Chapter 2

The next day, I was scrolling through my phone when a headline caught my eye: Ethan Sterling, Heir to the Sterling Group, Set to Wed in a Lavish Ceremony.

The article featured a photo. A beautiful young woman was smiling radiantly as Ethan knelt before her, sliding a massive ring onto her finger.

The report highlighted the ring's centerpiece—a flawless, ultra-rare red diamond, valued at over fifteen million dollars.

The proposal had taken place at the Plaza, the city's most expensive hotel, decorated with tens of thousands of fresh roses.

Memories flashed in my mind. Once, a man had knelt before me, too. He had said:

"Serena, I promise to cherish you forever. In sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth, I will never leave your side."

Now, after only two years in a coma, those promises had become a pathetic joke.

Looking at the extravagant ring in the photo, I felt nothing but disgust.

When Ethan proposed to me, he had wrapped a simple piece of string around my finger on a whim. Yet, his proposal to Chloe was grand and meticulously planned.

True love and mere convenience are very easy to tell apart.

I laughed mockingly at myself and was about to close the tab when a pendant around Chloe's neck caught my attention.

I zoomed in on the photo. Engraved on the gold pendant was a soaring eagle—the exclusive crest of the Vance family bloodline.

There were only two such crests in the entire world. One belonged to my brother, and the other had been lent by me to Ethan.

It was because of this very crest that Ethan had secured the backing of the Vance family, allowing him to defeat his rivals and secure his position as the heir to the Sterling empire.

And now, he had gifted that sacred crest to Chloe.