Chapter 2

I stared out the window at the endless rain, my heart cold and empty.

I said softly, "Mom, I'll do it."

My mom sounded genuinely surprised. "Really? Celine, you've made up your mind?"

"Yeah, I have," I replied.

Instead of burning myself out in a dead-end relationship, I might as well be an obedient puppet and at least bring some real benefits to my family.

My heart was already numb. Did it even matter who I ended up with?

After hanging up, I lay awake all night.

The next morning, I showed up at work with two massive dark circles under my eyes.

I was a jewelry designer, and I was in the middle of prepping for a big competition.

Maybe it was the breakup, but I found myself able to focus even more, pouring all my emotions into my design sketches.

All day, I didn't even look at my phone, and I didn't let myself think about Adrian.

It wasn't until I got off work that I realized my phone was blowing up with dozens of missed calls.

Some were from my brother, James Arnold, some from our mutual friends, and even a few from Adrian, calling from someone else's phone.

I blocked every single one of those strange numbers, my expression completely blank.

As soon as I stepped out of the office, a familiar Land Rover pulled up right in front of me.

The door swung open, and Adrian stood there with a worn-out face.

He had a five o'clock shadow on his chin, and dark circles under his eyes; he looked even more of a mess than I did.

He tried to grab my hand, but I dodged him.

The light in his eyes faded, and his voice was rough. "Celine, stop acting up. Come home with me."

I looked at him, finding it kind of funny.

"Home? Which home are you talking about? Adrian, we're over," I said.

"I know you're pissed I didn't show up yesterday," he rushed to explain, sounding desperate. "Grace had a sudden asthma attack, so I took her to the hospital. I left my phone behind. I swear I didn't do it on purpose."

It was Grace again.

It was the same old excuse.

I looked at him, and whatever lingering affection I had for him faded away completely.

"Adrian, do you really think I care about any of that anymore?" I said calmly. "I stood in the rain for hours yesterday, thinking about everything.

"I remembered when we first got together, you said you liked me and would treat me well for the rest of your life.

"I remembered the first time you took me to meet your friends, but you just introduced me as the girl next door.

"I remembered how you made me wait outside your place for three hours, just to bring you a file you forgot, just because you didn't want your family to find out about us."

With every word I spoke, Adrian's face turned even paler.

"Celine, I" he started.

"You don't need to explain," I cut him off. "I used to think that if I tried hard enough, if I loved you enough, you'd finally make our relationship public and introduce me to your family with pride. But now I see how naive I was."

"You're not naive. You're just not a priority," he said.

I looked up, my gaze drifting past him.

There, standing behind him, was a girl in a white dress, looking all fragile and delicate, holding a thermos in her hand.

It was Grace.

When she saw me, a flash of smugness flickered in her eyes before she quickly switched to a look of concern.

"Adrian, please don't fight with Celine. It's all my fault. If I hadn't been feeling sick, you wouldn't have had to..." she said, then broke into another cough.

Adrian immediately turned around, looking anxious as he steadied her. "Grace, why did you come out here? It's windy outside. Get in the car."

Watching this whole brother-sister act, I just found it unbearably ironic.

I took a deep breath, spun around, and walked away without hesitation.

"Celine," Adrian yelled after me.

I didn't look back.

Just then, a black Bentley pulled up in front of me.

The window rolled down, and it was my brother, James.

When he saw Adrian and Grace behind me, his face instantly darkened.

"Get in," he said to me.

I pulled open the door and got in.

The car started up, leaving Adrian and Grace in the dust.

"Fighting with Adrian again?" James glanced at me in the rearview mirror.

I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. "James, we broke up."

James was quiet for a moment, then said, "Good for you.

"Mom said the Lewis family's on board. The engagement party's next weekend."

I just said "Mm," not feeling anything at all.

"Have you met him yet?" James asked.