Chapter 2

"Sis! What are you doing?!" Daphne's face was full of panic, tears welling up fast in her eyes. But inside, she was practically popping champagne. Rip it! Rip it good! Tear that wedding dress to shreds—let’s see you still get engaged to Ryan now! Vivian tore up the dress in just a couple of moves, totally calm, then grabbed her phone and snapped a few pics. Without missing a beat, she dropped the photos into the Harris family WhatsApp group—the one Logan had added her to ages ago. Everyone from the family was still in there. She typed out a message quickly: The dress is ruined. Bad sign. I won’t be going through with the engagement. Sent. She didn’t even glance back at Daphne as she turned and walked out the door. "Sis, where are you going?!" Daphne called out, playing her concerned little act while chasing after her. But all she caught was Vivian’s back disappearing out the front gate. The moment Vivian was out of sight, Daphne’s fake tears vanished and a smug little smirk took over. “Time to beat Vivian to the hotel and spill everything to Ryan, Mom, and Dad,” she muttered to herself, then dashed out and hopped into the car headed for the hotel. Twenty minutes later, Vivian sat in her car, impatiently tapping the watch on her wrist. Where the hell was that airhead? She figured Daphne would run to tattle first—that’s exactly the plan. She needed her to get there just a bit earlier. Anyway, Alexander hadn’t arrived yet. Suddenly, a message popped up on WhatsApp. [Boss, all prepped and ready.] Vivian's eyes froze for a second when she saw the familiar user ID. That’s when she remembered—back in her last life, she’d actually arranged something for this engagement party. If Alexander never showed, her plan was to play a slideshow of Ryan’s escapades with other women on the big screen during the engagement party. And there was even a pregnant woman scheduled to show up and make a scene—destroy the event completely. But last time, just as she walked into the venue in a wedding dress, Alexander had swooped in with people and took her away, making all her plans useless. A smile slowly curled on Vivian’s lips. Then she typed— [Go for it.] [Got it, boss!] She tucked away her phone right as she saw Daphne hop out of a car and jog into the hotel entrance. Vivian stepped out too, watching her sister head in first before strolling in herself at a relaxed pace. She was gonna give Daphne her five minutes to lie… and then crash her little pity party with the truth. The engagement party was on the third floor. As soon as Vivian exited the elevator, she was hit with the unmistakable sight of a tall, familiar figure surrounded by security in black suits. Alexander. Her eyes instantly stung. Two years. She hadn’t seen him in two whole years—only photos, from a distance, unable to touch. Her heart had ached every time. But now, here he was again, right in front of her. Breathe. Don't freak out. No running to him. No falling apart. This time, they were doing it differently. She wanted to get to know the real him—and let him see the real her too. No more mess, no more masks. He looked all cold and in control on the surface, but deep down, he was paranoid, possessive, and borderline unhinged. She wasn't letting him wear that "gentle and refined" mask around her anymore. With that reminder, Vivian pulled herself together and stepped forward. "Hey, could you give me a little space? I need to get through," she said, voice soft but polite. Alexander had just been scanning the room, eyes casually looking around, when that familiar, gentle voice behind him hit like a punch. Thump. Thump, thump. His heart went crazy out of nowhere. He turned. And then froze. No makeup. Wearing a black shirt and pants—like, full-on mourning black. Anyone who didn’t know better would’ve thought she came to crash a funeral.