Chapter 2

Aria's POV

The next morning, I woke up to find myself back in the master bedroom.

Ethan walked in wearing loungewear and set the breakfast he was holding on the nightstand. Like before, he reached out to hug me.

"Why did you run off to the guest room? I spent forever looking for you."

I caught the scent of unfamiliar women's perfume on him and noticed poorly concealed red marks on his neck.

I closed my eyes, suppressing the stabbing pain in my heart, and calmly rolled out of his embrace.

"I accidentally spilled water on the bed last night, so I switched rooms."

Ethan didn't notice anything unusual about me. Or maybe he just didn't care anymore.

He hugged me from behind, resting his chin in the curve of my shoulder. His voice was deep and intoxicating.

"Aria, I have good news."

"Chloe just got hired as my intern assistant. You've always said you were worried about her getting bullied at work, right? With me looking after her, she won't be mistreated at the office."

I fell silent.

I almost wanted to laugh.

A prosecutor known for being efficient and extremely focused on competence. How could he allow a graduate with zero internship experience to be his assistant?

At first, I had also asked Ethan about working at the prosecutor's office so I could spend more time with him.

It would have just taken one word from him.

But he refused.

He said it would be unethical, that it would damage his reputation.

I believed him.

But now, how much effort had he put in behind the scenes to get Chloe into the prosecutor's office?

I looked up at him.

"Really? That's good then."

I pushed Ethan away and got straight out of bed.

Today I didn't wait to go to work with Ethan.

Instead, I called a cab and went to the law firm on my own.

During lunch break, I was eating at a nearby restaurant. I sat in a corner booth and happened to run into Chloe walking in with her arm linked through Ethan's.

Ethan went to order food first. Chloe wanted to find a seat. The moment she looked up, our eyes met.

Her gaze flickered, but she quickly recovered and walked over to sit across from me casually.

"Aria, why didn't you reply to my message yesterday? I was worried all night."

"Oh, by the way, Ethan left this at my place last time he came over. I can finally give it back to you."

Chloe pulled a worn-out plushie from her bag.

My grip on my knife and fork suddenly tightened.

This plushie, I had made it by hand for Ethan when we first got together.

He cherished it so much. He kept it hanging on his briefcase and never took it off.

Now it had become trash he could casually throw away.

I smiled.

"I have something for you too."

Looking at the familiar hair tie in my hand, Chloe stayed completely calm. She smiled, a hint of smugness flashing in her eyes.

"So you finally know?"

The pain of betrayal from my closest friend made my voice rough.

"Why?"

Chloe laughed coldly.

"Don't you know? You've always looked down on me because your family has money! Why do you get to be better than me at everything? Finally, I get to win against you for once!"

I couldn't believe Chloe had been seeing me this way all along.

I'd always known her family was poor. Since we were kids, I'd let her have her way. I even picked out expensive gifts for her just to satisfy her vanity.

If that's how it was, I didn't need to care about our past friendship anymore.

"Chloe, do you really think Ethan is serious about you? If he truly loved you, he would have broken up with me and married you already. You're nothing but a disposable toy in his life. You think you can win against me by relying on some man?"

"As long as I'm around, you'll always be nothing but a homewrecker who can't show her face in public!"

My words struck the nerve Chloe was most sensitive about.

Her face turned red with anger and humiliation. Her voice became shrill.

"What do you know! I'll show you right now who Ethan really cares about!"

She grabbed the pot of boiling hot water next to her and threw it directly at me!

It felt like flames were burning from the inside, trying to tear through my skin and explode outward. The dense, needle-like burning pain made it hard to breathe.

I gritted my teeth and shoved Chloe away hard, but before I could take a step, the pain made me bend over against the wall.

Hearing the commotion, Ethan rushed over. When he saw my disheveled state, his heart jumped. He immediately came forward to carry me out.

But a weak crying voice stopped him.

"Ethan, my leg hurts so much..."

He turned around and saw Chloe collapsed on the floor. Her swollen ankle had a huge gash, and blood was everywhere.

Ethan pressed his lips together. His expression was conflicted.

In the end, he turned around and went back.

"Aria, Chloe has a blood clotting disorder. If we wait any longer, her life could be in danger. I'll take her to the hospital first and then come back for you."

Suffering from the pain, Ethan's voice seemed so distant.

Just like the distance between our hearts.

I used all my strength to lift my head, only to see his panicked retreating figure.

From beginning to end, he never once looked back at me.