Chapter 2

I froze. My heart skipped a beat.

Shit. Does he mean me?

A shrill squeal came from the microphone.

Vivian had stopped mid-sentence, knocking it against her wrist.

“Ethan, are you talking about me?”

Her eyes reddened as she hurried to apologize. “I’m sorry. I’ve been talking too much.”

“But… I only wanted to say a little more to you while I still had the chance.”

I relaxed.

I’d almost forgotten I couldn’t speak.

Right. Who would call a mute woman noisy?

Then I remembered that Ethan had been looking straight at me before he said it, and irritation flared again. I pursed my lips.

If Vivian’s annoying you, why look at me? I didn’t make her talk. Go handle your own girlfriend.

Bastard.

Maybe it was my imagination, but the moment I finished that thought, Ethan’s gaze shifted to Vivian.

There was even a hint of disgust in his expression.

Vivian, however, interpreted his attention very differently.

Meeting his eyes, she blushed, bit her lower lip, and said coyly,

“All right. I know what you mean.”

“This is your engagement party with Nora, after all. I know this hurts you, too. I won’t say any more. What we feel is something only the two of us need to understand.”

“…”

I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. Unfortunately, Vivian caught me.

Assuming I was jealous, she hurried over and linked her arm through mine, barely hiding her smugness.

“Don’t worry, Nora. I’ll keep Ethan in line. I won’t let him hurt you.”

“If he ever does anything that upsets you, come to me. I’ll straighten him out!”

As she spoke, she glanced at Ethan with an unmistakably flirtatious pout.

I let out a dry little laugh and pulled my arm free.

Here we went again.

Once again, I’d become a prop in their little game.

Looking at the blush still lingering on Vivian’s face, I couldn’t resist giving Ethan an assessing glance.

Apparently, the Sterling heir had terrible judgment. How could he not see through this act?

What unique taste.

I shook my head and clicked my tongue twice.

Such a handsome man. Such a shame he was blind.

For some reason, Ethan’s expression kept darkening, as though he’d swallowed something foul.

Before I could figure out why, he picked up the microphone.

“Ms. Bennett, what exactly is this relationship between us? Because I seem to have missed it.”

He stared at Vivian, his gaze briefly flicking to me before returning to her. “Would you mind explaining?”

My eyes widened. Suddenly interested, I whipped my head around to watch Vivian’s reaction.

Her face went white. The color drained from her lips as she struggled helplessly for words.