Chapter 2

2

The entire living room fell dead silent as everyone stared at me in disbelief.

None of them expected me to shamelessly expose my fiancée's infidelity directly to her family.

I had thrown all pretenses of saving face out the window.

Alyssa froze for a second before lunging forward to snatch my phone.

At that exact moment, my phone rang. I saw Eleanor's name on the caller ID and immediately answered it on speakerphone.

Eleanor's sharp, panicked voice boomed through the speakers.

"Ethan! What is going on? Put Alyssa on the phone right now! Mom will deal with this!"

A cold smirk touched my lips as I handed the phone to Alyssa.

The haughty, untouchable heiress suddenly shrunk like a scolded puppy.

She let out an awkward, timid laugh. "Mommy..."

Eleanor cut her off harshly.

"Don't you dare call me that! Alyssa Winslow, have you lost your mind? How could you ruin your own engagement party like this?"

"I told you not to bring that scumbag around! Why won't you listen? Ethan is a hundred times better than him in character and looks. Why can't you appreciate what you have?"

Alyssa's face twisted in rage, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

She shrieked into the phone.

"Mommy! You're taking an outsider's side over your own flesh and blood! I'm your real daughter! I'm hanging up!"

She slammed the end-call button and glared at me with pure venom.

"Ethan Winslow, what kind of spell did you put on my mother? Let me tell you, running to tattle on me won't change a thing!"

"If you don't get down on your knees and apologize to me right now, we are done!"

She stood with her chin raised high, playing the arrogant queen.

A dry chuckle slipped from my throat.

Even her own mother could see how devoted I had been, yet Alyssa only took me for granted and demanded more.

Did she honestly think I was going to beg for her forgiveness like a dog again?

Keep dreaming.

Without giving her another glance, I pushed past her, walked out of the villa, and got into my car.

After driving away from the Winslow estate, my chest felt tight with suffocating frustration, so I pulled over by a quiet park.

I popped open the glove compartment and pulled out a faded, yellowed piece of paper.

It was my old adoption certificate.

Looking at the dated document, memories came flooding back.

My first meeting with Alyssa felt like something out of a fairy tale.

Twenty years ago, the little heiress visited my orphanage and chose me to come home with her.

She had whined to her mother that she wanted an older brother to protect her.

Her father had passed away early, and her mother was buried in work, so Eleanor surprisingly agreed.

Back then, I was a malnourished, bruised orphan who had suffered endless abuse.

When that beautiful, doll-like girl pointed her tiny finger at me, she felt like an angel rescuing me from the dark.

Overnight, I was given a life of luxury that I had never dared to dream of.

From that day forward, I vowed to spend the rest of my life protecting her.

Once I turned eighteen, Eleanor and I legally dissolved the adoption so I could build my own path, but I kept the certificate.

It was the token that connected Alyssa and me in the first place.

I never anticipated that during my master's program, the little princess I guarded with my life would fall into severe depression over a terrible breakup.

My heart had ached for her, but I also felt a deep pang of jealousy.

That was when I realized Alyssa was already in love with someone else.

It was also the moment I recognized that my feelings for her had run far deeper than brotherly affection.

I dropped everything and took a leave of absence to take care of her, reading her bedtime stories and taking her on walks.

Slowly, she climbed out of the darkness, and her bright smile returned.

One evening while I was reading to her, she grabbed my hand drowsily and asked, "Ethan, do you have feelings for me?"

My entire body had frozen in cold sweat, terrified of seeing disgust in her eyes.

Instead, she smiled softly and said, "Ethan, why don't we date?"

Even now, recalling that moment made my heart thud with phantom warmth.

After we got together, I gave up my passion for literature and switched to finance just to help her run the family business.

I became her most loyal executive, working tirelessly to secure her position.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye, and since we were both getting older, we planned our engagement.

That period was the happiest time of my entire life.

I foolishly believed I was finally going to marry my princess, thanking the heavens every day for blessing me.

I never imagined that on the day of our engagement, we would crash and burn like this.

Before I realized it, I had driven over to the private penthouse Alyssa and I shared.

I looked up at the towering luxury high-rise.

A bitter haze clouded my mind.

We had promised each other that this penthouse would be our forever home after the wedding.

Yet now...

My fingernails dug into my palms until they nearly bled.

Suddenly, two familiar figures stepped out of the lobby elevator.

Alyssa and Damon were walking shoulder to shoulder, laughing playfully.

As if sensing my presence, Alyssa looked up and spotted me leaning against my car.

Instantly, the gentle smile on her face vanished.

She crossed her arms over her chest and smirked with total confidence.

"You acted so tough at the party, Ethan. Yet here you are, waiting downstairs to beg for mercy? Too bad. I won't forgive you that easily."