Chapter 2

Sophia walked over in her pointed high heels, coming to stand beside me.

She gave a charming smile. "Olivia, I heard Alex is going to propose to you today."

The truth suddenly slipped out, and I instinctively glanced at Alex.

Alex, usually so cocky, rubbed his nose in embarrassment and gave Sophia a sheepish grin.

Sophia, completely at ease, brought out an exquisite little gift box from behind her.

"I actually went all the way overseas and had this wedding dress custom-made by a top designer, just for you as a wedding gift," she said.

She opened the box, pulled out the dress, and stuffed it into my arms. "It suits you so well, Olivia." She flashed a bright smile.

I reached out and touched the fabric. It was rough and shoddy, like the kind of super cheap dress.

Yet Sophia kept up her act of being perfectly friendly. "Wishing you and Alex a blissful marriage," she said.

Batting her eyes at me expectantly, she added, "Olivia, can I be your bridesmaid?"

Sophia wasn't letting up; she kept cornering me, and I just felt totally suffocated, no idea what to say.

Alex couldn't take it anymore. He jumped in to defend the girl he's always had a soft spot for.

"Sophie's got such a pure heart. She really means well. Don't put her on the spot like that.

"Honestly, I don't know since when you started acting this way. She was being perfectly nice to you, but you still had to give her attitude."

I shot Alex a long, searching look, and then called on every bit of acting I could muster to force a smile and agree.

Sophia's eyes curved sweetly as she snuggled right into Alex's arms, her voice sugary as she said, "Alex, you're just the best."

With that, she started making the rounds, raising her glass and giving a toast to each and every one of Alex's friends.

I had seen Sophia play all kinds of mean girl games and bully people on set, but now, in front of Alex's buddies, she was a whole different person.

She dialed down her attitude, acting so humble that she actually won everyone over.

One drunk guy shouted, "Man, Sophia's got it down! She's an A-lister, but she's so laid-back, and totally gets along with us.

"If Mr. Carter ended up with Sophia instead of Olivia, these parties would be way more fun. Olivia's always so dull, never brings any life to the crowd.

"Best actress? Meh, I don't get the hype. Mr. Carter's gonna kick her to the curb sooner or later."

I ended up shoved into a corner, just quietly listening while all their chatter filled the air.

It was as if I'd become invisible to them.

Or maybe I wasn't invisible at all; they knew Alex didn't care, maybe even approved, so they had no reason to hold back.

Sophia swept a smug look over my face, and then in a heartbeat, put on her signature soft and charming smile.

She leaned in, pretending to be tipsy, and slipped her hand into Alex's. "Alex, can I ask you something?"

All eyes in the room locked onto Sophia.

"Suppose I've changed my mind. If I said yes to your confession from four years ago, would you still want me?" she asked, her voice sweet and teasing.

My heart nearly stopped. I gripped my wine glass so hard that my knuckles turned white, staring straight at Alex.

He paused for a moment, and then, with everyone watching, he finally spoke. "I would."

Those two words crashed down on me, heavy as a ton of bricks.

The whole room erupted; whistles and cheers filled the air.

But for me, it was like falling into an ice bath; my whole body went cold.

The wine glass slipped from my fingers and shattered on the floor. The sharp sound was swallowed up by the crowd's cheers; nobody even batted an eye.

I got shoved around and slammed into the railing of the cruise ship.

One of my heels went flying into the sea, and in the chaos, I twisted my ankle. Pain shot through me.

My carefully styled hair looked like a disaster, and the strap of my dress snapped with a loud pop.

Helplessness started to flood me.

There was a time when even the slightest discomfort from me would have sent Alex into a panic. Now, he was right at the center of the crowd, bending over to sweetly feed Sophia a piece of cake.

Alex's friends said that the cake had been specially commissioned by him from the top wedding cake shop, just for the proposal.

Nineteen tiers in all—a sign of everlasting perfection and happiness for the marriage he dreamed of.

Thinking about all that, I just couldn't take it anymore. I ran away in a mess, barely keeping it together and forcing myself not to cry as I quickly texted my bestie, Chloe Sinclair.

Chloe instantly called me back, her voice practically trembling with worry. "Liv, hang in there! Just give me three minutes. I'll be out on the water to get you ASAP."

Before I could even reply, someone slammed into me from behind. I lost all footing and was sent flying over the rail, crashing straight into the cold sea.

As I was sinking, right at the last second, I used every ounce of strength I had left to shoot Chloe a frantic SOS text.