Chapter 2
“So what if you’ve gotten enough? And what if you haven’t?” I raised an eyebrow at Ethan challengingly. “Is the great Mr. Shen offering to make up the difference?”
“Olivia, three years apart and you’re still as cheap as ever!” He looked down at me coldly, his beautiful eyes filled with contempt.
His words cut like a knife, piercing straight to my heart.
I studied him through the hazy lights.
He used to shine so brightly, a beacon of sincerity in this duplicitous world.
Now he stood there in an expensive suit, still strikingly handsome, but his eyes were like bottomless pits.
When he looked at me, there wasn’t a trace of the tenderness from years ago.
I jerked my wrist, forcing him to step closer.
“Manhandling other women in front of your fiancée - who’s really the cheap one here?”
I shot back at him with the same venom as always.
Except where we once exchanged words of love, now we traded barbed insults.
Ethan seemed to snap out of it. He roughly let go of my hand and grabbed some wet wipes from the table, frantically scrubbing his hands.
The insult couldn’t have been clearer.
I didn’t want to stay a moment longer. I caught Alex’s eye and stood up to leave.
But Ethan stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“Sweetie, come here. Let me introduce you to someone.” He called out to Sophia, his tone suddenly gentle.
“Who’s this, babe?” Sophia minced over and clung to Ethan’s arm, leaning against him coyly.
She was as sweet as her name suggested - cute and clearly pampered since birth.
“She’s very special,” Ethan said to Sophia, but his eyes were fixed on me.
“This is my ex-girlfriend, Olivia. The one who dumped me for $2 million.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough for everyone to hear.
The atmosphere in the room instantly changed.
An overwhelming sense of humiliation washed over me.
I kept my face impassive, quietly hiding my trembling hands behind my back.
Tonight I could feel pain, I could laugh, but the one thing I absolutely could not do was show even a hint of weakness.
“Is $2 million really that much? The necklace you gave me cost $10 million.” Sophia’s delicate fingers lightly traced the dazzling diamond necklace around her neck.
She had matching earrings dangling from her small, perfect ears.
“$10 million? That’s eight figures!”
“She’s basically wearing a house around her neck!”
Gasps of amazement rippled through the crowd.
Followed by sneers and mocking laughter.
Laughter at me for giving up such a handsome, wealthy boyfriend for a mere $2 million.
Crunch
Someone in the crowd crushed an empty beer can.
Startled by the sound, I turned towards its source.
Alex was casually playing with the mangled can, a wry smile on his face.
I shook my head slightly at him, signaling him to stay calm.
But Ethan suddenly let out a low chuckle.
He pulled out a thick wad of hundred dollar bills from his pocket and tossed them carelessly into the air.
“Olivia, I’ve got more money than I know what to do with.”
“But you don’t deserve a cent of it.”
The bills fluttered down, landing on my face, my body, scattering at my feet.
“You’d better hold on tight to such a good boyfriend, little girl.” I forced a smile through the rain of judgmental stares.
“Oh, I will.” Sophia looked up at Ethan adoringly.
Their loving gazes met.
“Aww, they’re so sweet together!”
“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”
Someone started the chant and soon the whole room was demanding they kiss.
Ethan suddenly grabbed Sophia’s waist and dipped her onto the couch, bending down to kiss her passionately.
The crowd went wild.
They were making out right in front of me, mere feet away, bathed in the pulsing lights.
The room was filled with cheers and whistles, but all I could hear was deafening silence.