Chapter 2

The cuts on my legs dried and stuck to the fabric of my clothes, tearing the skin open anew whenever I moved.

Remembering my mother's bloodshot, weeping eyes, and my father's hair that had turned gray overnight, I raised my hand and slapped myself across the face, again and again.

"You pathetic fool... It's all because you loved him. You dragged your own family down into this abyss."

I never imagined that my blind love would cost everything my parents had worked their entire lives for.

The Hayes family ruled the city's financial sector with an iron fist. A single word from Christian could decide the fate of half the mid-sized corporations in the state.

If he wanted to ruin us to appease Yvonne, not a single soul in the upper crust would dare lift a finger to help us.

I stood by the riverbank in a daze, watching the dark, churning water below. For a split second, I wanted to jump.

But I didn't dare.

If I died, what would happen to Mom and Dad?

"Yvonne... right, Yvonne."

Her name flashed through my frantic mind.

Truth be told, I knew her before Christian ever did.

At a high-society charity gala years ago, she had been working as a part-time student waitress.

A greasy, fifty-year-old corporate creep had backed her into a corner, trying to force a kiss on her. I happened to walk by and intervened, pulling her out of the mess.

Back then, I was giving Christian the cold shoulder over an argument about my jealousy.

Instead of coaxing me, he mocked my interference with a smirk:

"Look at Miss Vance playing the savior. Hey, waitress, your tuition from now on is covered by me."

Who could have guessed that a single moment would be the start of an endless nightmare for the three of us?

I never figured out when Christian truly fell for Yvonne.

He paid for her elite tutors, enrolled her in the most prestigious art academy abroad, and showered her with endless luxury.

To ensure snobbish heirs overseas wouldn't look down on her, he bought out entire seasonal collections from luxury fashion houses and shipped them straight to her dorm.

Whenever Yvonne came back on holiday, I never needed anyone to tell me.

Christian would break up with me right before she landed.

He always said, "Yvonne is pure. She won't ever be a mistress."

She couldn't be branded a homewrecker, so whenever she set foot in this city, I had to be discarded.

I hailed a cab and rushed to the private club hosting Yvonne's welcome-back party.

At the entrance, two burly security guards blocked my path.

"My apologies, Miss Vance. Mr. Hayes instructed that no one is allowed to ruin Miss Reed's evening."

This club used to be my regular haunt. The patrons were all heirs and socialites from our shared circle.

Now that my family was bankrupt, none of them would spare me a second glance, let alone smuggle me in.

The biting wind pierced through my thin coat. The cuts on my legs tore open again, the stinging pain making my lips tremble.

"Let her in."

I lifted my head. Christian stood at the top of the marble steps, looking down at me.

A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes before his face hardened into cold indifference.

"Who are you putting on this tragic act for? Don't you know your own body?"

He was right. I had always had a weak immune system. Catching a draft meant days of high fever.

During the sweetest days of our relationship, he would frantically wrap me in his coat, panicking if I so much as sneezed.

I kept my head down. "I want to talk to Yvonne."

Christian frowned, a mocking smirk playing on his lips.

"You really haven't changed at all, Chloe."