Chapter 2

The coming-of-age banquet drew to an end, and most of the guests had already left by the time Aaron finally descended the stairs with Rachel in tow.

The older folks were gone, leaving only a few close younger friends joking around and wondering if they should take me out for a separate celebration.

Rachel’s hair was slightly disheveled. Her eyes were dewy, and her cheeks flushed red.

Aaron was all smiles, and there was a clear lipstick mark on his shirt.

The room fell silent.

Everyone instantly understood what had happened.

A few of them looked at me with concern.

If this had happened in the past, I would’ve already caused a scene.

But this time, I simply picked up a slice of cake and ate it with perfect composure.

Aaron kept Rachel behind him, ready to watch me break down and mock me for it.

But what he didn’t expect was how indifferent I looked. It was like none of it had anything to do with me.

I set down the plate and went over to chat with friends about where to head next.

Aaron frowned. He was visibly annoyed.

But then, as if something occurred to him, he sneered.

“Sabrina, you’re just pretending not to care, aren’t you? Scared I’ll tell Old Mr. Saddler to cancel our engagement? Acting all cool to win me back?

“Well, fine. If you want to be the Johansen family’s future daughter-in-law, you better learn how to be accepting.”

With that, he retrieved a bracelet from his pocket and was about to hand it to me when Rachel suddenly snatched it up.

“Aaron, this bracelet is so pretty!”

Aaron looked into her sparkling eyes and immediately said, “If you like it, it’s yours.”

As if embarrassed, Rachel glanced at me meekly, but her smug smile was impossible to hide.

“I really shouldn’t. You were going to give this to Sabrina. What will she think if I take it?”

Aaron gave me a look of contempt.

“What’s the problem?”

He casually plucked a rose from a nearby vase and tossed it at me. “Here, you can have this.

“She’ll love whatever I give her anyway.”

The rose hit the ground, scattering petals all over my dress.

My friends bristled with anger and were about to step forward to confront him.

I stopped them and stared at the fallen rose. This felt pointless.

In the past, I would beg for gifts from him on every birthday.

Even a dollar store hair tie from him would make me beam for days. I’d wear it every single day.

Everyone in our circle used to laugh at me. They said I'd treat anything from Aaron like a treasure no matter how cheap or trashy it was.

I exhaled slowly, keeping my cool. I brushed the rose petals off my dress and said to my friends, “I'll change out of this gown. Wait for me.”

They nodded, saying they'd get changed too.

Seeing me unfazed only irritated Aaron more. His smile faded.

He pulled Rachel along to block my path, acting all lovey-dovey right in front of me.

He flirted with her while secretly watching my reaction.

I found it pathetic and tried to walk around them.

Just as he was about to grope Rachel, he suddenly grabbed my arm.

“What’s wrong? Jealous now?

“Sabrina, I told you, aside from love, I’ll give you everything else.

“You better get used to this, because I’m not going to be home every day.

“If you’re too possessive, you’re not fit to be my wife.”

I yanked my hand back and snapped coldly, “Men and women shouldn’t touch each other so casually.”

He was startled for a moment. He then suddenly laughed.

“Oh, is this some kind of seduction game now? You used to beg me to hold your hand. We’re about to get engaged. We'll get married in a couple years. And now you don’t want me to touch you?”

I nearly laughed at how ridiculous he sounded.

If the Sullivan family hadn’t told me Ethan was still studying overseas, and that it’d be unfair to announce things before he returned, I’d have already humiliated Aaron with the truth.

But for now, I only smiled and asked him a question.

“Aaron, what makes you so sure that I'll get engaged to you?”