In the fifth year of my engagement to Carter Harrison, he secretly threw an extravagant wedding for his mistress. When I arrived at the venue, they were passionately kissing amid the cheers of the crowd. Seeing me, Carter raised an eyebrow and smiled lazily. "The girl just wanted to experience a wedding. Don't worry, we didn't get the license." I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I simply turned and walked away. He thought I was just throwing a tantrum—until the heir to the most powerful family in New York posted a picture of our marriage certificate on Instagram. Carter abandoned his mistress and banged furiously on my door. When I opened it, my face was still flushed, the remnants of passion lingering on my skin. "Don't worry," I said, echoing his words. "We just got the license. We haven't had the wedding yet." Liam Sterling, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, strolled down the stairs and wrapped an arm around my waist. "Oh? Does that mean I'm just your secret lover?" 01 The wedding reception was loud and chaotic. The guests below the stage cheered, urging the newlyweds to kiss. The girl in the wedding dress looked up shyly. Carter wrapped a hand around the back of her head and pulled her in, deepening the kiss. I stared blankly at the two people passionately making out on stage. One of Carter’s groomsmen turned, saw me, and panicked. "Chloe." In an instant, the rowdy atmosphere dropped into a dead, suffocating silence. I walked toward Carter. The young girl awkwardly tried to hide behind him. Carter didn’t look the least bit embarrassed about being caught by his fiancée. He wrapped an arm around the girl’s waist playfully, raising an eyebrow. "Mia was throwing a fit about wanting to marry me. Relax, we didn't sign any papers. You're the only one who will ever officially be Mrs. Harrison." Carter and I were childhood sweethearts. We grew up together. Right after college, our families arranged our engagement. He was famously a playboy in our social circle. He changed girlfriends like he changed clothes, completely humiliating me time and time again. I gave a faint smile. I pulled a small, square velvet box out of my purse. "This is the heirloom bracelet your family gives to their daughters-in-law. I'm returning it." Carter took it, tossing it lightly in his hand. He laughed, a mocking sound. "You're pulling out the heirloom bracelet just to break up with me this time?" I didn't miss the absolute disbelief in his eyes. "Carter Harrison, as of today, our engagement is void. We are free to marry whoever we want. We have nothing to do with each other anymore." Carter’s face instantly darkened. "Chloe, say that again!" Seeing things escalate, his groomsman quickly stepped in. "Chloe, calm down. This wedding doesn't count. Carter is just playing around. You're the one he's actually going to marry." I had just watched my fiancé marry another woman in a massive, theatrical display. I didn't cry. I didn't make a scene. I calmly turned and walked away. "Carter, you better go after her." Carter spoke with absolute certainty. "What is there to go after? It's not like this hasn't happened before. Give her a few days, and she'll come back behaving." "You've never taken it this far before! No woman can handle seeing the man she loves marry someone else. I'm telling you, you should go check on her." Carter glanced at the door, his dark eyes narrowing slightly. Mia suddenly tugged at his sleeve. "Can I see that bracelet?" 02 After leaving the venue, I called my best friend, Ava, and asked her to meet me at a bar for a few drinks. By the time she arrived, she looked at the two empty bottles of wine and immediately understood. "What's going on? You fought with Carter again? Is it another celebrity this time, or a college student?" Hearing his name felt like needles piercing my heart. "He got married today." After hearing the whole story, Ava grabbed an empty wine bottle, ready to go smash it over that scumbag's head. "You should have dumped him years ago! I'll add you to a group chat right now. It's full of the most eligible, high-quality bachelors in our circle. Take your pick." My phone suddenly started buzzing non-stop. I glanced at it. In less than a minute, over thirty guys had sent me friend requests. "I'm going to the restroom." In the hallway, a man was leaning against the wall, smoking. He wore a suit that looked out of place in a club, the top few buttons of his shirt casually undone. He looked incredibly dangerous. Perhaps noticing my gaze, he frowned and looked over. Liam Sterling? What was he doing here? I walked over, offering a slight smile. "Mr. Sterling, got a spare cigarette?" He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you turned into the perfect, obedient good girl after getting together with Carter. Aren't you afraid he'll find out you smoke?" I didn't say anything. He leaned in, his tone infuriatingly mocking. "I heard he threw a massive wedding for another woman today. Did you finally break up with him?" I reached out, taking the cigarette and lighter straight from his hand. I lit it expertly, blew out a soft cloud of smoke, and gave him a half-smile. "Liam, want to come to my place tonight?" Our eyes met. Between adults, the implication was crystal clear. Liam extinguished his cigarette and chuckled. I suddenly remembered he was famous in our circle for being completely uninterested in women. I was just about to say I was joking. I didn't expect him to actually say yes. 03 Liam used my fingerprint to unlock the door, and the next second, he pinned me against it. His large hand cupped the back of my head, and he kissed me hard. "Chloe, are you part dog? Bite a little softer." I frowned slightly. "Can you stop talking? At a time like this, your job is to make