Chapter 2

When my mom saw how much I was hurting, she couldn't keep quiet any longer.

"Zack, if you still want to marry her, we can put pressure on the Hale family. Victoria will definitely come and apologize."

But I knew that even without my parents intervening, Victoria would still come to apologize. She would do it because she had no choice.

I shook my head slowly.

"Mom, I'm sorry I've embarrassed you. I'm done with Victoria. It's over. I'm the one letting her go."

Mom didn't argue. "It's probably for the best. A woman like that... you're better off without her."

She didn't say anything else. Instead, she simply ruffled my hair, offering comfort in silence.

Knowing I was still struggling, my parents planned a family trip to try and take my mind off things.

I selfishly picked Kanvas, where Victoria and I had once gone to see the Northern Lights. It had been one of the most beautiful moments of my life, and now, I needed that place to help me let go of everything.

For a whole week, I tried to put the past eight years behind me.

But when I got back home, the media storm had already started. The internet was ablaze, and it was all aimed at me.

Julian's fans had twisted my words from the wedding and spread them online, editing my statements to make them look like I had said, "If you love Julian so much, then go marry him. I'm done with you."

They didn't know the full story or understand the scene at the wedding. But they made it sound like I was the one who had dragged Julian into the mess.

What hurt more was that Victoria and her family had said nothing. They let the storm brew and only allowed the fans to continue their attack on me, without a word of defense.

In just a week, rumors were so widespread that my death photo was circulating online.

But I knew deep down that this kind of media frenzy didn't just happen on its own. Someone had to be behind it, stoking the fire. Even my family's PR team couldn't put out the flames.

And I immediately thought of Victoria.

When I called her, I could hear Julian's voice in the background.

"Victoria, are you going to address all this drama online?"

Her voice was as cold as ice, unaffected, like none of this had even fazed her.

"Zack, if you apologize to Julian, we could still have a wedding. I'd still marry you," she said, as if nothing had changed.

The self-loathing hit me hard. Why had I even hoped she'd be different?

I couldn't help but let out a bitter, empty laugh.

"Victoria, how much lower can you both go? You let this mess spin out of control online, and instead of explaining yourself, you want me to apologize?"

"If it weren't for you, Julian wouldn't have almost lost his job. You're the one who deserves all that hate," she replied, still sounding so high and mighty.

I didn't waste another second and hung up the phone.

Turning to my parents, I managed a dry smile. "Dad, it's time to pull all funding from the Hale family. A woman like that doesn't deserve any more of our energy."