Chapter 2 The voice on the phone paused. "Are you sure, Ms. Mitchell?" No wonder the coordinator sounded shocked. Chloe's bridesmaid dress had a bigger train than my wedding gown, covered in crystals. She'd even demanded a 14-carat Oppenheimer pink diamond. At first, I had no clue who she was. Asked Lucas's buddies-turns out she was his childhood sweetheart, his first love dream girl. When I rushed to the planning office, I walked right into Chloe trying to add a "remembering our sweet first love" segment to the ceremony. The coordinator looked at me helplessly. 'Lucas said our memories are too precious. If we don't share them at the wedding, he'll regret it forever." Chloe emphasized "forever," casually pulling out a yellowed photo from her purse. In it, teenage Lucas was kissing the top of her head. But in three years together, he barely kissed me. I stared at that photo, chest tight, gritting my teeth: 'No need. We won't need Ms. Bennett as a bridesmaid." Chloe just smiled: 'No worries. Weddings always have 'surprises,' right?" Walking out of that office, my hands were shaking with rage. That night, Lucas actually comforted me: "You did the right thing. The wedding should go how you want." But when he thought I was asleep, he made a hushed phone call: "Just go along with her for now. I'll make her sorry. Chloe, don't cry." My heart stopped. If he loved Chloe so much, why did he keep saying he loved me, that I was the only one he wanted to marry? I suddenly remembered something from a school board party-the maintenance director had too much to drink: "If Ms. Mitchell hadn't helped Lucas secure that principal position, you think some nobody Chloe Bennett could've gotten a teaching job here?" "Man, if Lucas's mom hadn't forbidden him from marrying Chloe, it never would've been Ms. Mitchell's turn." རྗ་རྡོ་དྷྭ་་ྔ An invisible hand squeezed my heart until I couldn't breathe. No wonder I always got stuck with exam duty while Lucas and Chloe went on those out-of-town educational exchanges. The lesson plans I stayed up all night preparing got handed to Chloe to present-became her moment to shine. I escaped home and dialed a number. "Still need interpreters? I want to apply." My senior Daniel Wright's voice brightened. "Eva! Your simultaneous translation skills were always the best in our program. We'd love to have you!" He paused, tone turning careful: "But this project's in Europe. At least six months stationed there. You sure about this?" I gripped the phone, eyes landing on the invitation Lucas had tossed carelessly on the coffee table- Chloe's name was back in the bridesmaid lineup. Those men who'd humiliated me were listed as groomsmen too. The gold lettering burned my eyes. "I'm sure. The sooner the better." After hanging up, I started packing. When all those scarves spilled out of my closet, it hit me- They were just add-ons to meet minimum purchase requirements for Chloe's designer bags. I laughed bitterly and threw them all in the trash. When Lucas came home, he found me curled up on the couch and frowned slightly. "Why are you sitting here? You feeling okay?" The pain in my body reminded me that last night at the pool hall wasn't a nightmare. I kept my head down, exhausted. "Lucas, cancel all those online orders. I don't want any of it anymore."