Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I smiled faintly and held the screen up to their faces.

"This is why I'm throwing a singles party."

My father's face turned pale, then red, his mouth opening and closing without a word.

Parker's parents looked mortified.

"Elena, Parker is still young and reckless. He didn't think things through."

"We apologize on his behalf. We will definitely hold him accountable and make this right. Please, just give him another chance."

I waved my hand and stayed silent.

The damage was already done; a hollow apology could never fix it.

Besides, the real issue was between Parker and me.

And I was completely done forgiving him.

When disappointment piles up long enough, anyone will get tired.

Anyone with eyes could see that Josie's threat was nothing more than a cheap trick to ruin my wedding.

It wasn't the first time she had done this.

Yet every single time she claimed she was going to end her life, she ended up completely fine.

And every single time, she sent me a gloating text just like this.

It was a tactic she never grew tired of.

She wanted to prove that no matter what I did, I would always lose to her.

Even though I showed those manipulative texts to Parker countless times, he never once stayed by my side.

He always said, "What if this time it's real?"

What if?

Fine. If that was the case, I would simply step out of their way.

The next morning, I arrived at the office early.

None of my coworkers asked about what happened yesterday, but their curious glances lingered on me constantly.

Eventually, my manager called me into his office.

He leaned back with his hands clasped. "Elena, a major project just opened up in Chicago. Are you interested in heading over there?"

I looked at him gratefully and accepted without hesitation.

My manager smiled approvingly. "I'm glad to see you're putting yourself first. Go to Chicago, take the lead, and show them what you can do. With your talent, you'll be taking my position sooner or later."

"Pick a time, and I'll have my assistant book your flight."

I thought for a second. "Let's do this afternoon."

After leaving his office, I handed over all my ongoing cases to my assistant, Zach.

Zach held a stack of files, hesitating for a moment before speaking up.

"Elena, do you want to reconsider? That project in Chicago will take at least a year to wrap up."

I knew Zach was looking out for me, worried that I'd regret leaving on an impulse.

After all, almost everyone in the company knew how deeply I used to love Parker.

But now, my heart was completely dead.

I patted his shoulder. "I've already booked my flight for tonight."

After packing a light suitcase, I flew to Chicago.

The moment I landed, I headed straight to the job site.

For several days in a row, I worked non-stop from dawn to midnight.

One evening, as soon as I returned to my hotel room, my phone started buzzing incessantly.

I picked it up and saw Parker's name on the screen.

It seemed he had finally remembered my existence.

I couldn't even be bothered to answer, tossing the phone aside onto the bed.

Just as I was about to take a shower, Zach called.

"Elena, your fiancé... I mean, Parker Cole came by the office looking for you today. What should I tell him?"

I replied flatly, "Ignore him."

Hearing that, Zach spoke up indignantly.

"Good! You spoiled him way too much in the past. This is the perfect time to teach him a lesson so he stops taking you for granted."

I let out a soft laugh. "Zach, from the moment I chose to come to Chicago, I decided to start my life over for real."

Zach seemed to gasp on the other end of the line, pausing before asking carefully,

"Wait, Elena... are you being serious?"

I lowered my gaze and hummed a quiet confirmation.

After hanging up, an unexpected lightness washed over me, as if the heavy chains that had bound me for years had finally shattered.

Early the next morning, I went to the airport to pick up the project consultant our company had hired.

To my surprise, the consultant turned out to be an old acquaintance.

Miles Grant flashed me a grin. "Long time no see, classmate."

Miles and I had gone to school together from kindergarten all the way through college.

Calling him an old friend was an understatement.

After catching up briefly, Miles asked casually,

"Why did you suddenly move to Chicago? Aren't you worried Parker will throw a fit?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Parker and I broke up. Naturally, I went wherever was best for my career."

Miles whipped his head around to stare at me. "Broke up? You actually let Parker go?"