Chapter 1

I felt my heart sink and my blood go cold after reading the message on my fiance's, Samuel Hill's, phone. It turned out this was no surprise—it was a setup. They had arranged this banquet just to publicly hand the marital home I had picked to Naomi Sutton, their love interest.

I was just a side character, and my feelings were nothing more than meaningless props in this play.

I was suddenly reminded of what happened during our graduation year. Samuel and I had pulled three all-nighters in a row to complete our project, yet on the very night before we were set to submit it, the core data had been completely erased.

Samuel and my childhood friend, Nathan Ziegler, blamed me. "How could you lose something this important, Charlotte?"

Naomi ended up winning first place that year with data that appeared out of nowhere.

Nathan and Samuel embraced her in a celebratory hug before turning back to me and saying, "You're capable enough to redo yours in time, Charlotte. Naomi doesn't have that advantage."

I spent that night alone in the computer lab, working until dawn to rewrite all the code from scratch. I had always believed it was just bad luck, but that evening, I finally realized the truth. It was never about bad luck. Samuel and Nathan were only using my sacrifices over and over again to pave the way for Naomi.

I picked up the picture frame and walked onto the stage step by step, right under everyone's shocked gazes. Samuel was still giving his speech at that moment.

I walked right up to him and threw the frame down violently at his feet before he could even utter a single word, the glass shattering with a sharp, piercing sound. I then looked straight at him and stated deliberately, "This engagement banquet is over, Samuel."

I turned and left as soon as I said that. I had no intention of staying for the farce they had staged themselves.

I made my way back to the lounge backstage to find everyone gathered around Naomi. She was holding a copy of the property deed for Starlight Bay, her eyes red and swollen from crying, looking scared and defenseless.

Those around her deliberately fueled the situation.

"You're truly impressive, Naomi! You had Mr. Hill wrapped around your finger as soon as you returned from abroad!"

"I know, right? If people didn't know any better, they'd think Mr. Hill was going to propose to you tonight, Naomi!"

Naomi immediately shook her head, crying even harder. She then spoke in a soft, almost timid voice, saying, "It'll upset Charlotte, so please don't say something like that anymore. Samuel was just teasing me because he felt bad that I had nowhere to live after returning from abroad."

Those around immediately turned their gaze toward me after hearing that.

Just then, Samuel and Nathan rushed in, one following close behind the other.

Samuel spotted me and frowned deeply. "Have you had enough, Charlotte?"

He spoke with barely concealed anger, asking, "How could you just throw a fit in front of everyone? Do you want everyone to think we're ganging up on you?"

I looked at him and found the whole thing utterly ridiculous. I was the one who had been humiliated, yet the moment I showed any anger, I was the one acting unreasonably. I chose to remain silent and watch him coldly, waiting to see what absurd thing he would say next.

Samuel finally lost his patience.

Nathan approached first, his usually gentle expression showing a hint of annoyance. He bent down to look at me and said reproachfully, "You shouldn't put Samuel on the spot at an event like this, Charlotte."

I looked up at him and asked, "I'm the one putting him on the spot? Do you think what he did is something to be proud of, Nathan?"

Nathan was rendered speechless, his expression hardening.

Naomi held onto the document, her voice trembling while saying, "I'll return the property to you, so please don't fight with Samuel over this. I—"

Samuel cut her off before she could even finish her sentence. "You can hold onto it since I don't take back things I've given away, Naomi."

He then turned toward me with a cold glare. "You didn't draw it, which just goes to show that you were unlucky and weren't good enough."

I merely scoffed.

In that instant, everyone in the lounge fell completely silent. They were staring at us, making the situation insanely unbearable.

Samuel's expression hardened even further.

"It's just a game, Charlotte? Do you really have to make such a scene over such a trivial matter?" Nathan asked, furrowing his brow. He stepped forward and stood in front of Naomi, shielding her.

He spoke gently, but every single word cut deep. "Naomi's health has always been fragile. She can't handle such emotional strain. She finally returned from abroad and was happy for once. Why can't you just let her have her way since you're the older one here?"

I looked Nathan straight in the eye and asked deliberately, "You deleted our project's data during our graduation year just so you could give in to her, didn't you, Nathan?"

Nathan's expression shifted immediately.

Samuel's expression stiffened as well. He suddenly marched right up to me, lowered his voice, and asked through gritted teeth, "What exactly are you trying to accomplish, Charlotte?"

I yanked my hand out of his grip and took a step back. "What am I trying to do? I want you and your pathetic lover to get the hell out of my life!"