Chapter 2

The moment I walked into the ballroom, the chatter died down.

When Amber saw my dress, the smile froze right on her face.

One influencer gasped, pointing at me. "Wait... she's wearing the exact same designer as Amber, but that's from the unreleased next-season runway collection! How is that possible?"

"Look at her trying to upstage the birthday girl. So tacky."

"She totally crashed just to cause drama. Who knows if that dress is even real?"

Influencers care about vanity just as much as Hollywood stars.

I smiled, casually walking up to Amber. Since she begged me to come, she'd better be ready for the consequences.

"Amber, long time no see."

She quickly hid her panic and put on a watery-eyed, dramatic pout. "Chloe! I honestly didn't think you'd come. You even coordinated your outfit with mine like back when we were besties... I'm so touched!"

Her sweet words were clearly meant to paint me as the petty bitch trying to copy her.

I held up the gift box in my hands. "Here's your birthday gift. Happy birthday."

"Just having you here is enough! You really didn't have to buy anything—"

Her voice cut off instantly. Her gaze locked onto the diamond watch wrapped around my wrist, and her face went completely pale.

She grabbed my arm with bruising force and shrieked, "Where the hell did you get this watch?!"

Before I could say a word, she shoved me violently.

Completely off balance, I tumbled down the marble stairs.

Amber rushed down, grabbing a fistful of my hair to jerk my head back with pure malice. "Chloe, I treated you like a sister, and you try to steal my boyfriend? After all these years, are you still obsessed with taking what's mine?"

Her words exploded like a bomb in the room, immediately setting off the crowd of influencers.

"Wait, Amber, don't jump to conclusions. Could it just be the same model?"

"She's totally irrelevant now, but she was an OG internet star back in the day. She definitely made bank."

Hearing someone defend me made Amber even more furious. She raised her hand and struck me across the face twice, hard.

A sharp sting tore through my cheek.

I tried to fight back, but two of her private security guards stepped in and pinned my arms tightly behind my back.

I had no idea Amber had gotten arrogant enough to commit assault in broad daylight.

"You're not afraid of me calling the police?" I spat out.

Amber let out a condescending sneer and ground the heel of her designer shoe onto the back of my hand. "Call them! Chloe, we were besties—do you think I don't know your broke background? Your construction-worker dad could never afford a watch like this!

"Go ahead and call 911! In this world, money buys the law. Absolute justice is a joke.

"My boyfriend drops tens of thousands on my livestreams in a single night. With him covering for me, who am I supposed to be afraid of?"

She ripped the watch off my wrist and held it up for the room to see.

"The back of the casing has my initials engraved right on it! This watch is a custom piece. I love shimmering stars, so Logan covered it in countless micro-diamonds, and I hand-picked every single center stone myself."

She pulled out her phone and displayed her Snapchat chat history with Logan on the screen.

"Holy shit, that's literally an eight-figure Patek Philippe!"

"Ugh, the billionaire romance... they are so sickeningly sweet!"

Someone in the crowd even started reading the text messages out loud, mimicking their flirtatious tone.

"Babe, what color gemstone do you want?"

"I only want you, my priceless gem."

"I love you, Amber. You're worth more than all the jewels in the world."

"I love you too. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me."

Listening to their mockery felt like a dagger twisting in my chest.

Those exact, sweet promises—Logan used to whisper them to me.

We met and fell in love back in college. He was dirt poor back then, barely able to scrape together enough cash for rent and groceries.

Yet for my birthday, he spent his entire life savings to buy me a simple gold ring.

Engraved inside that cheap band were my initials, etched by his own trembling hands.

I had cried back then, both touched and heartbroken.

"You should have spent this money on food and yourself."

He had pulled me into his arms, rubbing my back softly. "I only want to give you the best. You're worth more than all the gold in the world, Chloe."

Those sweet words still echoed in my ears, but the boy who said them was long gone.

"Wait... are all the other luxury things she's wearing stolen from you too?" an influencer chimed in.

Amber whipped her head toward me, her eyes flashing with a terrifying, venomous glint.

She marched toward me, step by step.