he asked me to step in."

The second the words left her mouth, Logan jumped in front of her like a knight in shining armor.

"I told Chloe to go. If you want to bitch, bitch at me!"

"If it wasn't for Chloe, you'd be ruined today. Before you say another word, you owe her a thank-you!"

I chuckled softly, replying with two simple words:

"Dream on."

Feeling humiliated, Logan snapped, "Sierra, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? You two wanted my job, didn't you? Fine, take it!"

"Since you think she's so brilliant, let's hope she doesn't crash and burn."

The actress had already left, clearly convinced Chloe had things under control.

Staying here would only mean trading meaningless insults.

Just as I turned on my heel, a hand grabbed my wrist.

"Sierra, please don't be mad! Now that you're here, I’ll hand everything back to you. I won't steal your thunder!"

"Besides, high-stakes stuff should be left to the pros. I don't want to embarrass myself."

She sounded so humble and bashful.

All I heard was pure hypocrisy.

If she was so afraid of embarrassing herself, today’s setup wouldn’t have happened in the first place.

Wasn't this exact spotlight what she had been begging for?

I ripped my hand away in disgust. Logan immediately barked:

"If she's a pro, then you're a prodigy!"

"Be confident, Chloe. You studied psychology; you read people better than anyone. If you ask me, you did way better than Sierra ever could!"

I had seen people tear down others to prop someone up, but experiencing it firsthand from my own husband of five years was something else.

For a moment, I didn't know whether I was more furious or more heartbroken.

Watching the two of them shower each other with praise, I inhaled sharply.

Then Logan said, "Chloe helped us out so much today. The least we can do is take her out for a nice dinner."

The audience has left, yet you two are still performing your little soap opera?

I rolled my eyes, my voice dripping with venom: "Having dinner with you two makes me want to vomit."

I knew with absolute certainty that I would never forgive Logan for this.

In my eyes, what he did was no different from trying to destroy my career.

Whatever we used to have, as of today, we were done.

I walked away without looking back once.

Even from a distance, I could still hear Chloe's sickeningly sweet voice drifting through the air:

"Logan, you're the best. Whatever I want, you always make sure I get it."

"I promise I won't let you down."

The corner of my mouth twisted into a smirk.

I was suddenly very curious—when the real nightmare began, would these two still be gazing lovingly into each other's eyes?

I couldn't wait for the moment Logan finally paid for what he'd done.