Chapter 2

That night, Marco didn't come home.

I didn't see him again until the banquet. The scene before me pierced straight through my eyes. Olivia clung to his arm, her smile radiant. She wore my favorite haute couture gown, accompanying him like a hostess as he worked the room.

Marco brought her over, his smile smug. "What do you think? That dress looks pretty good on Olivia, doesn't it? You never wear it anyway. She and Lucas had a fight, so I brought her along to take her mind off things."

My gaze fell on their intertwined hands. I didn't answer.

He frowned, his voice turning cold. "Since you're here, help Olivia with her train."

As soon as the words left his mouth, mocking laughter rippled around us. I blinked back the sting in my eyes and said one word. "Okay."

I walked behind Olivia like a puppet. Jeering voices drifted over constantly.

"Is that the Rossi family's disgraced daughter? She really does look like a slut."

"I heard those bedroom photos spread all over the five boroughs. Can't believe she still has the nerve to show her face."

"I'll bet anything Marco would never actually marry damaged goods like that."

Words like 'slut' and 'damaged goods' drilled into my ears. I held back tears and straightened my spine. My father told me never to bow my head, no matter what.

Marco noticed my distress, hesitation flickering in his eyes. He was about to speak when Olivia's shriek cut through the air. Her dress strap suddenly slipped, exposing bare skin. Gasps echoed around us.

Her eyes reddened, her voice thick with tears. "Sonia, I know you're hurting, but even if your reputation was destroyed back then, you can't humiliate me in front of all these people just because you're jealous."

Marco quickly removed his jacket and wrapped it around her. When his gaze landed on me, it was filled with disappointment. "Sonia, can't you stand to see Olivia happy?"

I watched him shield her the same way he'd once shielded me five years ago. I could barely breathe. "It wasn't me."

"Still making excuses. You were the only one who touched Olivia's dress."

The wariness in his eyes left me stunned. Even though my heart had gone numb, his distrust still hurt.

In a daze, I remembered those early days after I'd first returned to the family. Back then, I'd clumsily learned the family's rules while being ostracized by those spoiled heirs in our circle. Marco had stood in front of me, getting me out of trouble again and again. The way he looked at me had been tender and unwavering.

But everything changed completely after Olivia returned from Europe. No matter how many times she framed me, he would only frown and tell me to be more accommodating.

In this moment, I suddenly felt exhausted. My voice came out weary. "I didn't pull her dress. If you don't believe me, you can check the security footage."

"Enough." Marco cut me off sharply, his tone impatient. "Sonia, will you ever stop? What woman would use her own reputation to frame someone else? Olivia isn't like you. She's sensitive—she can't handle this kind of humiliation."

I stared at him, frozen, my whole body turning cold. So he knew. He knew how important a woman's reputation was.

Olivia cried harder. "Sonia, please stop hurting me. I'm scared."

Just one sentence, and Marco could no longer hide his heartache. His gaze turned vicious as it landed on me. "Since you love tearing people's clothes so much, you can have a taste of it yourself."

The next instant, he waved at a nearby security guard.

I looked at him in disbelief, my voice raw. "Marco, I told you it wasn't me."

He met the shattered look in my eyes, something like reluctance flickering across his face. But then Olivia called his name in that wounded voice, and that momentary hesitation was immediately replaced by ice.

I screamed and fought back, but they pinned me to the floor. The sound of fabric tearing echoed through the banquet hall, unbearably sharp. For an instant, I was thrown back to five years ago. Back then, too, there had been hands tearing my dignity to shreds while I begged uselessly.

Mocking laughter rose and fell around me. Camera flashes went off continuously. Those stares ground my last shred of dignity into dust.

I fled the banquet in disgrace and returned to my apartment. I pulled out the termination agreement I'd prepared. My phone buzzed. A message from that number.

[Time. Location.]

I replied: [The pier. Midnight.]