Chapter 3

When I went to talk to Luke about work and asked Katie to leave the room, her eyes would instantly turn red, and she'd put on that innocent, pitiful look. Tears would well up in her eyes, making it look like I was the bad guy.

And Luke always took her side, telling me to "be the bigger person" and "not to argue with a young girl."

Looking back on all those little moments, I realized the seeds of betrayal had already been sown.

And I was just a fool, blinded by what I thought was love and trust, backing down again and again, until I couldn't back down anymore.

The spectacular drone fireworks show came to an end.

Just like my relationship with Luke, it was over, too.

As the final note faded, everyone drifted away.

I was swept along by the crowd as the event ended, shuffling out in a daze, numb and lost.

Suddenly, the crowd let out a collective gasp.

I looked up and saw Luke behind the wheel of his brand-new Rolls-Royce, with Katie sitting beside him, dressed to the nines. They drove right past me, not even sparing a glance.

Seeing Luke looking so confident and proud, I grabbed my phone and called him.

The phone rang for ages, and just when I thought he wasn't going to pick up, he finally answered.

"Jemma? Why are you still up so late?" Luke said, his voice carrying just a trace of guilt he tried to hide.

I got straight to the point. "Where are you?"

There was a pause, then Luke gave a nervous chuckle. "Where else would I be? I'm at the office, pulling an all-nighter for a client. You should get some sleep. Don't wait up for me..."

"At the office?" I scoffed. "Or are you actually at the riverfront lookout? I saw the company's drone show."

There was a sudden silence on the other end, and I could hear his breathing.

He said, "Oh, that? Yeah, it was just a custom order from a big client. They specifically wanted that kind of show, kinda cheesy, but hey, they paid a ton! The client wanted everything hush-hush, so my hands were tied. Just wrapped up, and I'm totally wiped out."

My heart sank a little more with every word.

His lies were so sloppy, and he couldn't even be bothered to make them sound convincing.

"Oh, really?" I heard my own hollow voice. "What client? Is it Katie's mysterious boyfriend? I saw that 'I love you' display. Were you proposing to her or something?"

Luke's voice instantly went cold. "Boyfriend? Jemma, you're a grown woman. Can you stop acting so paranoid all the time? Seriously, I've got work to do. I'm hanging up."

"Luke!" I shouted, my voice trembling with one last desperate hope. "Do you even remember what you promised me? You said once we won that international award, you'd..."

"Jemma!" Luke snapped, cutting me off harshly, like he didn't want to hear another word about our past.

He snapped, "Jemma, we're grown-ups now. Let's not bring up all those sweet promises and dreams we made when we were young.

"The company's taking off, and I'm seriously under a lot of pressure. Sometimes, you just have to put on a show for appearances. It's unavoidable in this business. You have to understand. That promise... Let's talk about it when things settle down, alright?"

Just putting on a show? He wanted me to just understand? Listening to all that crap he was spouting made me sick to my stomach.

"So, setting up a wedding suite with Katie at the hotel was just part of the act? Taking her to Malvialand for a honeymoon was just for appearances, too?" I called out his lies, my voice cold as ice.

The line went dead silent, all I could hear was his heavy, ragged breathing.

Suddenly, Luke spat out, furious. "Jemma! Have you been spying on me? You actually followed me? I can't believe you'd do something like this!"

I couldn't help but laugh, even as tears streamed down my face.

"Luke, do I really need to spy on you? The drone show by the river and that massive 'I love you' lit up half the city, and Katie's name in lights. I'm not stupid. I saw everything with my own eyes..."

Luke froze for a second, then his voice panicked. "Jemma, just hear me out. It's not what it looks like..."

"Don't bother, Luke. We're done," I said, my voice cold and final.

With every ounce of strength I had left, I hung up and blocked him on everything, no more calls, no more texts, nothing.

When I got back to our home, which Luke and I once shared, I quickly packed up what I needed. But when I opened the safe, I froze in shock.

The wedding ring I'd secretly designed for Luke and me was missing.

Thinking about that massive drone fireworks show tonight, I didn't even know what came over me. I just found myself searching for Katie's Instagram.

And then, bam. My brain just exploded.

The wedding ring I'd designed myself, with the ruby my grandma left me, was shining in Katie's hand.

Her caption was gushing as always, [Mr. CEO says I'm his light. And only a fiery, dazzling ruby is worthy of me. He really has great taste.]

I was shaking with rage and didn't give a damn about anything else. I rushed straight to the company and marched right into Luke's office.