Chapter 2

If this had happened before, I would've been crying and yelling at him to stay away from Chloe. Instead, Alex relaxed. "Good. Then I don't need to explain anymore. It was my fault for missing the bridal shop today. I'll go with you tomorrow."

The second Alex finished speaking, the police arrived. The guilty look on his face vanished, replaced by a cold expression. "Emily, what the hell is this? Why'd you bring the cops here?"

"My ring was stolen. What's wrong with me calling the police?" I turned to the ring on Chloe's finger. Under the lights, it was impossible to miss.

"What are you talking about? When was the ring ever stolen? Stop making a scene." Alex looked both confused and annoyed.

"Not stolen? Then why is it on her hand?" I pointed at Chloe and demanded angrily.

"Didn't I tell you? I only borrowed it; I was going to return it," Alex said dismissively. "Besides, was this really worth calling the police? Do you know how this will affect me?" he accused me angrily, with no regard for my feelings.

I looked at him in disappointment. After three years together, I finally saw him clearly.

"Emily, you've misunderstood. Alex gave me this. I didn't know it was your ring. I'll return it right now," Chloe said tearfully, looking aggrieved.

She repeatedly tried to take off the ring, but couldn't.

"I'm sorry, Emily. It's too tight; I can't get it off. Alex, what should I do?" Chloe asked tearfully.

I let out a cold laugh at her lousy act. But Alex only got angry on her behalf. He grabbed her reddened hand to stop her from taking it off and accused me of being childish.

"Emily, it's just a ring. Do you really have to act like this? I gave that ring to Chloe. Worst case, I'll buy you a more expensive one later."

Just a ring? Did he have any idea how much of my heart I'd put into it? It wasn't just jewelry. It was everything I had hoped for from him. What did a more expensive ring matter? I only wanted that one.

"Taking something without asking is stealing. I don't care who took it. Since she can't get it off, officers, please help her remove it."

Alex didn't dare stop them, only watching me with a dark, rigid face. Chloe didn't dare keep playing games, either. After the police left, everyone in the room kept quiet, afraid to say a word.

"Happy now, Emily?" Alex ground out through clenched teeth, looking at me like he wanted to kill me.

I sneered. "Of course I am. I got my own stuff back. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Did you have to make things this ugly? Do you know it's Chloe's birthday? What are people supposed to think now?"

I couldn't believe that even now, he was still worrying about Chloe. I suddenly laughed. So this was what he actually cared about.

"Alex, let's break up." It took everything in me to say it, but the second the words left my mouth, I felt unexpectedly relieved, as if the dark cloud hanging over me for years had finally cleared.

Alex had never seen me this serious before. He stiffened and stared at me in disbelief. "What did you just say?"

I let out a breath and looked at him steadily. "You heard me. I'm packing tonight, and the wedding is off. As for all the money already spent, I'll cover every bit of it."

Alex went blank. He had never imagined we'd actually split up. Even if he'd started having feelings for someone else, he'd never once thought I would leave him. The moment Chloe saw the look on his face, her expression darkened.