Chapter 2

Reading that text made my blood boil. I couldn't hold it back anymore. Politeness be damned—I typed right back:

"I've told you a hundred times: I don't like you. Stop being delusional. Any normal person would have understood what I meant by now!"

I figured a blunt, harsh reality check was the only way to snap someone like her out of it.

No girl in her right mind would still chase a guy who lost his temper and cussed her out.

I was sure this would finally kill her obsession.

To my shock, it did nothing. She kept spamming me with calls and texts, completely unfazed in her bizarre fantasy.

Her mother, Brenda, was just as bad, even demanding that I show up in person to apologize.

"Why do you still have her unblocked?" one of my roommates asked, shaking his head. "I'm getting mad just watching this."

"Yeah, block her everywhere. Campus is huge. As long as she can't reach you, she'll give up sooner or later."

My roommates' advice sounded solid. Following their suggestion, I blocked Chloe and her mom across all platforms.

Sure enough, over the next few weeks, I didn't hear a peep from Chloe.

I breathed a massive sigh of relief and poured all my energy back into pursuing Claire. Hard work finally paid off—after more than a year of effort, Claire agreed to be my girlfriend.

Overjoyed, I immediately took her out on our first official date.

What I never anticipated was that when I brought Claire to a restaurant at the downtown mall, Chloe was right there, handing out flyers as a part-time job!

"So that's why you blocked me!" Chloe shrieked, tears instantly welling up in her eyes as she glared at me with pure venom. "You abandoned me for another woman! You cheating, irresponsible bastard!"

She wailed as if I had truly betrayed her.

The mall was packed, and her dramatic screams immediately drew a massive crowd of onlookers.

Claire’s face went cold. She stared at me, her eyes filled with disgust. "Dylan, you'd better explain this right now."

I cursed my rotten luck. Seeing Claire misunderstand, I panicked.

"Claire, it's not what you think! I have nothing to do with this girl!"

Chloe cut in instantly, weeping loudly. "Nothing to do with me?! You're my fiancé! You already met my mom, and our families were about to finalize our wedding plans!"

"I've been looking everywhere for you, and here you are cheating on me with this slut! You owe me an explanation!"

Whispers rippled through the crowd. People glared at me with open disgust, muttering insults about what a scumbag and deadbeat I was for cheating on my fiancée.

Claire's expression turned frostier by the second. Without a word, she slapped me hard across the face.

"I can't believe you're this disgusting. You make me sick!"

She threw the gift I had bought her onto the floor and stormed off. The relationship I had worked over a year to build was shattered in an instant.

And the culprit behind it all was Chloe!

I gritted my teeth, glaring at her with pure fury. "Chloe, what the hell is wrong with you?! When was I ever your fiancé?!"

Chloe lifted her chin with absolute conviction. "My mom already gave her blessing. From now on, you're only allowed to love me!"

I felt like my sanity was slipping away. If I had known, I would never have volunteered for Orientation Week. I would never have crossed paths with such a deranged, entitled lunatic!