Chapter 3

He was terrified I would cause trouble for Yvonne.

After all, I had a history.

Back when I first discovered that Yvonne frequently called Christian in the middle of the night, whimpering that she was scared of the thunder, I lost my mind.

I took a megaphone to her campus, stood beneath her dorm window, and blasted her recorded voice messages for the entire quad to hear.

Just as the crowd started labeling Yvonne a homewrecker, Christian's convoy of luxury cars barreled into the courtyard.

Bodyguards pushed through the whispering students.

I stepped forward, trying to link my arm with his to stake my claim.

"You're my boyfriend! Why are you letting some random stray flirt with you?!"

Christian looked at me with pure disgust. In front of the entire student body, he swept the weeping Yvonne into his arms and carried her into his car.

"Look at yourself. How are you any different from a raving lunatic on the street?!"

He left me standing there, exposed to the mocking stares and whispers of the crowd.

Yvonne was moved into the Hayes mansion that night.

And I was locked away in a small room at his estate to 'reflect on my mistakes.'

For every day Yvonne refused to leave her room because she was sad, I was kept locked inside.

Not a drop of water. Not a grain of rice.

Christian spent a full week coaxing her before she was willing to step outside.

Then, worried that the campus rumors would hurt her feelings, he donated thirty million dollars to an elite European academy to secure her an immediate transfer.

I shook my head, forcing a smile that looked worse than crying.

"I just want to tell her that you and I are completely over."

The blatant distrust in his eyes still sent a sharp ache through my chest.

I admit, I still loved him.

I knew his limp made him hyper-sensitive and intensely insecure. Around him, I never dared show the slightest hint of pity or disrespect, terrified that a wrong word or expression would shatter his fragile pride.

Yet I never dreamed he could be so thoroughly ruthless to me.

To set up an entire financial trap and push my family into ruin just to cheer Yvonne up.

It wasn't that I didn't love him anymore. I was simply terrified of him.

Once grievances boil over, they consume everything. Tears rolled down my cheeks unchecked.

Christian's fingers twitched at his side.

"Just talk. What are you crying for...?"

He reached out, his hand hovering as if to wipe away my tears, when a delicate figure skipped out from the club lobby.

I hadn't seen Yvonne since she went overseas.

Tonight, she wore a bespoke haute couture gown. Her immaculate makeup and limited-edition diamond jewelry radiated wealth and status.

She looked nothing like the timid, frightened waitress from years ago.

She looked far more like a pampered, high-born princess than I ever did.

"Why did you come out?"

Christian slipped off his tailored suit jacket and tenderly wrapped it around her bare shoulders, his voice softening completely.

She tilted her head, her eyes rimmed with tears, which instantly threw Christian into a panic. He bent down, murmuring soft reassurances:

"What's wrong, sweetheart? Who upset my girl?"

Yvonne let out a tearful giggle, playfully tapping Christian's chest before murmuring:

"I heard Chloe was here. I came to see her."

"You see her now. Satisfied?"

He was asking Yvonne, but his dark gaze was pinned entirely on me.

I guessed she must be satisfied.

The heiress who had casually saved her at a gala years ago was now standing before her, clothes soaked in blood, hair plastered messily against her face, looking as pathetic as a drowned rat.

How could she not be satisfied?

I wanted to scream, to demand answers, but I swallowed my pride.

If I angered Yvonne right now, my family wouldn't even last the week before we were utterly wiped out.

I forced a pleading smile onto my lips.

"Yvonne, it's been a while."

She, on the other hand, acted as if we were old friends.

"Chloe, you really didn't need to come down here. I already forgave you a long time ago."