Chapter 4

The cut was deep, and the blood wouldn't stop flowing.

Yet in a room filled with hundreds of people, not a single soul stepped forward to help me.

They all crowded around Ethan and Chloe, fussing over them, terrified that Chloe might suffer the slightest emotional distress.

Dragging my bleeding leg, I pulled myself toward an empty chair and sank into it.

Ripping off a strip from the hem of my skirt, I clumsily tied it around the wound.

It burned like fire.

Yet it was nothing compared to the slow, agonizing death of my heart.

I looked up at the picture-perfect couple on the stage.

Ethan had taken off his suit jacket, draping it over Chloe’s shoulders while murmuring gentle comfort into her ear.

"Don't cry. It's just a necklace. If it's broken, it's broken. I’ll buy you a better one later."

Chloe leaned into his chest, her voice sweet and fragile. "But... that was Aster’s engagement necklace. She must hate me to death."

Ethan let out a cold, quiet sneer. It wasn't loud, but it cut straight into my ears with lethal clarity.

"What right does she have to hate you?"

"This wedding was only ever meant to appease my parents and check a box. Don't you know who's actually in my heart?"

My hands froze mid-knot.

So, even this wedding was just a chore to him.

I stood up, dragging my injured leg, and walked back up to them step by step.

Seeing me approach, Ethan’s expression turned utterly foul.

"What are you still standing around for? Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?"

I ignored his words entirely. Instead, I lifted my left hand and slipped the diamond engagement ring off my finger.

This was the ring he had slipped onto my hand when he proposed on bended knee.

I once believed it stood for a lifetime of devotion.

Now, it was just a sick punchline.

I tossed the ring straight into the shattered glass at his feet.

"Ethan, call off the wedding."

Ethan blinked, momentarily stunned, as if his brain couldn't register the words.

A beat later, a dangerous storm gathered in his eyes.

He took an intimidating step toward me, radiating raw dominance.

"Aster, do you have any idea what you're saying?"

"I do." I met his gaze head-on, my voice eerily calm even to my own ears. "We're done. We're breaking up."

A split-second flicker of panic crossed his features, quickly masked by boiling rage.

He reached out to grab my shoulder with his usual controlling authority.

"What kind of childish tantrum is this now? The invitations were sent out, both our families are here, and now you want to cancel?"

"Come to the bridal suite with me, get that scratch cleaned up, and we'll proceed as planned. I don't have time to indulge your desperate ploys for attention."

He honestly believed that a tiny softening of his tone would make me bend, just like I always did.

I simply stepped back, dodging his reach.

Right at that moment, Chloe suddenly clutched her chest, groaning in agony as she sank down.

"Ethan... my chest hurts so bad..."

Ethan's focus snapped instantly. He spun around, dropping to his knees to gather Chloe into his arms.

"Chloe, hold on! I’m taking you to the hospital right now!"

Lifting her, he stormed toward the exit.

As he brushed past me, he didn't even pause. He only tossed a frigid warning over his shoulder:

"You better pray to God that nothing happens to Chloe. Stay here and think about what you’ve done. I’ll deal with you when I get back."

Watching his desperate, frantic stride, I didn't shed a single tear.

I pulled out my phone and sent a text to the wedding planning agency:

[The wedding is canceled. Please process the refunds and settle the remaining balance per the contract.]

Once sent, I blocked Ethan across every single platform and app.

Dragging my bleeding leg, I limped out of the ballroom one excruciating step at a time.

The midday sun outside was blinding. I shut my eyes, taking a long, deep breath.

When I opened them again, I hailed a cab.

"Take me to the airport, please."

Back inside the venue...

Ethan reached the main double doors with Chloe in his arms when, out of nowhere, his heart violently missed a beat.

Subconsciously, he glanced back toward the spot where I had been standing.

It was completely empty.

All that remained was an alarming pool of crimson blood, and a solitary diamond ring abandoned amid the shattered glass.

Ethan's pupils constricted into pinpricks, the arms holding Chloe locking stiff in an instant.