Chapter 1

It was at my engagement party with Russel Crowe.

Stella Park, Russel's first love, asked him, "If I try to elope with you right now, will you come with me?"

With tears in his eyes, Russel replied, "I will."

The room was deathly silent. Everyone thought I would snap on the spot.

However, I stood up with a smile and started clapping. "You can just go. May you find your true happiness."

*****

As soon as I finished speaking, the whole place went dead silent.

All eyes, with all sorts of emotions, turned to me at once.

Some people, clearly enjoying the drama, even stood up, eager to see how I, the infamous pushover, would react.

Everyone thought I would just throw out some empty threats to save face. After all, Russel was my everything.

I wouldn't dare cause a scene.

But Russel's face twisted with anger. Ignoring everyone trying to stop him, he tossed his drink straight into my face.

"Luna, are you crazy? It was just a joke. Who are you trying to piss off with that crap?

"After all these years, you still can't shake that nasty jealous habit. Can't even take a joke. What the hell do you think you are?" he sneered.

The drink slid down Luna's face, sticky and foul, stinging her eyes as it dripped.

Russel had gotten so used to me letting him do whatever he wanted. He acted like rules didn't apply to him, no matter the place, no matter the people.

If he felt like hitting me, he did. If he wanted to yell, he didn't hold back. It was always on his terms.

He crushed my pride under his heel, never caring how much it hurt.

This time, Russel just figured I would roll over like always, take the blame and beg for forgiveness. He stood there, all smug, waiting for me to grovel.

It was really not interesting to have a relationship like this.

I stood up, without a trace of emotion in my voice.

I said, "Since you two are so devoted to each other, who am I to get in the way of your happiness? Let's just call this our breakup dinner. Congrats, Russel, you finally got your dream girl."

Now it was Russel's turn to look pissed. He'd just wanted to put me in my place, show me who was the boss.

But he never expected me to just throw in the towel like this. Now he was the one stuck in a corner, not knowing what to do next.

"Luna, seriously? You're picking a fight at a time like this? There are guests everywhere. What do you expect Stella to do now? If you're mad at me, fine, I'll apologize, okay?" Russel snapped.

Russel would never let Stella, his precious first love, have to humble herself and apologize to me. In his panic, he just started saying whatever came to mind.

"You've turned this whole engagement party into a mess, are you happy now? Get on your knees and apologize to me, or I'm calling off the wedding," he shouted.

Seeing Russel's face flush with anger, I felt utterly heartbroken.

All those years I'd poured her heart and soul into him, and it still couldn't compare to a few words from Stella, who'd vanished for so long.

I didn't know who ruin all this.

My boyfriend was about to ditch me for another woman. I couldn't really supposed to just pretend nothing happened.

If I let this go, I'd be the biggest joke ever.

Seeing Russel trying to put me on a moral pedestal and blame me again, I stood up right away.

"No need. You two have spelled it all out. Why should I stick around? Well, I hope you have a long and happy life together, and lots of beautiful kids while you're at it," I said.

I grabbed my coat from the chair and walked straight out, not sparing them a second glance.

Russel totally lost it. He was raging, screaming at me from behind.

"If you walk out that door today, we're over. Think real hard about it," he yelled.

I froze mid-step. Russel thought I'd chickened out, and he looked downright smug.

"So you finally realize you screwed up? Get over here and apologize already," he jeered.

But I just slipped off her engagement ring, tossed it to the floor, and strode out without a second glance.

There was something wrong with both of them. They had made their intentions so clear in front of everyone, practically announcing their affair, and they expected me to smile and play along.

I'd spoiled Russel so much. He thought he could do whatever he wanted.

I'd had enough of this messed-up relationship.