Chapter 2

When we reached the garage, Marcus Black and Damian Knight were both eager to open the passenger door for Elena Rivers, each trying to outdo the other.

Elena Rivers feigned hesitation, glancing at me with an air of fake discomfort.

"Aren’t the passenger seats just for you, Amara?" she said, her voice dripping with feigned sweetness.

"If I sit there, wouldn’ Amaraget upset?" she added, throwing a smug look between the two of them.

Marcus Black was the first to act, quickly pushing Elena Rivers into the passenger seat.

“She doesn’t mind... She’s the calmest one,” Marcus said with a forced smile.

Damian Knight shot him a vexed look, slamming the car door shut, clearly frustrated.

It wasn't until the car was about to start that both men realized I hadn’t gotten in yet.

They rolled down the window, glancing at each other awkwardly, unsure of how to explain.

“It’s fine, I’ll just drive my own car,” I replied, not bothering to hide the indifference in my voice.

Upon hearing this, they both sighed in unison, relieved but still perplexed by my odd behavior.

“Amara…” they both called in unison.

I rolled up the window, not wanting to hear their insincere words.

But the scenery on the way made me reflect on many unforgettable memories.

The three of us had grown up together as childhood friends.

Our families had long been vying for me to marry into either of their households.

But everything changed when my parents died in an accident, leaving my grandmother and me to depend on each other.

An old woman and a young girl, alone in a world that was filled with predators, trying to hold up a crumbling family.

I threw myself into my studies, determined to take on the family business one day.

Elena Rivers, on the other hand, came from a poor background and wasn’t well-liked in school.

When I learned she was also an orphan, I felt pity for her and extended a hand of friendship.

I sponsored her schooling and encouraged her to endure with me through the hardships.

But to my dismay, she took my kindness as charity, jealousy seething within her for everything I had.

She used every trick in the book to seduce my two childhood friends, turning them against me.

Together, they shattered my life.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at our destination.

The events from earlier seemed to have unsettled Marcus and Damian, who both rushed to open the car door for me and grab my bag.

“Amara, look,” Marcus said, his voice thick with nostalgia.

“This is the old vineyard by the hills—the place we used to sneak into as kids. Damian and I bought the land and turned it into our private retreat.”

Damian nodded, clearly proud.

“I even had jasmine planted everywhere. You always loved how romantic it smelled. By next year, the whole vineyard will be wrapped in it.”

“We’ll come back here together,” they said with easy smiles, as if the future had already been written.

“Late at night. Just us. Watching the stars.”

I said nothing, only stood there, staring at the rows of vines stretching into the distance.

This place had once been our secret refuge, tucked away from the world, filled with memories that used to feel warm and safe.

But there was something they had never known.

I had never loved jasmine.

In fact, I was allergic to it—

the very scent they associated with romance, devotion, and love.

Lost in thought, I noticed a dazzling display of fireworks lighting up the sky above.

The colorful explosions seemed to spell out my name, a dazzling illusion in the night sky.

In the midst of this dreamlike scene, Marcus Black pulled out a family heirloom and presented it to me.

“Amara,” Marcus said quietly, opening the velvet box in his palm.

Inside lay a ring—dark, understated, unmistakably powerful. The Black family crest was engraved on the inner band.

“This ring has been passed down through generations of my family,” he said. “It belongs to the future Donna of the Black family. My parents entrusted it to me years ago.”

His gaze never left mine. “I’ve been waiting for the right moment to give it to you.”

Damian stepped forward, his voice sharper, more urgent.

“Amara, don’t you remember the night you nearly drowned?” he said. “I went into that river knowing I might not come back. I’d give my life for you without hesitation—this ring is nothing compared to that.”

In my past life, I had been fooled by devotion that looked this sincere.

Back then, I truly believed we were bound together by fate—that growing up side by side meant we were destined for the same ending.

That my grandmother, the Black family, and I would always remain together.

It wasn’t until the day I died that I finally understood the truth.

Their so-called devotion had only ever been a performance.

I inhaled slowly, preparing to refuse.

That was when Elena Rivers suddenly spoke.

“Amara,” she said softly, her gaze flicking to the ring in Marcus’s hand before dropping away. For a split second, jealousy flashed through her eyes—then she looked wounded.

“Why would you tell people that I was the one spreading rumors online… saying you slept your way into everything you have?”

She took a step closer, her voice trembling just enough to be heard.

“Everyone’s attacking me now. They’re saying I’m the one who dragged your name through the mud, that I tried to destroy you.”

Marcus’s expression darkened.

Damian’s jaw tightened.

Elena lifted her phone and turned the screen toward them.

Messages. Posts. Anonymous accusations—framed neatly, selectively.

“I never did any of that,” she whispered. “I thought we were friends.”

The air shifted.

In that moment, I knew exactly what she was doing.

Before I could reject the ring, she had made sure they saw me not as the girl they wanted to crown as Donna—

but as someone capable of betraying a friend to protect herself.

And once again, they chose to believe her.

On the school’s website, hundreds of comments were accusing me of shamelessly using my body to get into college.

A few comments defending me were twisted in Elena’s words as proof that I had attacked her.

Damian Knight snatched the phone from her hand, his face flushed with anger.

“Amara, how could you do this? If you’re reckless, that’s one thing, but why drag Elena into it?” he scolded.

Marcus Black, more composed but no less stern, gave me a look of accusation.

I swallowed the accusation whole.

Forcing my emotions down, I said evenly,

“I didn’t do it. If you don’t believe me, then investigate it yourselves.”

Neither of them listened.

Instead, they both turned to Elena Rivers at once.

“Elena, don’t worry,” Marcus said, already pulling out his phone. “I’ll have our PR team take care of this. Nothing that touches my family’s name lasts long.”

Damian’s voice softened as well.

“Come with us. Christie’s has a private evening auction tonight. You like those pieces, don’t you? I’ll make sure you get whatever catches your eye.”

They closed in around her instinctively—shielding her, guiding her away—

and left without sparing me a single glance.

I drew in a slow breath, watching the remnants of fireworks drift down like ash.

After everything I had lived through—after facing death itself—

what were these petty wounds worth?

At least I was still alive.

And this time, a new life—and a future untouched by them—was waiting for me.