Chapter 2

After so many years apart, I couldn't muster even a shred of warmth for her.

Standing up, I gestured coolly toward the lounge sofa nearby.

"Ms. Stone, please have a seat. Did you come all this way for something specific?"

Chloe seemed entirely oblivious to the cold distance in my tone. She settled onto the leather couch, speaking with manufactured enthusiasm.

"Can't I drop by just to say hi? Yesterday I was near the shopping district and caught sight of someone who looked just like you from behind. I wasn't entirely sure at first, but I thought you might be back in town. I made a few inquiries this morning, and what do you know—it really was you."

"Claire, why didn't you let me know you were coming back?"

Faced with her saccharine, performative intimacy, I offered only a flat, dismissive response.

"The studio just opened. Things are hectic. I've been busy."

Chloe surveyed the space, her perfectly sculpted brows knitting together in faux sympathy.

"This place is far too cramped, isn't it? There's barely any room to breathe."

"I actually own a much larger commercial space right downtown. It's completely vacant—you should move in there. Don't worry about rent or utilities, I'll cover all of it. All you'd have to do is focus on your designs."

Seeing me open my mouth to refuse, she immediately lunged forward, catching my hand in an urgent grip.

"Please, Claire, I'm begging you. Just think of it as giving me a chance to repay you."

"If you hadn't sponsored my education all those years ago, I never would have been in the position to meet Ethan. When your family went through that terrible tragedy, I wasn't able to help, and it’s eaten away at me ever since. I know... I know you probably still resent me for ending up with Ethan. But so many years have passed..."

"I really hope you can let it go. Let's give each other a clean slate, a chance to start over."

Staring into Chloe’s pleading, expectant eyes, I felt nothing but cold revulsion.

I pulled my hand out of her grasp, my tone icy and sharp.

"No need. I like this space just fine, and I have no interest in moving."

The artificial warmth vanished from Chloe's face for a fraction of a second.

Then, as if remembering a trump card, she reached into her designer handbag, pulled out a black Centurion card, and dropped it onto the glass coffee table with a soft "clack". She gently rested her palm over her flat stomach, her lips curling into a radiant, triumphant glow.

"Oh, Claire, look at me! I got so caught up in catching up that I almost forgot the real reason I came."

"I'm pregnant."

"Ethan is hovering like crazy. He insists that none of my old clothes are safe or comfortable enough, and he’s nagging me to get an entire new wardrobe custom-made. Since you're a designer, could you tailor a few full outfits for me from head to toe, based on my measurements? Think of it as me throwing some business your way."

I stared at the black card—an authorized user card tied directly to Ethan's account—and a wave of disgust churned in my chest.

This time, I wasn't making excuses; I simply stated the cold, hard facts.

"Ms. Stone, my design schedule is fully booked for the next three years."

"I can't take your order."

The room fell dead silent.

My repeated, unapologetic rejections finally shattered the veneer of the pampered, worshiped socialite she had spent years becoming.

She snatched the black card off the table and shoved it violently back into her purse.

When she opened her mouth again, her soft, sweet facade completely disintegrated.

"Claire Jenkins, I think you're still living in a fantasy world. You're not the untouchable heiress of the Jenkins family anymore! I came here out of the goodness of my heart, remembering your charity, speaking to you with nothing but respect to repay a debt. And you have the nerve to put on airs with me?"

Chloe paused, a vicious, predatory glint flashing in her eyes.

"Or is that not it at all? Did you come slithering back into the city just to steal Ethan away from me?"

I couldn't fathom how she had managed to drag Ethan back into this. I parted my lips to shut her down, but she cut me off, her voice rising to a shrill shriek.

"Don't even think about it! I am carrying his child!"

"Years ago, Ethan chose me over you. It was true five years ago, and it will be true for the rest of our lives!"

With that, Chloe grabbed her bag, spun around in a blind fury, and stomped toward the exit, nearly colliding with my assistant who was carrying a tray of coffee.

My assistant, Zoey, had been with me for years and knew every sordid detail of my past.

Watching Chloe storm off, Zoey couldn't help but spit out under her breath, "Stealing her benefactor's childhood sweetheart, and she still walks around with her nose in the air!"

"No wonder you never forgave her, Claire!"

I watched the shadow disappear around the corridor corner, letting out a weary, bone-deep sigh.

"Zoey, you don't understand."

"I never hated her because of Ethan."

Zoey blinked, looking at me with pure confusion.

I didn't offer an explanation. I merely shook my head with a bitter smile, my mind flooded with memories of that shy, trembling girl who had once stood before me years ago.

I had asked her back then, "Give me one good reason why I should sponsor you."

She had lifted her head, raw courage and fierce determination burning in her eyes.

"Because... because I want to get a teaching degree. I want to finish school and go back to teach the other girls stuck in the mountains. I want to show them that our lives can belong to us, that we can survive on our own two feet instead of being married off as teenage brides just to pop out babies!"

In that fleeting moment, there had been a genuine, blazing fire in her eyes.

The person I despised had never been that poor, desperate girl who swore she would return to the mountains to change the destinies of young women.

The person I despised was the hollow, sparkling, morally bankrupt "Mrs. Vance" standing before me today.