me unable to speak." ... For the entire night. Liam physically demonstrated the meaning of "careful what you wish for." I finally fell asleep around dawn, only for my phone to start ringing. I couldn't open my eyes, so I just blindly patted the bed, searching for it. A soft chuckle came from beside me. Liam found the phone. Seeing it was a FaceTime call from Carter, his expression instantly darkened. He handed me the phone and pulled the blanket up to cover my collarbone. I answered, forcing my sleep-heavy eyes half open. Carter smiled coldly. "Didn't you say yesterday we had nothing to do with each other? How did it only take you one day to go crying to my mom about Mia?" "Who went to your mom? Are you psychotic?! Calling me at the crack of dawn to throw a tantrum!" As soon as I spoke, I froze. My voice was completely hoarse. Completely wrecked. Carter frowned in confusion. "Do you have a cold?" I smiled. "Why pretend you don't know what this is?" He realized what I meant. His voice suddenly spiked, and he leaned close to his camera. "Where are you?! Who are you with?!" "Mr. Harrison, we have no relationship anymore. Where I am and who I'm with is none of your business." I was too exhausted to keep talking, so I just hung up. At the bar, Carter's face was livid. "Carter, did Chloe just hang up on you? Is she actually serious about breaking the engagement this time?" "No way! This is just her old trick to threaten him. If she really wanted to break it off, you think she could bear to actually do it?" "It's obviously an act. She's pretending to be with another guy to make you jealous, waiting for you to cave and go find her. It's the oldest trick in the book." The crowd laughed in agreement. Only then did Carter's expression relax a little. 04 The phone call had ruined my sleep, waking me up just enough to be annoyed. I frowned in irritation. Liam watched me. "What is so great about Carter Harrison? He slept around before you were married, and he's not going to be loyal after. He doesn't deserve you." I looked up, confused. ? Liam grabbed his cigarette box from the nightstand, tapped one out, lit it, and suddenly looked very serious. "If we're talking about corporate alliances, the Sterling family is not inferior to the Harrison family." "What are you trying to say, Mr. Sterling?" Liam glanced at me. "I know you've been trying to win the East District development project. But with your current resources alone, it's going to be extremely difficult. If we get married and combine our power, it'll be a walk in the park." I was completely awake now. "With the Sterling Group's capital, you could easily take the project for yourself. Why share a piece of the pie with me?" "Maybe I don't want to sleep with you for free?" My mouth twitched. I thought for a few seconds, then extended my right hand. "Happy to be doing business with you." Forty minutes later, Liam and I walked out of City Hall. Looking at the marriage certificate in my hand, I still felt like I was floating in a dream. "Let's go." "Huh? We're going to see a client right now?" Liam reached out, patted my head, and laughed. "Honeymoon." 05 We put on scuba gear and submerged into the deep blue ocean, surrounded by the mysterious beauty of the sea. Gorgeous coral reefs and schools of fish swam right past my hands. Liam made a hand signal, gesturing for me to look up. When I tilted my head back, I saw an ocean of stars filtering through the water. When we got back to the shore, the staff told me my phone had been ringing non-stop. I unlocked it, and dozens of messages flooded the screen. [Hello Miss Chloe, I am the manager of Vera Wang. When will you be available to come in for a dress fitting?] [Hello Miss Chloe, I am the lead wedding planner. What kind of flowers do you prefer? We need to arrange the air freight in advance.] [Hello Miss Chloe, Mr. Harrison ordered a custom diamond ring for you at our boutique. When can you come in to try it on? If the sizing isn't right, we can adjust it.] Wedding dress? Flowers? Ring? The more I read, the tighter my brow furrowed. Was my phone number leaked? Just then, the phone rang again. I looked at the screen. It was Carter. "Hello!" He immediately started demanding answers. "Where are you? I've called you a million times and you didn't pick up. Your company said you took a month off." "Where I am is none of your business. Don't forget we broke up." Carter didn't care. He actually laughed. "Are you just throwing a tantrum because I gave Mia a wedding? Fine, I'll give you one too. You should have gotten the texts and calls from the planners. Just tell them what kind of dress and venue you want, and they'll handle it." I was speechless. "Are you insane?!" Even though I couldn't see him, I could easily imagine the look on Carter's face hearing that. "Chloe! You threw a fit about the wedding, so I agreed to throw you one too! What more do you want?! Enough is enough! Let me tell you, you only get this one chance. If you don't want to marry me now, you can stay single for the rest of your life!" Carter was always like this. As long as he offered you a step down, if you didn't take it immediately, it was entirely your fault. "You're a psychopath. We broke up. Stop calling me. You can marry whoever the hell you want." Carter said "Fine!" three times into the phone. "Chloe, I gave you a chance. You rejected it yourself. Don't come crawling back." Psycho! Liam finished changing his clothes. "Carter's call?" I took a deep breath. "Yeah. He thinks I'm mad because of the wedding, so he thought throwing me one would fix it. I don't know how I was blind enough to date him." Liam smiled but didn't say anything. For the next month. We went to Iceland to see the blue ice caves. We rode hot air balloons in Turkey. 