Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After the manager said yes, I walked out of the locker room.

The parking lot was empty.

Chase hadn't scored a single goal, so Serena must have been set on taking him to the party to cheer him up. She hadn't waited for me at all.

I stood in the cold wind for ages before I finally got a cab.

The moment I arrived at the party, I saw Serena step out of the banquet hall to take a call.

No one noticed me. I slipped over to the most secluded floor-to-ceiling window and took the plain silver promise ring out of my pocket.

Rubbing it between my fingers, I thought about how I'd soon be taking on the international soccer world alongside Leo, and a smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it.

Suddenly my hand was empty.

Chase had snatched the ring, open malice and resentment written across his face.

"Ha, don't tell me you actually want to wear this garbage at the wedding? Aren't you embarrassed?"

The players who hung around with Chase all laughed mockingly.

My voice went cold. "Chase, give it back!"

"Treating a piece of junk like treasure. You'll never be anything but a clown."

Chase pulled my old jersey out of his bag, then, with a sweep of his arm, threw both the ring and the jersey into the pool outside the window.

Rage tore through me.

"I'll kill you!"

I swung my fists, and two punches knocked him flat.

Screams broke out all around. Serena rushed over and shoved me hard to the ground.

She helped Chase up, her face full of worry. Chase covered his bloody nose, looking wronged.

"I just accidentally dropped Ethan's silver ring in the pool. I told him I'd fish it out right away, but he started hitting me without a word."

The moment he finished, Serena slapped me hard across the face.

Serena stared at me with disappointment.

"Look at yourself. How are you any different from a madman?"

The burning sting made everything I'd held back for so long finally explode. I looked up and shouted at her.

"He threw my jersey and my ring into the water on purpose! I'm the victim here. What right do you have to blame me?!"

Serena looked down at me.

"They're just two worthless things. I'll pay you back for him."

"A hundred pounds. Is that enough?"

She pulled out two fifty-pound notes and flung them in my face. Then she immediately shielded Chase as they left, taking him to get checked out.

My eyes stung. I climbed to my feet and jumped into the pool despite the cold. It took me a long time to find the ring, and the jersey was completely soaked, the signature so smeared it was impossible to make out.

Back when I was at my lowest, Leo had given me this jersey, and it had carried me through so many hard days.

And after I turned down his invitation, he still gave me the silver ring as a promise that I would always be welcome.

Now the jersey was ruined, and it hurt more than I could say.

That night, I came down with a high fever.

I lay in the hospital for four full days. In that time, Serena didn't call once or visit even once.

And on my second account, I kept seeing her sweet Instagram posts with Chase.

On the day my fever was at its worst, I saw that Serena had worn the custom wedding dress I'd ordered for her to take wedding photos with Chase. Coldly, I told the wedding planner that the wedding was canceled and that all the flowers, the banquet, and the setup were to be torn down.

I had always handled everything for the wedding myself, and Serena had been busy keeping Chase company these past few days, so she had no idea.

Four days later, I was discharged.

Serena suddenly showed up holding a bouquet of red roses.

"Baby, I've been so busy these last few days. I heard you were getting out today, so I came to pick you up."

She handed me the flowers and gently took my bag.

When she saw me standing there frozen, she pulled me into the car and leaned down to buckle my seatbelt.

"Didn't you always want to go to the Arctic to see the northern lights? Once the wedding's over, I'll take you there for our honeymoon."

For a moment I was dazed. She still remembered something I had wanted since I was young.

But then she started the car, and the very next thing she said was.

"You've built up a lot of connections playing soccer with big clients these past few years. You must know agents and people at overseas clubs, right? Could you pull a few strings for Chase so he gets through his tryout?"

"After all, he was a bit off his game today..."

In an instant, I felt as sick as if I'd swallowed a fly.

A flicker of nervousness crossed Serena's eyes. But to her surprise, I nodded without much hesitation.

"Okay. I'll make some calls when I get back."

Her eyes widened. She could hardly believe it. Still, my sincere smile made her breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. Is there anything you want for a wedding gift? I'll get it for you."

I took the documents I'd prepared out of my bag and calmly handed them over.

"Actually, there's a new wedding suit I've had my eye on, but it's a bit expensive. I need your signature to pay for it."

Serena pulled over and was about to flip through the pages when, luckily, Chase called.

"Serena, I suddenly feel really anxious. My whole body feels awful. Can you come stay with me?"

Chase's helpless voice made her sign her name without a second thought. Then she tossed the documents back to me and opened the car door.

"Get a cab home yourself."

"Lots of VIPs are coming to the wedding the day after tomorrow. Make sure you're on time."

The car shot off, nearly rolling over my foot.

I stood there and opened the document she had just signed.

It was the agreement ending our engagement and authorizing the separation of our joint assets.

Three years ago, our engagement party had not only sealed our relationship but also tied us to the same ship. Mr. Whitmore thought very highly of me and had even given us an island estate, hotel assets, and more, worth a billion pounds.

Now all of it was going to end.

Half an hour later, sitting in my lawyer's car, I handed him the contract.

"I’m authorizing you to handle the financial settlement and division of property from here on. I've already told Mr. Whitmore, so you don't need to worry about the Whitmore family."

After that, I contacted Serena's business rival.

"I’ll give you all my resources for that international stadium development project you’ve always wanted."

"The condition is this. Your brother is the youth academy director at River Plate. Someone is about to go there for a tryout, and I need him evaluated by the strictest possible standards."

The reply came quickly: "Deal."

The sun was bright outside the car window. I narrowed my eyes slightly.

Goodbye, Serena. You and Chase are going to love the gift I've prepared for you.

The day of the wedding.

In the hazy light of dawn, my plane touched down in Miami, thousands of miles away.

I put in a new SIM card, and the first message was good news from my lawyer.

"The 11% stake has been sold to Serena's biggest rival, her cousin Vanessa Whitmore."

Serena

At that same moment, Serena was up early doing her makeup.

She had booked flights to Denmark and made plans for them to try for a baby on their honeymoon. It was to be her wedding surprise for Ethan.

Ethan wanted a baby so badly. Surely he would cry with happiness?

At the thought, the corners of her lips curled up on their own.

But when Serena arrived at the hotel, what she saw wasn't a beautiful, lavish wedding venue. It was a mess of torn-down decorations all over the floor.

Her head buzzed. She grabbed a worker who was clearing away a sign and shouted at him.

"What are you doing? That's the sign for my wedding with my husband! Our wedding is about to start!"

The worker looked baffled.

"But Mr. Lawson told us earlier the wedding was off and asked us to clear everything out."

"No, that's impossible. Ethan spent half a year planning this day himself. You have no idea how much he wants to marry me!"

Serena pulled out her phone. A wild unease pounded against her chest as she dialed that familiar number again and again.

All she heard was the cold recording: "The number you have dialed is switched off."

"Ethan, pick up the phone! You're just playing a joke on me, aren't you?"

Just then, a major headline popped up on her phone.

Inter Miami CF, the club Chase had dreamed of joining, had announced the signing of a gifted new player.

She saw his name and the face she had known for seven years. Her eyes widened, and the phone slipped from her fingers.