Chapter 2

Leonard had another appearance lined up, so it wasn't until he left that I finally started to process what had just happened.

Did I really go along with his proposal?

After the celebration, I went home and came clean with my family. "Mom, I'm breaking off my engagement with Eren."

They'd already heard about me saying yes to Leonard's proposal in front of everyone.

Mom sighed, thinking I was just acting like a spoiled princess. "Just because you and Eren are having issues doesn't mean you should treat your marriage like a joke."

Vera, standing off to the side, spoke up, "Jaelyn always does things her own way. She's always been the type to follow her heart, so sometimes she doesn't think things through, but she never means any harm."

Mom retorted coldly, "It has nothing to do with you."

Vera shrank back, looking wronged, and moved aside.

Years ago, Vera showed up to claim her place in the family. Mom was so furious that she threatened to divorce Dad.

But their marriage was all about family alliances, so for the sake of both families, Mom had no choice but to swallow her anger and keep quiet.

Dad wrote up a statement about the inheritance, making it clear that all the Sawyer family's assets would go to me. Since Vera's birth mother had already passed away, the whole mess just quietly faded into the background.

But over the years, Mom never stopped giving Vera the cold shoulder.

*****

Mom still had Eren come over, hoping he'd try to talk me down face-to-face.

Eren, who was usually so distant, actually spoke to me softly for once, "I know it's hard for you to let go of all the glitz and glory as an actress.

"I've already talked to my family. No one's going to make you quit your acting career anymore."

In all our previous lives together, he never once backed down. I was always the one making all the compromises.

Eren pulled out an exquisite jewelry box, and inside was a stunning butterfly brooch.

It was a piece by my favorite designer, and it was one of a kind.

But in previous lives, Eren had spent a fortune to buy this brooch, only to give it to Vera, who also adored butterflies.

Eren brushed off my sadness and anger, acting like I was overreacting. "Vera's your sister, that's why I gave her the gift. There are plenty of butterfly brooches out there. I'll just get you a different one."

I picked up the exquisite brooch, thinking of everything that had happened before, and a cold, mocking laugh escaped me.

Tilting my fingers, I let it slip from my grasp. The expensive brooch hit the floor, one wing shattering instantly, sparkling gems scattering everywhere.

"What are you doing?" Eren demanded, his voice tinged with pain. "I put a lot of effort into getting this for you."

Vera, who'd been ignored the whole time, finally found her chance to speak up, "Jaelyn, even if you don't like it, you shouldn't break something so expensive. Besides, it's Eren's gift to show he cares about you."

I shot her a look.

She was always putting on that sweet, innocent act whenever Eren was around.

I picked up the shattered butterfly brooch from the floor, casually handed it to Vera, and said, "It honestly wasn't on purpose. You've always been into butterflies, right? Since this brooch is pricey and I don't like it, I guess I'll let you have it."

Eren's face fell. "You used to love it."

Yeah, I used to dream of owning it, but Eren ended up giving it to Vera.

Now, I didn't care about it at all. Might as well let it go back to its real owner.

Vera, always acting all pitiful, clutched the shattered brooch, seething with anger but having nowhere to vent.

Eren murmured, his voice tinged with regret and confusion, "You used to love this. How did we end up like this? What went wrong between us?"

Eren clearly wasn't used to me suddenly giving him the cold shoulder.