Chloe walked onstage, staring at me, sighing dramatically. “Anna Taylor, it’s understandable you’d be attracted to Ethan. I wanted to spare you, but you’re forcing my hand.” The screen behind me switched from the presentation to explicit photos… of me. “These are the photos you sent him, you knocking on his hotel room door in a slip at midnight, and security footage of you and your boss checking into a hotel.”
The screen changed again, showing me
<
entering a hotel with my boss. “You’re a
habitual offender-‘
The room erupted. The doors burst open. Ethan
strode in, his gaze sweeping across the room,
passing over me without stopping. My heart
sank. The spotlight glared on me, a public
execution. Murmurs filled the room. “Disgusting!
A disgrace to journalism!” “She should be
fired!”
I stared at Ethan, watching him turn to Chloe.
“What did you just say?”
Chloe teared up. “Ethan, you’ve been tricked!
She pretended to be an interviewer to steal
confidential information, to harm Hayes Corp.
Even this hosting gig… she slept her way into
it!”
Ethan paused, looking at me. “Do you have
anything to say?”
- 11.
<
Vila Coulu I say? I saw the thumph in Chive S
eyes. It was absurd. We were sisters, only two years apart. After our mother died, we should have been each other’s only family. I smirked. “I
want to say this, Mr. Hayes: Your fiancée is lying. I only had professional interactions with
you, nothing personal-”
“Nothing personal?” Ethan interrupted. “You
gave me a ring. Aren’t you going to take
responsibility?”
- 12.
I froze, staring at him. He raised his left hand,
revealing the simple silver band on his ring
finger. Cheaply made, nothing special, yet
gleaming under the lights as if polished with
care. It dragged me back four years.
Ethan’s nineteenth birthday. His previous
birthdays had been lavish affairs. This one, only
I was there. To cheer him up, I’d worked two
days between editing papers, buying a pair of
cheap matching rings with the money. I’d
slipped one onto his finger. Blind, he still
sensed it. Blushina. he asked. “What is this?” I
Teased, “A couple was fighting on the street
and threw these away. I waited, like, forever to
snag them. Don’t be too picky, Mr. Hayes,”
“…Don’t call me that.” His Adam’s apple bobbed
as he protectively cupped the ring. “Even if it’s
from the street, I like it. Because you gave it to
ma,”
He meant it. He wore it even during our most
intimate moments, whispering, “Feel this? This
is your love for me.” “…Relax, you’ll hurt
yourself.” Only then did he show a hint of his
old arrogance,
Snapping back, Ethan stepped closer. “Say
something, Anna Taylor.”
“Nothing to say,” I murmured, clutching my
dress. “Mr. Hayes, you’re mistaken. Isn’t that
the engagement ring your fiancée, Ms. Williams,
gave you?”
He scoffed. “I never said where it came from.
How do you know so much?” He stopped in
front of me, too close. Whispers rippled through
<
.་་
one who helped him?” “What about Chloe?”
“They do look alike…”
Chloe glared at me, then forced a soft tone.
“Ethan, don’t be fooled. She’s a liar. She has a
history of this…”
I closed my eyes, calming my racing heart.
Opening them, I looked at him steadily. “Yes, I
gave it to him. I impersonated Chloe for two
years, for the money. I took the money and left.
I forgot all about it. Since you thought it was
Chloe all along, and you’re engaged to her now,
what’s the point?” I choked back a sob, putting
down the microphone, turning to leave. His
hand grabbed my wrist, his familiar warmth
burning my skin. His voice was low, “…There’s a
point. You said as long as I wore this ring, you’d
recognize me anywhere. Do you still mean it?”
