Chapter 2

All eyes locked onto the photo.

I just stood there, frozen, unable to speak.

"Is this the Sterling family's true heiress?"

"I guess she's pretty, but her vibe isn't even as classy as Aria's..."

"Please. Old money doesn't need to show off."

Caleb turned to me with a smirk.

"Now do you believe your sister and I are really together?"

"Aria, I know this is hard for you to accept."

He sighed, his voice dripping with fake sympathy.

"But it is what it is. A fake heiress like you was never good enough for me. Your sister and I are in love. We're meant to—"

"Who said she's my sister?"

I couldn't help it. I cut him off with a frown.

"I've never seen this woman before in my life. She's NOT my sister."

Caleb's face froze.

But a second later, he burst out laughing like he'd just heard the funniest joke.

"Never seen her? Wow, Aria. I didn't know you had it in you."

"You'd really pretend you don't know your own sister just to keep me?"

"Give it up, come on. I never would've been with you if I'd known you were just a fake heiress!"

I frowned, a bitter taste in my mouth.

When Caleb and I first got together, he was the one who chased me for months.

Texting me every day, checking in, being the perfect gentleman. That's how he won me over.

When my parents found out, they didn't approve.

But I was stubborn. Blinded by love. I insisted on marrying this broke nobody.

And now? Now I find out he's nothing but a shallow, gold-digging piece of shit.

He thought I was a fake heiress, so he cheated on me for three years behind my back.

And now he was dumping me at my own wedding.

"Aria, I know how much you love me."

"We've been together for years. Of course I still care about you."

"Your sister's even willing to be generous about it. She'll be my wife, and you... well, you can stay in the picture."

"Just keep a low profile, stay out of her way, and she's fine with me coming to see you."

My fists clenched so hard my knuckles turned white.

The little bitter I'd felt turned into a wave of pure disgust.

I never thought Caleb could actually say something like this out loud!

What a shameless piece of shit!

"Nothing to say? I knew you'd come around."

Caleb looked at me with that mocking smile, his tone playful.

"I knew it. Women like you are all the same—get dumped and still come begging for scraps. This is what you wanted all along, isn't it? Just be a good girl, and I'll—"

"Fuck you!" I lost it. I slapped him so hard across the face my palm stung.

SLAP!

The sound echoed through the entire hall.

Caleb's head snapped to the side. Five red fingerprints bloomed across his cheek.

"What the fuck?! Did you just hit me?!"

Caleb clutched his face, staring at me in disbelief.

I laughed coldly and didn't hesitate to kick him hard right where it hurts.

"AHHH—!" His scream pierced the air.

I lifted my foot, ready to stomp down on him.

But just then—

"STOP!"

An enraged voice exploded from the back of the crowd.