The Principessa's Gambit

In an upscale apartment in Canhatte, Jennifer was holding up a photo of herself with my former fiancé, Marcello, flaunting it with undisguised pride.

"Back when he was chasing you, he swore he'd marry no one but you. And now? All I had to do was crook my finger, and he came running to me. Lucky for you I stepped in, right? Otherwise, you'd have been fooled all over again."

I clenched my fists, a suffocating pressure building in my chest.

"You knowingly went after someone else's fiancé and still act this self-righteous. Do you have any shame at all?"

Jennifer froze for a moment, then quickly put on a wounded expression.

"Sophia, I was trying to protect you from getting hurt. How can you not see that?"

Lucy immediately jumped in to defend her.

"Sophia, you're way too gullible. Is it really worth ruining your friendship over a man?"

"Exactly," Annie chimed in. "If it weren't for Jennifer, who knows how many times you would've been deceived? She's helping you filter out the trash. You should be thanking her."

I opened my mouth, but not a single word came out. It was true—none of my five former fiancés were decent men. But how much better was Jennifer?

Before breaking off each engagement, I had secretly checked their phones.

Jennifer had sent them countless explicit photos—every set of lingerie she wore was practically see-through. She even asked them, "Do you want to hear what I sound like in bed?"

The whole thing disgusted me.

Jennifer leaned closer, her voice laced with smug satisfaction.

"Sophia, you're not actually mad, are you? I didn't expect things to turn out like this. I was just casually chatting with them, and they all fell for me. That's not my fault, is it?"

Lucy nodded along.

"Of course it's not your fault. It just means you're charming. Not like some girl who thinks being a Principessa means every man in the world will fall at her feet."

Lucy and Annie exchanged a knowing glance, smiling to each other.

I ignored their petty scheme and turned back to my phone.

The spacious apartment fell silent for a few seconds.

Then Lucy suddenly shrieked, "Oh my God—look who that is!"

She pressed herself against the balcony window, craning her neck to look down.

"That's William Lucia! Why is the heir to the Lucia family downstairs?"

Annie and Jennifer rushed over immediately.

"No way—it really is him! What's he doing at our building? Don't tell me he's waiting for his girlfriend?"

"Oh my God, who's that lucky? That's William Lucia—the one person no one on the entire Veste Coast district dares to cross."

As if struck by a thought, Lucy turned to Jennifer.

"Jennifer, weren't you close to William back then? Does he have a girlfriend now?"

Jennifer's expression shifted, but she said nothing. Back then, she had chased after William for over half a year and never even managed to get his private number.

I finished applying my lipstick in front of the mirror and got ready to leave.

Jennifer grabbed my arm.

"Didn't you already break up with Marcello? Are you still going out to meet him?"

I shook her off.

"It's been three months since I dumped him. If you like that kind of trash, feel free to keep him."

My phone suddenly rang, and I picked up at once.

A deep, low voice came through the line. "Are you there, baby? I'm downstairs."

"I'll be right down."

I was about to hang up when my phone was suddenly snatched from my hand. Jennifer shot me a glare.

"No wonder you dumped Marcello. You've already found someone new."

Then, in a deliberately sweetened voice, she spoke into my phone.

"Hello, I'm Sophia's best friend, Jennifer. Are you her fiancé?"

Whatever the person on the other end said, her smile froze instantly.

Seizing the moment while she was stunned, I grabbed my phone back and hung up.

A storm of jealousy surged in Jennifer's eyes as she stared at me.

"Your new fiancé… is William Lucia?"