Chapter 2
Charlotte went out of her way to invite me to walk the red carpet with her.
The Sinclair family heir's new and old flames showed up together? That was instant gossip fodder.
She was wearing this year's hottest designer gown, while I had to make do with last year's dress.
"Rachel, did you know Edward was coming tonight?" she asked, keeping her voice low.
I had no idea.
Ever since we broke up, Edward and I had cut all ties.
But hearing his name still made my steps falter for a moment.
"Don't flatter yourself. He's only here for me," Charlotte said with a smirk.
Even though the Sinclair family practically ruled the dance scene, Edward never bothered to show up for anything.
Even when things were great between us, he never once showed up for me.
"Edward and I are getting married next month," Charlotte said.
I nodded, smiled sincerely, and said, "I wish you both happiness."
Maybe I was just too meek today, and she got bored with trying to mess with me.
As soon as we finished the red carpet, she ditched me and took off.
I posed for the reporters and answered a few questions.
The reporters were all on the same page; no one brought up Edward.
Back then, our relationship was intense and passionate, but the way it ended was just humiliating.
Edward only realized he had been dumped when he saw our breakup blowing up on social media.
During that interview, the reporters were itching to gossip about where things stood between us.
I just stared into the camera and calmly said, "We broke up."
There was no warning and no explanation.
Edward called me afterwards.
He didn't explain, didn't apologize, didn't even ask why.
He just said, "So that's your final decision?"
I answered quietly, "Mm."
He paused for a moment, then hung up.
I thought he would be furious.
After all, he grew up with everyone treating him like royalty; no one ever said no to him.
Yet I was the one who broke up with him, and he wasn't even the first to hear about it.
The hashtag: [Edward Got Dumped] stayed trending for three days.
Edward didn't bother to scrub it from the trending list.
My agency tried to get the hashtag taken down, scared of crossing the Sinclair family, but it popped right back up in seconds.
That wasn't Edward losing face; it was his way of letting me know I crossed the line.
After that, my whole path turned rocky. Nothing came easy anymore.
Five years went by before Edward finally cooled off, and now he was about to tie the knot with Charlotte.
The host called my name twice before I snapped back to reality.
The applause was thunderous as I caught a glimpse of the front row through the gaps in the crowd.
Charlotte was sitting there with an empty seat beside her.
No name card or anything, but everyone knew that the seat belonged to Edward.
He still hadn't shown up.
Honestly, it was probably for the best; it saved me from a whole lot of awkwardness.
But just as I stepped up to the stage to speak, there he was, sitting there, perfectly composed.
After all these years, he looked even colder than before.
When our eyes met, there was nothing in his gaze, just pure indifference, like I was a total stranger.
I steadied myself and started my speech.
In the middle of my speech, a commotion broke out in the audience.
One of my anti-fans had just exposed a surveillance video showing me pregnant.
That was five years ago, shortly after Edward and I broke up.
I thought burying myself in work would help me forget, but right before joining the troupe, I suddenly discovered I was pregnant.
After that, I canceled every performance and vanished from the scene for an entire year.
The footage was caught by the surveillance cameras in my neighborhood.
Honestly, I couldn't even remember why I went out that day, and I wasn't wearing a mask, so my face was right there, clear as day.