Chapter 2

Austin froze in his tracks.

"I'm sorry, Austin. This is all my fault." Hailey turned to me, her voice cracking with tears. "Chloe, please don't blame Austin. It's all on me."

Her acts of playing the martyr instantly won the sympathetic looks of both our families and the guests.

Austin looked at her with pure heartbreak. "How is this your fault? Don't apologize to her!"

But my expression remained deadpan. "Get out of my face. Both of you."

Instantly, Mr. Miller's face turned thunderous.

He was clearly at his limit.

My parents looked ready to faint from embarrassment. My mother hissed, "Chloe Davis! If you don't stop this right now, I am done with you!"

My father whispered, "Stop this madness! How are we supposed to show our faces in public after this?!"

Austin finally snapped. "Chloe, we've been together for seven years. We barely even argued."

"And today, you're ruining everything over a stupid chocolate? What the hell do you want from me?"

His eyes were bloodshot, his voice cracking.

To anyone else, he looked like a heartbroken victim.

But I remained completely indifferent. "No matter what you do, we are over."

Mr. Miller slammed his hand on the table, standing up. "Chloe! Do you have to be this stubborn?"

"Apologize now, and we can still salvage this!"

Mrs. Miller added, "We invited several local influencers to livestream this party today. If this gets out, it will ruin your reputation and your family's!"

They thought the threat of social media ruin would make me back down.

But I gritted my teeth and stared back. "We are breaking up. And Austin is going to pay me back for every single penny and year I wasted on him. I want compensation for emotional distress!"

Bang!

Mr. Miller's face turned purple with rage. He threw his wine glass at my feet. "Get out! Get the hell out of my sight!"

Mrs. Miller raised her voice, pointing at a camera. "Fine! Since you want to play dirty, we'll let the internet judge you! The TikTok live stream is running right now!"

They wanted to turn this private disaster into a public execution.

The large screen in the banquet hall was broadcasting the live stream. The comments were already flying by at lightning speed:

[Calling off a seven-year relationship over chocolate? Is she insane?]

[I feel so bad for Austin. What a psycho.]

[Seven years ended like this? There must be more to the story.]

[A live-streamed breakup? Grab the popcorn!]

Outside, the sky was a gloomy gray, and a light drizzle was falling.

Ignoring the glares of the crowd and the hateful comments flashing on the screen, I looked at Austin's family. "Fine. Three days. We’ll settle this on a public live stream."

With that, I walked out of the hall alone and drove myself to the hospital.

While the doctor was wrapping my head in bandages, my phone finally rang. It was my childhood friend, Logan Carter.

"I just took a little trip to the chocolate boutique where Austin bought that box," Logan said, his voice dripping with amusement. "And boy, did I find some interesting things."

My spirit lifted. "They're trying to ruin me on a live stream in three days. I need everything you can find. I'll pay you triple your usual rate."

"I don't care about the money, Chloe," Logan laughed softly. "Just promise me one thing when this is over."

"Deal," I agreed immediately.

I trusted Logan. He was the best private investigator in the city.

Three days was more than enough time for me to prepare my counterattack.