Chapter 2

That evening, Xavier brought Aurelia back to our place.

The moment Aurelia saw me, she burst into tears.

“Arabella, this is all my fault,” she sobbed. “I ruined your chance to buy the jewelry. I’ve already quit the job and returned the money to Xavier. Please don’t call off the wedding out of spite, okay?”

I looked at Aurelia calmly. “No.”

Aurelia cried even harder, tears and snot streaming down her face.

“Why? Are you angry because I’m too stupid and keep bothering Xavier?” she wept. “If that’s the case, I’ll pack up and move out right now.”

With that, Aurelia ran back next door in tears to pack her clothes.

Xavier watched her with heartbreak in his eyes before turning to glare at me.

“Arabella, don’t push your luck,” he warned sternly. “Aurelia has no money right now. Are you really going to force her onto the streets?”

Xavier, who used to be unable to bring himself to say a single harsh word to me, was now plunging knives into my heart for Aurelia’s sake.

The cold intensity in his gaze squeezed my heart so tightly that I could hardly breathe.

I wanted to say, “I’m not.”

But Xavier had already turned around to stop Aurelia from leaving.

As they tried to hold each other back, they ended up wrapped in an embrace—looking just like a deeply devoted couple.

Xavier coaxed Aurelia softly, “Don’t be scared. I won’t let you move out.”

“But it’s the end of the month,” Aurelia choked out through her sobs. “I’ll be kicked out by the landlord if I don’t have rent.”

Without a second thought, Xavier blurted out, “Then move into our new house first. You can pick whichever room you want.”

Yet Xavier seemed to have completely forgotten that the house was a gift he had bought for me—a private space meant exclusively for the two of us.

Now, he was letting Aurelia take her pick of the rooms.

It felt as though a chunk of my heart had been gouged out, leaving a sharp, agonizing ache.

I watched Xavier help Aurelia pack her bags and carry her luggage.

I watched the two of them get into a car together.

Not long after, Aurelia updated her social media:

“Thank you to him for giving me a home!”

Tears dripped onto my phone screen. With trembling fingers, I tapped “Like.”

Then I commented, “If it’s your home, why is my name on the deed?”

The very next second, my phone rang. It was Xavier.

“Arabella, do you really have to humiliate Aurelia like this?” he snapped. “She’s your best friend, not your enemy. How can you be so completely heartless?”

Me? Heartless?

When Aurelia’s parents died in a car crash, I used my own money to help her organize the funeral.

When Aurelia’s family went bankrupt, I was the one who found her a place to live.

When Aurelia didn’t know how to do a single thing, I patiently taught her how to navigate daily life.

Even when Xavier complained about Aurelia being stupid in the beginning, I was the one who constantly stood up for her.

Now, Xavier was accusing me of having no compassion.

I almost laughed out loud, a sharp, stabbing pain radiating through my chest.

“The one without a heart is you, Xavier,” I said, my voice thick with bitterness. “The room Aurelia is staying in is the master bedroom—that belonged to you and me. It’s the home I’ve dreamed about for seven years.”

He couldn’t comprehend my breakdown at all, brushing it off as me throwing another temper tantrum.

“A room is just a room. Stop being so dramatic,” he snapped. “Delete that comment. I’ll take you to try on wedding dresses tomorrow.”

With that, he hung up abruptly.

I stood in the empty room, shivering from the coldness spreading inside me.

I wasn’t going to obey Xavier anymore.

Instead, I packed my bags and bought a ticket to New York for two days later.

Just then, my mother, Marlowe Donovan, called.

“Arabella, have you lost your mind? Are you picking up gambling habits from your deadbeat father?” she immediately scolded me. “How dare you threaten to call off your wedding to Xavier over some stupid bet? Have you lost your mind? And that comment you left on social media—delete it right now! Aurelia is crying her eyes out because of you!”

So Aurelia had gone running to my mother to complain about me.

I replied softly, “I’m not deleting it, and I’m not crazy.

“Mom, I’m not getting married anymore.”