Chapter 5

The cold war began.

For an entire week, I didn't appear before Holden.

Instead, his romantic affairs with Charlotte made entertainment headlines multiple times.

[First Love Returns, Mr. Lancaster Furious for His Beauty!]

He allowed her to use the Lancaster Group's reputation to establish herself in the screenwriting industry.

He indulged her bidding wars at auctions, sent her roses throughout the city, cooked for her with his own hands.

Holden showed his affection openly, afraid no one would know.

I watched coldly, packing up all my belongings in the apartment.

Then I called a courier service and had the card, along with the sponsorship agreement I'd signed seven years ago, delivered by a delivery driver.

Dragging my suitcase, I found myself somewhat laughable.

After all these busy, rushing years in New York, I had nothing left behind.

Seventy million dollars, my seven years of youth.

I returned it all to him.

Before leaving, I walked into a shopping mall in a daze and stopped at a jewelry shop.

A pink diamond sparkled with a hazy glow under the display lights, like a rose wrapped in moonlight.

The string of zeros on the price tag killed my impulse.

Just as I was about to leave, I ran into Holden and Charlotte.

Charlotte also had her eye on it at first glance.

The sales clerk immediately fawned over them.

"Mr. Lancaster has such good taste! This pink diamond is the only one in all of New York, extremely rare!"

Holden's hand wrapped around Charlotte's waist, his lips curving upward.

But his eyes looked straight at me.

"What worthless trinket? My fiancée likes it—that's its honor."

Fiancée?

My heart trembled. I stopped in my tracks.

In the past, when things got intense, I'd curl up in Holden's arms crying like a walnut over Korean dramas.

Back then I felt a bit giddy.

"If someone proposed to me with a unique ring in the world, I'd definitely say yes."

The man had kissed my fingertips carelessly and laughed.

"That's all it takes?"

In the end, that pink diamond was placed on Charlotte's slender finger.

She held Holden's arm, smiling graciously.

"Eve, I've always considered you a friend all these years."

"Now that Holden and I have found happiness, you need to work hard too!"

I smiled woodenly.

"Congratulations on your wedding. I wish you and Mr. Lancaster a happy marriage."

Just a few steps out of the shop, someone grabbed my wrist and pressed me against the mall's fire escape.

He leaned in abruptly, his burning kiss falling on my collarbone.

"What did you mean by that just now?"

I tried to pull my hand away but couldn't.

The anger I'd suppressed for so long ignited in my heart. I kicked hard at his groin.

"Exactly what I said."

"Can't Mr. Lancaster understand plain English?"

His expression instantly turned cold, his teeth clenched.

"Eve, think carefully."

"Take this step, and we're completely done."

I made a sound of acknowledgment, walked steadily, and never looked back.

The moment I boarded the plane.

I blocked all of Holden's contact information.

Then I snapped my SIM card in half and threw it in the trash.

At the same time, at a wild party in some high-end venue, Holden sat alone in a corner.

He poured drink after drink into his stomach, his eyes quickly turning bloodshot.

Charlotte stood up amid everyone's encouragement, her face flushed.

"Holden, I have something I want to say to you."

Just then, a security guard knocked on the door and respectfully presented a package.

"Mr. Lancaster, this is something Miss Eve sent you."