Chapter 2

When I got home, I immediately called Lucas to break things off.

All I got was the ice-cold automated voice telling me his phone was turned off.

It didn't matter anyway. I’d tell him to his face tomorrow.

Early the next morning, Lucas sent me a text. He claimed an urgent emergency had come up at his underworld domain, delaying our appointment at the marriage registry.

He asked me to go to the bridal boutique first to pick up my custom wedding dress, promising to join me as soon as he wrapped up.

Since I was going to end things, I took a cab straight to the luxury bridal shop to cancel the order.

When I reached the VIP suite, through the half-open frosted glass door, I saw Lucas and Chloe.

They were already there.

Chloe was standing in front of the full-length fitting mirror, wearing the bespoke, hand-embroidered gown that had been tailored exclusively for me. Lucas stood right behind her, his hands hovering intimately over her waist.

"It fits me so perfectly, Lucas," Chloe was glancing at him through the mirror with a smirk. "I think it’d be way more thrilling if we wrecked this gorgeous dress together tonight. Don't you think?"

Lucas let out a low, husky chuckle. "Be a good girl until after the wedding. Then, I’ll give you whatever you want in it."

I pushed the door open and stared at them. Lucas turned and froze for a second. Then he walked toward me.

"Irina, you two have a similar build," he explained softly, his voice full of easy charm. "I just asked Chloe to try it on for size to give you some advice."

The second he turned his shoulder, he spoke to Chloe in fluent, arrogant Italian. "The waist is way too tight on this gown. Only a body like yours can fill it out. She’s completely flat."

Chloe gave a breathy laugh, leaning into Lucas and wrapping her arm around his.

My face went completely numb. Just as I about to expose their dirty lies in front of everyone, Chloe suddenly shrieked.

She feigned a trip over the heavy lace train, plunging straight toward me with deliberate force.

She slammed into my shoulder before I could step back. The violent impact sent me crashing to the polished marble floor.

Losing my footing, both of my knees slammed hard against a crystal display step nearby.Sharp, jagged shards sliced deep into my skin. Blood immediately soaked through my stockings, pooling onto the floor.

Lucas sprinted forward instantly, catching Chloe in his arms and holding her tight to his chest.

Only after confirming Chloe didn't have a single scratch did he turn to me. "Irina! Did you hurt yourself?"

Hurt myself? Is he completely blind? Chloe was the one who rammed right into me!

Yet he made no move to reach down and pull me up.

Instead, he leaned toward Chloe and whispering in Italian. "Thank God the gown didn't get stained. Otherwise, she’d start crying and throw a dramatic scene."

He could clearly see the crimson blood gushing from my shattered knees. But helping me up didn't even cross his mind.

All he cared about was the dress draped over his mistress, and whether I would act like an insufferable, jealous fiancee.

The pain tore through my body, but deep inside, something froze into pure iron. He actually dared to treat me like trash. Fine. In a few days, I would make him bleed for every single drop I lost today.

I grabbed the edge of a nearby display table and forced myself up on trembling legs.

Only when Lucas saw me standing firmly did he bother to extend a hand toward me.

I shoved his hand away with absolute disgust and walked out without looking back once.

I took a cab alone to the nearest hospital.

The surgeon used medical tweezers to pick the sharp crystal fragments out of my bleeding flesh, the agony wringing cold sweat from my forehead.

My phone vibrated violently on the tray. It was my father.

I slid the green button and pressed the phone to my ear.

"The orders have been passed down, Mia Principessa," my father’s deep voice resonated from half a world away. "The Vance family’s shipping lines are frozen. Every asset they begged us for is dead in the water."

He paused, a low chuckle vibrating down the line. "Lucas remains completely in the dark. We didn't raise a single alarm."

"Keep it that way," I whispered, staring into the mirror at the bloody, fresh bandages wrapped around my knees. "He’ll get his little surprise the moment I'm gone."