Chapter 2

2.

I kicked the diamond ring toward the trash can.

Turning around, I headed for the exit.

Someone in the rushing crowd bumped hard against my shoulder.

My glasses flew off my face and crashed to the floor.

I crouched down to grab them, but the sea of people was too dense.

Within seconds, heavy boots crushed the lenses into tiny shards.

Darkness and blurriness instantly swallowed my world.

I had severe vision impairment from a past injury and relied on custom corrective lenses just to navigate my surroundings.

I usually avoided crowded venues at all costs.

If it weren't to witness Miranda’s crowning moment, I would never have stepped foot into this packed hall.

Right now, she was standing less than thirty feet away from me.

Surrounded by cameras and fawning admirers.

All it would take was for her to call my name or ask a security guard to help me.

That would have been enough to pull me out of this danger.

Instead, her cold gaze swept past me, paused for a split second, and instantly looked away.

She hurried toward the VIP exit as if trying to outrun a plague.

A sudden push threw me off balance.

I crashed to the ground, and dozens of people stepped over me in the chaos.

If a female security guard nearby hadn't noticed me and hauled me out of the stampede, I would have been trampled to death right there.

By the time I was taken to the hospital for an emergency checkup, Miranda hadn't called once.

The security guard knelt beside my hospital bed, speaking in halting English.

“Your prescription is very specialized. The local clinic cannot make a replacement today.”

“Do you have family in the city? Should we call them for you?”

“I don't have family here,” I answered flatly.

The girl paused, her tone softening with empathy.

“Where do you need to go then? I can take you.”

I thought for a long time before asking her to drive me straight to the international airport.

On the way, I pulled up my booking apps and canceled the five-star luxury suites and private tour tickets I had arranged for our post-victory vacation.

The second the refunds processed, my phone buzzed.

It was a text from Miranda―the first message from her in over twenty-four hours.

“Why did you cancel the hotel reservations?”

“Wade and I just arrived at the resort, and the front desk said our suite was canceled. I had to spend ten grand out of pocket to rebook!”

I frowned at the screen.

In my haste to cancel the bookings, I had forgotten she still held a supplementary black card linked to my account with an unlimited credit line.

I called the bank immediately to shut down the card.

Because of the international time difference, the customer service rep couldn't freeze it instantly and could only mark it as lost.

A second later, Miranda’s call blasted through my phone like a raging hurricane.

She screamed the moment I picked up.

“Tyler! What the hell is going on? The card you gave me got declined!”

“Senior Wade is waiting in the lobby with our luggage! Fix this right now!”

Even now, her only concern was Wade.

I had been such a fool, believing her nonsense about pure intellectual camaraderie.

I didn't know how pure their friendship was.

All I knew was how utterly pathetic I had been.