Chapter 2

2.

I forced myself to keep shooting for them.

If I hadn't taken this photography gig, I probably would have lived the rest of my life in the dark about Chloe's infidelity.

Swallowing the bitter lump in my throat, I finished the entire session.

When Chloe walked over to review the previews on my camera screen, her eyes sparkled with delight.

"These are stunning. Dylan, we really are the perfect match."

"Unlike Mason. Standing next to him feels so suffocating. He's way too tall."

I am indeed tall, standing over six-foot-two, more than a head taller than her. Whenever we walked down the street together, strangers often mistook her for my little sister.

She had always complained about it: "I hate going shopping with you. People never think we look like a real couple."

Dylan, on the other hand, was only an inch or two taller than her. In her eyes, they looked aesthetically balanced.

I swallowed the raging storm inside me and kept my mouth shut.

Dylan threw a smug glance in my direction, then pulled Chloe into his arms.

"Chloe, who do you love more? Me or Mason?"

Chloe went on her tiptoes to plant a quick kiss on his lips. Her cheeks flushed with bashful charm.

"I've already given my body to you in bed. Who else could I possibly love?"

A bomb went off in my head with a deafening blast.

She had already slept with him.

Fury and grief erupted in my chest simultaneously, and I nearly lost control of my hands.

Dylan pinched her cheek, smiling with wicked affection: "Then why are you still going through with marrying him?"

"Well, we've been together for so long, and my parents won't stop nagging me about marriage. I had to agree to shut them up."

"My plan is to pack my bags and vanish from Chicago right before the date. Nobody will be able to find me, and I definitely won't show up at the altar."

"Ugh, I should have never let my parents set us up on that blind date years ago. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have had to settle for a guy like him."

When Chloe uttered that last sentence, her eyes were filled with unfiltered disgust.

That look pierced my heart like a dagger.

Eight years. Eight whole years of devotion, and she called it settling.

Dylan burst out laughing: "Just vanishing into thin air is too boring."

"Why not pretend everything is normal? Let him plan the entire wedding, and then leave him stranded alone at the venue. It'll be the ultimate payback for him bothering you all these years."

I stared intently at Chloe, waiting to see if she would actually agree to something so cruel.

We had shared eight years of life together. I thought she might harbor at least a shred of lingering empathy.

To my horror, she agreed without a second thought.

"That's brilliant, Dylan! You always have the best schemes. Mason will completely lose his mind."

"Haha, who do you think I am? Back in high school, they called me the mastermind."

Dylan pulled her into a tight embrace, whispering into her ear: "Chloe, I want you right now. Let's head back to the hotel."

Chloe's face turned bright red in an instant.

"B-but we haven't finished all the shots yet..."

"Come on, we paid a fortune for this. We can finish tomorrow. Let's go have some real fun first."

"O-okay then."

As she spoke, Chloe buried her blushing face deep into Dylan's chest.

*Clatter.*

My camera slipped from my trembling hands and crashed onto the pavement.

Tears rolled down beneath my mask, soaking into my collar.

"Hey, what is wrong with you?"

Chloe glared at me with irritation.

"You dropped your own camera, so don't you dare try billing us for the damage."

Dylan cast a dismissive glance at me, grinning in high spirits: "Forget the weirdo. Let's go back and enjoy ourselves."