Chapter 2

I stuffed Adrian's things into garbage bags and threw them downstairs.

I was the one paying the rent for this place, and for seven years, I covered all his expenses.

Adrian liked to call himself a pretentious artist, but honestly, he was living off me, the "philistine."

Now it was time to end it.

I even threw away the chipped music box he had won for me by tossing rings at Coney Island on Valentine's Day three years ago.

When we were in love, even broken things felt like treasures.

But when I was over it, even the nicest stuff got under my skin.

I texted Adrian: [Keep the wedding dress. We're done.]

Then I blocked him everywhere and canceled the supplementary card he had on my account.

If I were going to be ruthless, I would go all the way.

*****

Friday rolled around, and I was back at work as usual.

As a project manager at a tech company, the workload was so intense that I barely had time to grieve.

In the break room, Riley handed me a strong Americano and pointed at her phone sneakily. "Gossip from the admin department next door. Guaranteed true."

The photo showed Bella and a bald, chubby guy acting intimately outside a high-end obstetrics clinic. The guy's hand was resting on her stomach.

"That's Calvin Henderson, our top client," Riley said quietly. "Bella's pregnant, but the baby's not Adrian's."

I smiled and took a sip of the bitter coffee. "It's none of my business."

In the past, I would have rushed to expose Bella. But now, nothing she did mattered to me anymore.

With the project launch looming, everyone in the department was swamped. During my lunch break, I ran into Bella on the stairs.

Bella had run all the way down from the top-floor studio for a very obvious reason.

"There's no one else here. Stop pretending," she said, her tone full of mockery.

I ignored her and tried to leave.

Bella pulled a piece of fabric out of her designer bag and said triumphantly, "Even though the wedding dress broke yesterday, Adrian cut out the most important lace embroidery and gave it to me.

"He said only I deserve his designs. As for you, you only deserve the scraps I don't want.

"Even if the dress didn't fit me very well, it's still better than being worn by a boring workaholic like you."

Just as I was about to speak, Riley's voice echoed from above. "Who's yowling like a stray cat in heat? Seriously, that's painful to listen to."

Riley walked down in high heels, pinching the bridge of her nose in disgust. "Harper, stay away from her. Don't get that cheap perfume on you."

Bella tried to hit me, but I grabbed her wrist sharply. "Want to fight? You're not worth it."

I leaned close to her ear and whispered, "By the way, keep that rag. I wish you and bald Mr. Henderson had a kid real soon."

Bella's face turned instantly ashen, and her eyes filled with panic.

Riley linked her arm through mine and strutted downstairs. "I've been wanting to tell her off for ages. That felt great.

"She's stringing Adrian along as her backup while cozying up to that old guy. She's a real genius at time management."

I smiled. "I'm pretty good too. I spent seven years dealing with garbage."