Chapter 1

Red roses, which I loved dearly, could be found in every corner of the engagement party. I was the one who had personally overseen every arrangement.

And yet, my boyfriend, Camden Gardner, was passionately kissing another woman on stage.

I was about to confront them when one of Camden's closest friends dragged me away and covered my mouth.

"Don't you get it, Eloise? Camden has been lying to you this whole time."

Just like that, they locked me up in a small utility closet, forcing me to listen to the rest of the humiliating procession.

The pain in my heart gradually gave way to numbness.

There was no telling how much time had passed when Camden, dressed in a custom-made suit, finally opened the door.

His first words weren't an explanation, but a rebuke.

"Why are you acting so unreasonable, Eloise? Didn't I tell you to get some rest?"

He frowned and glared at me as if I were the one in the wrong.

I couldn't hold back the sting in my eyes. "Can't I attend my engagement party?"

A complicated expression crossed Camden's face as he helped me up. "Stop causing a scene, Ellie. Kirsty is the heiress of a wealthy family. She'll be of great help to me."

Despite the darkening look on my face, he paused but still chose to speak those cruel words.

"You're just a country bumpkin. I'll date you, so just stop making a big fuss out of it."

I was taken aback.

How could he say something like that?

Where was the man who once held me close and said he'd never marry anyone else but me?

Camden and I met and fell in love in college. The relationship persevered even after we graduated.

He was always a bit aloof. Ultimately, I was the one who brazenly proposed to him.

The engagement was something we agreed on together.

He never bothered to divulge the truth, even while I was trying on my dress the night before. It wasn't until I woke up this morning that I discovered Camden was missing.

The front door had even been locked from the outside.

I didn't want to be late for the engagement party. So, I climbed out of the window into a neighbor's house and rushed over.

I didn't think I'd witness such a scene.

Why didn't he tell me if he had never planned to marry me?

Why did he make me perform this one-man act all by myself?

What a joke.

"If you never planned to marry me, why didn't you say so from the start?"

Camden sighed softly and ruffled my hair. "Stop being so difficult, Ellie. You're putting me in a tough spot."

He used to sweet-talk me this way, and I'd usually give in and make up with him.

But this wasn't something I could simply brush off.

"What part of me is being difficult? Camden Gardner, do you even have a heart?"

In my anger, I grabbed a rag from the side and threw it at him.

Camden frowned but didn't dodge. His demeanor grew colder.

"I think you need to calm down, Eloise."

His calmness only made my outburst seem hysterical.

"Are you ready, honey?"

Just then, a sweet voice rang out.

The sound of high heels clicking on the floor echoed in the air. Camden's friends hurriedly covered my mouth and dragged me to the stairwell.

"Where did Harold and the others go?"

When I peered through the crack in the door, I saw Camden gently wrap his arms around the woman and playfully pinch her nose. "It's nothing. Don't worry about them. Shouldn't you be making it up to me now?"

Kirsty Bainbridge shyly shoved him. "Don't say such things in public."

Camden grabbed her hand and led her away.

Once the pair disappeared from sight, his friends finally let me go.