Chapter 1

After seven years together, Zane came to pick me up from work in a torrential downpour.

I opened the passenger door, only to find the seat soaking wet. A single long strand of hair was stuck to the leather.

He gripped the steering wheel, not even bothering to look my way.

"I just dropped off a young intern from the project department. She didn't have an umbrella and got drenched."

I sat down on that cold, damp patch. My heart felt like it was freezing over, inch by inch.

"Zane, you know damn well I have severe germaphobia."

He let out a scoff, his voice thick with exhaustion and impatience.

"It's just a seat, Gia. She's younger than you, more fun, and she even looks better than you when she's caught in the rain."

"I've tried things with her. It's definitely more interesting than being with you."

"But I'm still going to propose. As long as you play dumb, we can keep this going."

Outside, the rain blurred the world into a gray haze. Inside the car, the air felt more suffocating than the water outside.

1

I sat on that wet spot. The cold liquid soaked into my expensive leather miniskirt instantly.

The sticky sensation crept from my skin toward my heart. I felt like I was going to vomit.

Throughout the drive, Zane was actually humming a tune I had never heard before.

He was in a great mood. He didn't care at all that I was miserable.

We arrived at the restaurant. It was the hardest Michelin-starred spot in the city to book.

He didn't apologize for what he said. He didn't even try to comfort me.

Halfway through the meal, he suddenly pulled out a velvet box.

It was an engagement ring. The velvet on the box was slightly worn, looking as if it had been played with repeatedly.

"Put it on, Gia. It's been seven years. We need to give our families an answer."

He didn't even stand up. He didn't get down on one knee.

When he slid the ring onto my finger, my heart went cold.

It was at least a full size too big. It hung loosely on my finger, wobbling with every movement.

He had measured my finger himself three years ago. He knew my exact size.

"Zane, the ring is too big."

He took a sip of red wine, his eyes drifting elsewhere.

"I must have remembered wrong. Just take it to the jeweler and get it resized yourself later."

Right then, my phone screen on the table lit up.

A message popped up from a contact saved as "Little Sunshine."

"Hey Boss, I was trying on that ring in your car earlier and I think I might have loosened it. I hope your old lady won't mind?"

I stared at those words, then looked at the tainted ring on my finger.

So, this wasn't just an engagement ring. It was a toy for someone else.

My stomach cramped. The overwhelming feeling of being violated made me snap.

I took off the ring and slowly dropped it into the messy remains of the food on the table.

"Zane, can just anyone try on my engagement ring?"

Zane's face fell instantly. He slammed his chopsticks down onto the table.

"Gia, don't push your luck!"

"Who else but me could put up with your germaphobia and your obsessive-compulsive bullshit?"

"Lyla was just curious. She's a young girl fresh out of college, what does she know?"

He thought I was making a scene. He thought I was being ungrateful.

He pointed at me, his eyes cold as ice.

"If you don't wear it, the wedding is off. Think carefully."

I looked at the man I had loved for seven years.

His face was still the one I loved, but the inside was rotting and putrid.

He was just like that soaked passenger seat. Filthy to the core.

"Then it's off."

I picked up a napkin and carefully wiped my fingers.

"I never keep things that have been made dirty."