Chapter 2

They laughed until they were practically doubled over, yet not a single person seemed to care that I was standing right there. It was as if I didn't exist—as if I weren't Ryan's soon-to-be wife.

My hands trembled with anger. In a fit of rage, I grabbed Ryan's hand and forcefully pressed it against Lily's chest.

Lily's eyes immediately turned red, but she didn't move an inch.

Instead, she covered her face and said in a trembling voice, "Sienna, I've been single for 28 years. I've never even held a man's hand before. Did you do that just to make me look cheap? And in front of all these people? How am I supposed to hold my head up after this?"

She began to sob quietly, and Ryan's expression darkened instantly. He snatched a glass of red wine from the table and splashed it straight in my face.

"Sienna, do you get some kind of sick pleasure out of humiliating Lily? You're sick!"

I didn't even have time to react. The wine splashed across my face and clothes, ruining my carefully applied makeup before trickling down my skin in sticky streams. It stung my eyes, leaving me blinking through the burning liquid.

A few muffled snickers came from the corner of the room.

"Serves her right. She really thinks the whole world revolves around her."

"Please. It's not like Ryan just started protecting Lily. The second she sheds a tear, he'd go to war for her."

At that, Lily quickly stopped crying and broke into a smile. "What are you guys talking about? You're making me sound like some kind of femme fatale and Ryan like a lovesick king."

She glanced at me and giggled. "Pfft. Look at Sienna now. She looks like a prisoner on her way to the gallows—completely disheveled and miserable."

The entire private room erupted into laughter again.

I instinctively looked at Ryan. He and Lily were laughing so hard they could barely sit upright, yet even in the middle of it, one of his hands remained protectively cupped behind her head, as though he were afraid she might bump it.

I stared at them for a long moment. Then, suddenly, I realized there was nothing so special about this man after all.

I grabbed a glass of red wine from the table and splashed it straight into Ryan's face.

"Ryan, we're done."

Before he could even react, I turned on my heel, slammed the door behind me, and walked out.

"Sienna, are you freaking crazy?" Ryan's furious roar followed me into the hallway, along with the mocking laughter from everyone in the room.

"Did she seriously think she was the star of the show? This was supposed to be a welcome-back dinner for Lily after she returned from studying abroad! Ryan was only supposed to squeeze in a proposal while we were here."

"She spent the entire night glaring at Lily. Does she ever stop to think that if Lily hadn't gone abroad back then, she and Ryan might have kids old enough to be in school by now?"

"And now she's jealous and threatening to break up with him. Ryan, aren't you going after her?"

I slowed down when I heard Ryan let out a derisive laugh. His voice was dripping with contempt.

"Why bother? She loves me too much. Three years ago, she took a drugged drink meant for me and almost got assaulted by a client. She can't live without me."

He paused, then added coldly, "Besides, her reputation has been ruined for years. Who else would want her if I didn't?"

There was a brief silence before someone asked in disbelief, "Wait, that really happened?"

Lily's voice followed, quieter than before. "So, you're only marrying her because you feel sorry for her?"

Ryan didn't answer right away. After a few seconds, he finally said, "What other reason would there be?"

Then, his tone suddenly shifted, turning light and flirtatious. "But if a certain cute little childhood friend were willing to give me a chance, I'd dump Sienna right now."

Lily let out a soft laugh, her voice half-teasing, half-serious. "Oh, please. You're getting married in three days, childhood sweetheart."

Ryan chuckled. "If you say yes, I can call off the wedding anytime."

His words sounded playful, almost like a joke between old friends, but something underneath them made my heart go cold. He wasn't joking. He was testing her, and he really was considering marrying Lily.

I stumbled back to my car in a daze, so stunned by the absurdity of it all that I almost wanted to laugh.

Five years ago, we'd met at Fashion Week, and he'd told me I was like a beam of light that had suddenly brightened his life.

Three years ago, I'd been drugged, and photos of me in disheveled clothes, barely conscious, had spread all over the internet. Back then, he'd knelt in front of me with tears in his eyes, gripping my hand as he promised he would marry me and spend the rest of his life making it up to me.

Now I realized that maybe all of it had just been pity.

My thoughts were a tangled mess. I pulled out the cigarettes I'd quit smoking years ago. My hands trembled as I fumbled with the lighter, and after several attempts, I finally managed to light one.