Chapter 2

With that, I slipped the cheap engagement ring off my finger and tossed it carelessly onto the floor.

Julian's handsome brows arched slightly, a look of utter amusement flashing in his eyes.

"Eve, stop making a scene." He stepped up to me, instinctively reaching out to touch my cheek. "It's the night before the audition. Must you throw a rich girl's tantrum right now?"

He didn't believe me.

Or rather, deep down in his pathetic ego, he was absolutely certain that the Eve who had once bought out the theater's entire seasonal schedule just to win him over could never truly leave him.

"I'm not joking." I dodged his hand. "I'll have the butler pack your things and throw them in the dumpster. Don't bother going back to the Upper East Side apartment. I'm having the passcode changed."

The smirk on Julian's face finally cracked. He was just about to speak when Daisy made her move again.

"It's all my fault! I'm the one to blame!" Trembling, Daisy threw herself in front of Julian. "Please don't be mad at him! If you two break up over me, I'll never forgive myself!"

Tears streaming down her face, she clung desperately to Julian's arm.

Julian pulled her behind him, glaring at me with undeniable disgust. "You see this? Daisy did nothing wrong. Will you only be satisfied when you've used your high-and-mighty privilege to back us into a corner?"

I didn't even blink. I just pulled out my phone and dialed.

"Dad, revoke Daisy's full tuition scholarship at Juilliard." My eyes locked onto Julian as all the color drained from his face. "Also, cut off all financial funding to Julian's father. And the engagement is officially off."

Dead silence swept through the hallway.

Julian's breathing grew ragged, his voice cracking: "Eve, are you fucking insane?!"

"I'm just reclaiming my private property." I hung up, my piercing gaze shifting back to Daisy. "Since you two are so deeply in love, let romance pay for your ridiculously high living expenses."

"As for you, Daisy." A cold smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth. "You just said you had no idea it was a banned substance?"

"Fine. Let's go uncover the truth right now. You're going to take me to that pharmacy this instant so we can verify it."

"If the shop owner dares to look me in the eye and admit he sold professional-grade, black-market steroids to a clueless girl as 'cheap muscle rub'—not only will I drop to my knees and apologize to you in front of everyone, I'll write you a check for one million dollars right on the spot."

I stared right into her terrified eyes, enunciating every single word: "Let's go confront him. Do you dare?"

At the word "confront," Daisy went completely rigid. She had gone through immense trouble and shady connections to get her hands on that stuff from the underground market. One confrontation, and her entire lie would be blown to pieces.

"I... I can't breathe..." Realizing her web of lies was about to be utterly destroyed, Daisy clutched her chest and started hyperventilating.

"Daisy!" Julian caught her as she swayed. The sheer panic of losing his financial lifeline, combined with the extreme public humiliation, made him completely lose his mind.

"You spoiled, toxic bitch!" With bloodshot eyes, he lunged forward and shoved me hard.

Caught off guard, I stumbled backward. My lower back slammed viciously into the sharp edge of a nearby cabinet.

Agonizing pain exploded up my spine, shooting through my nerve endings like liquid fire.

A few muffled gasps echoed down the hall. People slapped their hands over their mouths, clearly shocked he actually dared to get physical in the theater.

Even Julian froze. He stared at his trembling hand suspended in mid-air, then at my paper-white face, a flash of panic in his eyes. But his pride won out. Gritting his teeth, he forced down whatever sliver of regret he felt.

"You brought this on yourself," he spat out, trying to mask his fear with bravado. Scooping the sobbing Daisy into his arms, he added, "Eve, when you're done throwing your tantrum, you'll be crying and begging me to come back."

With that, he turned and practically fled down the hallway.

The onlookers slowly scattered.

I took a deep, jagged breath and slowly forced myself to stand straight.

I dialed my family's lead counsel. "Lawrence," I said, my voice cold as ice. "Bring the legal team to the theater backstage tomorrow. Also, I need you to do something for me."

......

The next day. Juilliard Theater backstage.

We were thirty minutes away from the audition that would decide our fates.

Daisy flitted through the crowd like a diligent little butterfly, sweetly handing out water and towels, farming goodwill from everyone.

From the shadows nearby, Julian watched with his arms casually crossed.

His eyes held absolute certainty—he was convinced I would crawl back and beg him for a reconciliation before curtain call.

My gaze landed on my shoe bag.

The strings were tied wrong. I always secured them with a dead knot; now, it was tied into a perfect little bow.

More importantly, there was a sharp, stinging chemical scent radiating from it.

It was the exact same smell as that pain-relief ointment from yesterday.

My heart hammered against my ribs, warning sirens blaring in my head. Yet, a blood-chilling smile slowly spread across my face.

The real show was finally about to begin.