06 The day I got back, Ava asked me out. I used several layers of concealer, but I still couldn't cover the marks on my collarbone. I had to dig a silk scarf out of my closet and tie it around my neck. As soon as she sat down, she downed two glasses of wine. "I am so mad! Carter Harrison has officially lost his mind. He bought out every billboard in Times Square just to play a birthday video from A-list celebrities for that girl... Mia whatever-her-name-is. And he's playing it on loop for a month! Does he even care about how you feel?!" I held my glass, my tone calm. "I got married." Ava didn't believe me at first, until she saw the picture of the marriage certificate. "Liam Sterling! "Isn't he famous for hating women?! How did you bag him?!" "Never mind that, the point is Carter doesn't even compare to him. I really want to see the look on Carter's face when he finds out you married Liam." Her anger vanished instantly. "We need to celebrate. Drinks are on me tonight." Ava was a lightweight. After a few bottles, she was completely dizzy. I put my glass down. "Stay here. I'm going to go order you some hangover tea." In the hallway, I bumped into Liam's friend, Noah. He hurried over, acting overly friendly. "Chloe, you're here! Carter and the guys are in VIP Room 6." "Carter and I have nothing to do with each other anymore. Just call me by my name. Have fun, guys." Noah just assumed I was still mad. "What Carter did was out of line, I know. But just give him a chance to apologize to your face! We're in Room 6, I'll head back first. Come over whenever you're ready!" To get back to Room 3, I had to walk past Room 6. I heard a familiar voice. I stopped at the door and looked through the crack. Carter was leaning lazily against the sofa, his shirt unbuttoned halfway. Mia's lips were swollen red. Anyone with eyes could tell what had just happened. "Carter, I just ran into Chloe outside. See? I told you she couldn't let you go." "I didn't expect her to hold out this long without contacting you." "It's only been a month. She probably heard you were throwing a birthday party for another girl and couldn't take it anymore. So she came running." Carter looked indifferent. "Who told her to come? We already broke up." "Alright, enough. This is the first time she's gone this long without calling you. Don't push it until you can't fix it." "Yeah! Carter, you should probably tell this girl to leave. You don't want Chloe getting mad again when she walks in." Carter looked sideways at the obedient Mia next to him. She kept her head down, her voice weak. "Carter, today is my birthday..." I touched the silk scarf tied around my neck, took it off, and pushed the door open. Every single pair of eyes in the room snapped to me. The marks on my neck were far too obvious. Even in the dim club lighting, Carter saw them immediately. He shot up from the couch, his eyes narrowing. "What is on your neck?" Thinking of Liam acting like a rabid dog last night, leaving marks all over me. I smiled and said, "Hickies." Carter kicked the table next to him, the dark fury in his eyes impossible to miss. "Who did it?! Chloe, are you seriously going behind my back to find other men?!" "Who did it is none of your business. Carter, a good ex should act like he's dead." He sneered. "Chloe, if I ever contact you again, I'm a fucking dog!" Ava drank her hangover tea and asked, "What took you so long? I was about to come looking for you." Hearing the sound of things smashing in the room next door, I said, "Just tying up a loose end. I don't want flies buzzing around me anymore. It's annoying! Let's go!" Since we both drank, we called an Uber. 07 Not long after. The girl Carter had thrown the wedding for graduated and officially entered the entertainment industry. Once she gained a little traction, she actually hired a bot army to flood my company's official social media accounts. [Mr. Harrison treats Mia so differently. He was willing to throw her the wedding of the century.] [Forget the wedding, he bought her a pink diamond without even blinking.] [I advise someone to just let it go peacefully. Stop shamelessly holding onto the title of fiancée.] [In a relationship, the unloved one is the real homewrecker. Would it kill you to just step aside and let Mr. Harrison be with Mia?] My assistant handed me the tablet. "Miss Chloe, should we delete the comments guiding the narrative?" "Find all of Mia's dirty laundry and leak it to the paparazzi. Then notify every media company we partner with: they are strictly forbidden from giving her any resources." "Understood. I'll get on it right away. But what if Mr. Harrison tries to interfere?" "Ignore him. Just do what I told you." An hour later, Mia's comment section was a warzone: [You homewrecker! It's one thing to sneak around in the dark, but how dare you openly provoke the actual fiancée!] [I went to college with Mia. She acts all sweet and innocent, but she used her family's money to lead the bullying against me. I have burn scars all over my arms from her. And she stole an award that was supposed to go to my team.] [So she was always like this in school too? I was her stand-in on set. Unless it was a shot that explicitly needed her face, she made me do everything else. She didn't even shoot a third of her own scenes. She relied entirely on stand-ins and post-production editing.] [I was her assistant. We had a scene where she had to go into the water to retrieve an item. She complained the water was too dirty and forced the crew to buy bottled mineral water to fill a pool before she would get in. I've been an assistant for A-listers, and I've never been this exhausted.] [I think the worst one is Carter Harrison! Changing girlfriends every few days. Men like him belong in the trash.]
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