Chapter 2

"No need."

Through that voice recorder, I already knew everything.

My family and Ryder's family had known each other for generations.

When I was eighteen, my mother, Eleanor Hawthorne, fell critically ill. Ryder's mother, Portia Calloway, donated a kidney that saved Mum's life.

Before the surgery, Mum lay in the hospital bed crying. "How are we ever supposed to repay something like this?"

Mrs. Calloway half-joked, "If you really want to repay me, then let Lyra marry my son someday."

I stood there at a loss, unsure what to say.

Ryder answered first, "Then it's settled, Mrs. Hawthorne. I like Lyra. I'll definitely marry her in the future." He spoke with such certainty as if he would never go back on his word.

So, three years ago, Ryder and I got engaged. I stayed in the country, while he went abroad.

Perhaps out of gratitude, I deliberately picked up cooking and basic nursing care. Whenever I had time, I would go to Ryder's house to take care of his parents.

The rumors outside grew harsher and harsher.

People said I was Ryder's shameless little follower, that before even marrying him, I had already degraded myself into being his family's servant.

However, whenever I thought about Mum, I endured it all.

To vent my frustration, I secretly started practicing racing. I even achieved quite a few good results.

Later, Mum's illness returned, and she passed away. My father, Victor Hawthorne, remarried and started a new family, and my position in that household became more and more insignificant.

It felt as though, aside from Ryder, there was no one left I could rely on.

Now he was telling me that he liked someone else.

So to him, I had only ever been a naive affection from his youth, far less meaningful than the feelings he developed in just a dozen days with someone new.

I thought I would cry, yet not a single tear fell.

Silently, I opened the safe and took out the tokens we had exchanged during our engagement.

His was an exquisite antique hairpin, symbolizing the rightful wife binding one's hair together for life.

The one I had given him was a double-carved ruby pendant Mum had passed down to me. It symbolized the virtue of a gentleman. That pendant was the only thing Mum had left for me.

I made an appointment with Ryder to meet again. Since the engagement was already broken, the tokens naturally had to be exchanged back.

Just after midnight, Ryder updated his social media. In the photo, he and Nova were tightly embracing, their hands forming a heart together.

Ryder wrote: "No special skills. Just managed to win over the person I wanted on Valentine's Day."

So that was why he had been in such a hurry to break off the engagement. He wanted to announce their relationship on Valentine's Day.

I tapped the like button. If he liked her that much, then they might as well stay locked together forever.

A few minutes later, a message suddenly popped up on my phone.

Orion Vance: "Happy Valentine's Day."

I stared at the name for several seconds, my mind freezing. I never expected he would be the first person to say that to me.

In our circle, everyone said Orion was someone of extraordinary status, someone far beyond reach. As for me, I had only met him a few times through racing.

Maybe he had sent the message to the wrong person, but the next second, another message appeared.

"You deserve someone better."

…

Before I even had time to think about Orion's words, I was already drowning in a flood of rumors.

Almost everyone around me was saying that Ryder had dumped me.

Early that morning, Dad scolded me harshly. Even my stepmother, Vanessa Hawthorne, mocked me with cold sarcasm, saying I was useless.

I found it almost laughable. At some point, despite being the one betrayed, I had somehow become the embarrassing one.

Soon after, a number of people began sending me private messages.

"So I heard Ryder got himself a new girlfriend? Hahaha. And on Valentine's Day too. I honestly don't even know how to comfort you."

"These past few years weren't a loss, though. At least you learned how to serve people well, right, Lyra?"

"He's just stubborn but softhearted. If you beg him nicely, maybe he'll change his mind. If that doesn't work, you could always cry, make a scene, or threaten suicide."

I ignored all of their mockery.

One by one, I blocked and deleted them.

Right now, all I wanted was Mum's keepsake back. I placed the hairpin and the voice recorder together into a box.

At the appointed time, I arrived at the meeting place, but when I got there, I realized I had been tricked.

An entire table of people was already sitting there. Every single one of them was part of Ryder's usual group of friends back home.