Chapter 3

I turned. Seraphina, dressed in a sharp suit, strode purposefully through the crowd, surrounded by admirers.

The murmuring instantly died down.

Seraphina and I grew up together.

Our engagement had been arranged long ago by our elders to cement our business alliance.

When we were kids, if anyone spoke ill of me, she was the first to defend me.

If she made a mistake and got scolded at home, I was the first to plead her case.

Until today, no one would have doubted that I was Seraphina's one true love.

The future son-in-law of the Sterling family.

But today, at my twenty-third birthday party, she brought another man.

Leo wore an expensive suit, his figure tall and slender, yet he looked like he was trapped in an ill-fitting shell.

He followed Seraphina closely, seeking her protection.

Seraphina stood on her tiptoes, whispering something in his ear, her eyes filled with doting affection.

Leo looked at me, his expression instantly changing to one of panicked unease. He walked towards me.

With a sickening thud—

He dropped straight to his knees.