Chapter 1

1

The second Ethan saw me, something in his eyes flickered—panic, brief but unmistakable.

He buried it almost instantly. A polite, distant smile appeared on his face as he extended his hand.

“Hello, Miss Bennett. I’m Chloe Bennett’s fiancé, Ethan Pierce.”

Then he stepped to the side, lifted a hand, and gently ruffled Chloe’s hair. His voice was warm, steady, and decisive.

“Don’t say things like that, Chloe. This engagement was always between you and me. The only woman I’ll ever marry is you.”

The floating comments exploded.

[Here we go! The evil side character’s about to whip out the chat logs and lose it!]

[I bet fifty cents she starts crying in three seconds.]

I clenched the hem of my shirt, my fingertips icy cold.

I forced a faint smile at Ethan. My voice was soft, but steady.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Pierce.”

The comments froze for a beat.

[...That’s it? She’s not making a scene?]

[She’s pretending. Just wait. The real move’s coming later. Classic playing hard to get.]

Ethan looked thrown too. He glanced at me, his gaze edged with warning and suspicion.

Chloe tilted her head. Her eyes were still red, and her voice came out gentle and innocent.

“So, Nina... you really don’t want the engagement?”

My eyes dropped to the cufflink at Ethan’s wrist.

I’d given it to him for our third anniversary.

He put it on with a smile and told me he’d wear it to every important occasion from then on.

I looked away, my tone even.

“I don’t.”

The comments started flying again.

[What an act. Keep acting. She’s definitely going to corner him in private and cry.]

Mrs. Bennett hurried to smooth things over. She rose from her seat with a bright, practiced smile and came over to take my arm.

“All right, all right, let’s not stand around. Dinner first.”

At the table, Mrs. Bennett placed a piece of golden fried chicken onto Chloe’s plate, then turned to me with a smile.

“Nina, you said you have a boyfriend, right? What does he do? Bring him by sometime so your father and I can meet him.”

Every eye at the table landed on me.

Ethan’s fingers tightened around his fork hard enough that his knuckles turned white. His expression had gone tense.

I glanced at him once, then lowered my eyes and picked up some food.

“We met online. But we’re probably breaking up.”

The comments instantly went wild.

[See?! There it is—the passive-aggressive routine starts now.]

[Watch. Next step, she pulls up the chat history and plays the victim.]

Mrs. Bennett paused. “Why break up out of nowhere?”

I chewed my vegetables, swallowed, and answered quietly.

“Because he got engaged to someone else.”

The room went so still one could hear forks tapping plates.

Chloe reacted fast. She immediately placed a shrimp ball onto my plate and smiled sweetly.

“Don’t be sad, Nina. Try this. It’s my favorite.”

Ethan’s hand lifted, like he was about to stop her, but he pulled it back at the last second.

I looked at the round shrimp ball on my plate and frowned.

“I’m allergic to shrimp.”

Chloe’s face went pale at once. Her eyes filled immediately.

“Do you... hate me that much, Nina?”

Mrs. Bennett’s expression darkened too. “Your sister is offering you food for the first time. Don’t ruin the moment.”

Mr. Bennett set down his fork and knife, annoyance plain in his voice.

“How serious can an allergy be? If you eat a little at a time, you’ll get used to it. Eat it. Don’t embarrass Chloe.”

Everyone at the table looked at me coldly.

As if I were the difficult one.

Ethan raised his eyes to me, his voice low and pressuring.