Chapter 2

He sighed in annoyance, his face practically screaming: "Are you really starting drama over something this petty?" Yet, he forced himself to tone it down.

"Fine. I'll take tomorrow off and go visit your parents with you, okay?"

He shoved a bag of expensive health supplements into my hands and turned to walk out. "I'll go book a table at the restaurant down the street. The three of us can have dinner."

I immediately told him not to bother, but he ignored me.

"You say you don't want it, but if I don't cater to you, you'll throw another fit. I can't deal with your mood swings."

Before Rachel showed up, Chase had been impulsive, but he had never snapped at me like this.

Now, every 'compromise' was laced with resentment, constantly forcing me to yield.

I stared at his retreating back, a bitter hollow settling in my chest. To him, I would never measure up to Rachel.

"This ring is honestly hideous," Rachel purred, leaning in the moment Chase was out of earshot. "If you hadn't droned on and on about wanting it as your wedding ring, I wouldn't have even bothered asking Chase to buy it for me."

She smirked, leaning closer just to disgust me. As I turned to walk away, she suddenly lunged forward and grabbed the bag Chase had just handed me.

The glass bottles of supplements shattered across the polished floor.

She gasped, putting on a dramatic show of shock. But as she bent down to 'help,' she raised her voice loud enough for the whole store to hear:

"I saw you taking your mom for an oncology follow-up the other day. It's terminal cancer, right? Honestly, taking all these supplements won't do a thing."

"Why don't you just tell Chase to bring these gifts to my parents' house instead? If you do, I might even be nice enough to stop by a florist and pick out some pretty flowers for her funeral wreath."

Something snapped inside my head.

A blinding rush of rage roared in my ears. I grabbed Rachel by the hair and slammed her against the counter, determined to rip that vicious mouth apart.

"Chloe!"

Chase ran back, holding two iced coffees. The second he saw us, he shoved me back and shielded Rachel behind him.

"What the hell are you doing?! Are you insane?!"

He had never screamed at me with such raw fury. When he pushed me, he didn't even notice the high heels I was wearing.

My heel snapped.

I crashed violently against the glass railing, the pain shooting up my spine so hard I couldn't move. Meanwhile, Chase was frantically checking Rachel over, asking if she was hurt.

He didn't give me a single glance.

"Chase... Buster's... his keepsake is ruined," Rachel whimpered, slowly opening her palm. The tiny white knitted dog charm that used to hang from her purse had been crushed into a torn ball of yarn and stray beads.

She sobbed hysterically, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.

Chase's eyes turned bloodshot with rage.

Without giving me a single second to explain, he flung the piping hot coffee straight into my face.

The scalding liquid burned my skin. Through the agonizing sting, Chase's cold, disgusted voice cut down at me.

"You were out of line the day Buster died, screaming at Rachel like a lunatic!"

"This little charm was the only thing she had left to remember him by, and you couldn't even leave that alone! You attacked her! Are you even human?!"

I couldn't open my eyes. I scrambled blindly against the glass, desperate to defend myself.

"I didn't know that was her dog's charm! I didn't touch her damn things!"

"She came at me first! Chase, if you don't believe me, check the security cameras!"

Silence.

I furiously scrubbed the sticky, burning coffee from my eyes with my sleeve.

When my vision finally cleared, a circle of strangers was staring and whispering around me. Chase was already gone.

He had abandoned me there, leaving me on the floor looking like a raving psycho.

The last shred of affection I had for him was ripped away like a violent slap across my face. Limping heavily on my broken heel, I dragged myself toward the escalator.

Just as I reached the ground floor to leave, someone stepped off the ascending escalator beside me.

Julian was holding two large bouquets of fresh flowers. The moment his eyes landed on me, his brows knitted tight.

His gaze burned with an intensity that made me want to hide. But as I turned to run, his hand caught my wrist.