Chapter 2

After a relaxing bath, I asked the housekeeper to warm up a glass of milk.

Now that I’d calmed down, I realized I still believed Ethan.

The Parkers and the Bennetts were close, and Ethan and I had grown up together. I knew exactly which girls had ever been around him.

That girl’s appearance was strange, but I’d never considered her a threat.

To put it bluntly, someone like her wouldn’t normally get within ten feet of Ethan.

Still...

I kicked a stool in annoyance. “Stupid Ethan. He could at least try a little harder to make me feel better.”

Suddenly, more than a dozen Snapchat friend requests popped up on my phone.

Who was it? Had something happened to the puppy Ethan and I had adopted from the animal hospital?

[Hi, Vivian. I’m Violet.]

That familiar tone gave me a bad feeling.

[I really, really love Ethan. More than anything.]

[You already have so much. Can’t you let me have him?]

[I can’t live without Ethan.]

My fists clenched. I wasn’t about to indulge this lunatic, so I immediately replied:

[Why should I? Because you’re crazy?]

Violet’s reply came almost instantly.

[Because I love him. I fell hopelessly in love with him the moment I first saw him.]

[No one in this world loves him more than I do! Not even you.]

[Why are you so determined to refuse to see the truth?]

[You won’t end up happy together. You’ll die a horrible death.]

[I’m the one Ethan is destined to be with!]

Until then, I’d been willing to watch her make a spectacle of herself. But the moment she wished a horrible death on me, my expression darkened.

I blocked the lunatic.

She had no intention of leaving me alone. Furious, she started sending texts instead.

[Did you block me because you’re ashamed? Because you know you don’t love him as much as I do?]

[Ethan is going to be my husband!]

[Our names both start with Vi. Do you think that’s a coincidence?]

[Guess how I got your number. Ethan gave it to me, of course. You clueless little clown.]

She sounded more unhinged with every message, but the last one did make me pause.

Very few people had my private number. Was she really Ethan’s lover?

Well, well. That bastard.

I blocked her number too, then sent Ethan screenshots.

He called within minutes.

“Vivi, ignore that crazy woman.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Care to explain, Mr. Bennett?”

He sighed helplessly on the other end. “She’s one of the low-income students supported by the Bennett Group’s scholarship program. But you know how those programs work. We fund a whole group, and the staff handles the details. I’ve never even met her.”

“Vivi, you can’t blame me for some lunatic.”

A faint whine crept into his voice. It was the tone he always used when he wanted me to soften.

I often teased him for being like a puppy, always whining for attention.

Unfortunately, it worked on me every time.

I couldn’t help laughing. “Ethan, I believe you. Because I love you.”

I could picture him practically bouncing with joy. If he’d had a tail, he would have wagged it right off.

In our relationship, he really was the one who spoiled me more.

When we were little, my parents strictly controlled what I ate. He would sneak me little pastries.

In school, a girl once handed him a love letter. When he saw my face fall, he turned her down right in front of me.

“Vivi is the only girl I’ll ever love.”

He was a spoiled heir, yet he warmed my feet with his hands when it was cold. In summer, if he wanted to hold me and I complained about the heat, he’d just crouch nearby, whining and looking at me with pleading eyes.

Ethan and I were childhood sweethearts. A perfect match.

Wouldn’t I know if a girl like Violet had ever been part of his life?

“Vivi, are you laughing?”

“If you’re laughing, you’re not allowed to be mad at me anymore.”

His voice brushed against my ear. Even through the phone, it gave me a little shiver.

“Ethan,” I said.

“I want fried chicken. The kind you make.”

I loved fried chicken, but I worried about gaining weight. So Ethan had figured out how to make a version with less oil and salt that still tasted amazing.

He made it for me. Only me.

Our parents even teased us about it. We came from two wealthy families but acted like an ordinary young couple making ends meet.

“Sure. Come to my office tomorrow. I’ll bring it for you.”