Chapter 1

Twenty minutes before the engagement party, I stood in the bridal suite, staring at the Instagram post that had popped up on my phone.

It was a photo of a couple's silhouette against a sunset at the beach.

The caption was only five words: [Vacation with the right person.]

The man in the photo was my fiancé, Ethan. And the woman with her arm wrapped around his was his ex, Emily.

The makeup artist asked softly, "Do you want me to touch up your lipstick?"

Outside the door, Olivia, Lucas's mother, was already laughing with the guests as she explained, "Young people, you know how it is. Traffic must've been bad. He'll be here any minute."

She was covering for Ethan, but in doing so, she was also brushing my humiliation under the rug.

I set my phone down, slipped off my engagement ring, and placed it inside the jewelry box.

Then I texted a number: [You can come up now.]

Today's engagement party wasn't going to be a game where Ethan showed up whenever he felt like it and left me hanging whenever he didn't.

If he wanted to treat our engagement like a backup plan, then I would settle the score with him in front of everyone.

When I stepped out of the lounge, most of the seats in the banquet hall were already taken.

The Lane family had invited plenty of business partners, and even the boss from my dad's company showed up.

This engagement wasn't about the two of us. It was tied to a new company that both our families were planning together.

The Lane family brought the connections, while I brought the tech and the core design team.

After the engagement, the whole project would officially be rolled into one company.

That was why Ethan had the nerve to take his ex on vacation during the holiday, and even show up late today.

It wasn't because he didn't care. It was because he was convinced I wouldn't blow up or turn against him.

He was sure I couldn't bear to walk away from either our relationship or the project.

The host was already warming up the crowd with the microphone, and my mom, looking pale, leaned in and whispered, "When is he going to show up?"

I replied coolly, "Maybe he'll come, maybe he won't."

She was taken aback. "Are you really going to say something like that now?"

I didn't bother to explain.

Olivia walked over in her high heels, a smile on her face, but every word came out like a warning. "Claire, men get caught up in work sometimes.

"It's normal if they're not always attentive. There are a lot of guests here today, so don't make a scene."

I looked at her. "Olivia, where is he?"

Her smile froze for a split second before she replied, "He's on his way. Emily ran into a bit of trouble out of town, so he's looking after her in passing.

"They've been friends for years. He can't leave her hanging."

In passing. On our engagement day, he left his fiancée waiting at the hotel and brought his ex back from out of town. And Olivia called it in passing.

I nodded. "So, I guess who matters most can be switched up whenever, even today."

Her voice dropped. "You need to be understanding. Ethan's got a soft heart, and as his fiancée, you should be more forgiving."

The room went quiet. A bunch of people had already heard everything.

I suddenly laughed. "So, Olivia, are you saying that if he feels like it, he can swap me out for someone else at this engagement?"

Olivia's face darkened. "What kind of talk is that?"

Just then, there was a commotion at the entrance of the banquet hall.

Everyone turned to look.

Ethan had finally arrived. He was wearing the suit I'd picked out for him, but his collar was loose, like he'd rushed in from outside.

And the person beside him wasn't his assistant or his driver. It was Emily Shaw, dressed in an elegant ivory gown.

Her makeup was flawless, not a detail out of place.

Honestly, she looked like she was here for some other ceremony entirely.