Chapter 2
The car was flying down the road when, out of nowhere, someone jumped right in front of us.
Leo, my chauffeur, slammed on the brakes, and my forehead smacked into the seat in front of me.
It was instantly red and throbbing.
For a second, I thought it was just some scammer trying to stage an accident for cash.
Turned out, it was Chloe.
My blood boiled instantly.
I said, "You're trying to get yourself killed, huh?
"If you want to die, don't do it in front of my car. Go throw yourself in front of Adam. At least he'll pick up your corpse."
Chloe was totally fine, but her eyes were glazed over. She was clearly in shock.
The moment she came to her senses, her gaze turned vicious.
"I lost my baby, and it's all because of you!" she spat.
She pointed at me, her hand shaking uncontrollably.
She looked like she actually wanted to hit me.
Leo stopped her.
"Are you out of your mind?" I snapped.
I was totally lost.
I said, "Did I get you pregnant? Did I tell you to get rid of the baby?
"Why are you coming after me instead of Adam?"
Suddenly, there was a screech of brakes behind us.
Adam jumped out of his car, his face pale with panic. He frantically checked Chloe for injuries, looking her up and down like he was terrified she'd been hurt.
When he saw she was fine, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then he spun around and shot me a death glare.
He snapped, "Grace, are you out of your mind? Why did you try to run Chloe over?
"I told you it was just a fling. Was it really worth trying to kill her over that?"
I was totally speechless.
He was blaming me without even knowing what happened.
I was about to explain myself, but I didn't wanna waste my time. I just told Leo, annoyed, to pull up the dashcam footage.
Adam checked the footage, and a flicker of embarrassment crossed his face.
He shot Chloe a glare, and only then did he notice the bump on my forehead.
He said, "Are you alright? Make sure you get it checked out at the hospital later.
"Sorry, Grace. I jumped to the wrong conclusion. Let me apologize for Chloe.
"She just lost her baby, so she's not really herself right now. She's not out to hurt anyone.
"You've got everything, so you can't really understand what she's been through. Her life only started getting better after she met me.
"And I wouldn't even let her keep the baby, so of course she's hurting. Just cut her some slack.
"You two are probably going to run into each other a lot. Me and her, things are heating up, so for now, I'm not breaking it off.
"You'll just have to get used to it."
"You scumbag! You've got no shame!" Leo snapped.
I hadn't even said a word, but Leo was already fuming.
"What kind of crap are you spouting? Good thing Ms. Jensen didn't marry you," Leo said.
I was completely numb. My heart had long gone cold toward Adam.
At twenty-six, I was way past the age where love was the be-all and end-all.
I wouldn't tolerate even the slightest betrayal, and when it happened, I'd walk away without looking back.
Love was not that essential.
"Leo," Adam called out.
His voice dropped, sounding dangerous as he fixed Leo with a cold stare.
He said, "You've watched Grace grow up, so I can let your words slide. But she's not even saying anything. What's got you all riled up?"
Leo paused. Seeing that I was staying quiet, he stepped back.
Adam, with his arm still around Chloe, headed straight for my car.
"Grace, give us a lift to the hospital. My car's out of gas," Adam said.
He was really just latching onto me, acting like my talk of breaking off the engagement was nothing but a joke.
He was dead sure our engagement was set in stone, and I'd never actually walk away.
He was so certain I'd go along with his "open marriage" nonsense that he didn't even bother hiding how cozy he was with Chloe right in front of me.
I saw in the rearview mirror that Chloe was leaning on Adam's shoulder.
Adam gently kissed her on the head and rubbed her belly.
Chloe complained that her abdomen hurt.
I felt like I'd seen this exact scene before.
Adam and I had known each other since we were sixteen, and it had been ten years now.
For ten years, every month when I had period cramps, Adam would always be there, taking care of me.
Back then, I was happy.
But now, I was just a joke.
After all this time, I should've figured it out by now.
Turned out, Adam was never just gentle and caring with me. He treated others the same way.
My heart gave a sudden, sharp throb.
It was like a needle stabbing right through my heart.
I stared straight ahead.
Somehow, my eyes started to fill with tears.
I hadn't cried at all before now.
Guess I thought I was stronger than I really was.
I thought I was above it all.
Leo noticed I wasn't okay.
He rolled his eyes toward the rearview mirror and turned on some soothing music.
I managed a small smile at Leo, and then turned to stare out the window.
Forgot it.
There was a whole world out there.
Adam was just not worth it.
We arrived at the hospital.
Adam helped Chloe out of the car and walked her straight inside, not even glancing back at me.
By the time he realized I was there, I was already heading home.
He called me over and over, but I sent every call straight to voicemail.
When he tried again, I put him on speaker, set the phone on the table, and looked up at Adam's parents.
They knew I was ending the engagement, so they came over just to try and change my mind.
Adam sounded apologetic on the speaker.
He said, "Grace, where are you? Sorry, I just got done with everything. I checked all over the ER for you, but you were already gone."
"I'm home," I replied.
He said, "Home? Alright, then. From what I saw, your injury didn't look too bad, so you should be alright.
"Chloe just lost the baby, so she's still recovering and pretty shaken up. The doctor said she should stay in the hospital for a while.
"You're a woman, too, so you get it, right? She's really not doing well and needs me around.
"Don't worry, I'll come see you tomorrow."