Chapter 2

2.

"Hudson, what are you looking at? You seem a million miles away."

Rowena's voice snapped me back to reality. I turned off the screen and said flatly: "It's nothing."

"Did those reporters scare you? I'm sorry. I didn't think a simple live stream would cause such a mess."

Her proposal had been broadcast to millions.

She was already a rising star in the tech industry, and proposing to her "miracle" fiancé made her go viral.

The irony was that the account she used for the live stream belonged to her little side piece, Logan.

Logan was a small-time influencer she'd been funding for years.

They told everyone they were just friends, and the public swallowed the lie.

She used his account just to give his career a boost.

She had cried such convincing tears during the proposal, looking like a woman hopelessly in love.

Yet that camera lens was a constant reminder of her betrayal.

Rowena didn't notice my coldness. She took my hand, looking into my eyes.

"Hudson, don't you want to see me in a wedding dress? Let's go try some on."

For a second, I felt a ghost of a memory.

I used to dream about her walking down the aisle toward me.

Now, that dream felt like a nightmare I was trying to wake up from.

Before I could refuse, she dragged me to a high-end bridal boutique.

She picked out a few gowns and told me to wait while she disappeared into the fitting room.

Thirty minutes passed, and she still hadn't come out.

The shop assistants started giving me strange, pitying looks.

Sensing something was wrong, I stood up and pushed the fitting room door open.

To my surprise, Rowena was the only one in there.

She looked stunning in the white lace, but her face was flushed a deep, unnatural red.

She jumped when she saw me, trying to act calm: "Hudson! What are you doing in here? I was just about to come out."

Her voice was thick and raspy.

I looked at the massive, puffy skirt of her gown―large enough to hide a grown man.

It hit me instantly.

I couldn't tell if she brought me here to see her in a dress or to see how much she could get away with.

My stomach churned with sudden, violent nausea. I bolted for the restroom and threw up.

"Hudson!"

I heard her panicked voice behind me.

She didn't even bother changing out of the dress as she chased after me, the heavy silk rustling on the floor.

"Hudson, are you okay? Please, talk to me! You're scaring me!"

Her eyes were red, and her voice cracked with real fear.

The powerful CEO, who usually never showed emotion, was shaking like a leaf because of me.

I knew her concern in this moment was genuine.

But her betrayal was also real.

I pushed back the bitterness in my throat and avoided her hand as she tried to help me up.

"I'm tired. Let's go home."

As we were leaving the shop, Rowena glanced back. Her eyes met Logan's as he stepped out of the same fitting room.

He smirked and mouthed something to her, making her blush instantly.

She thought I was oblivious, but I saw the whole exchange in the reflection of the glass door.

I felt like I was suffocating.

The Rowena I knew used to only blush for me. Now, she was a stranger.

Love, no matter how deep, can't survive three years of filth.

It was all just a beautiful lie.