His Car Has a Labubu Pendant, I Ruined Him

Chapter 1

Three days before our engagement party, I saw a new Labubu charm hanging from the rearview mirror in Ethan Cole's car.

I asked him where it came from.

Ethan didn't even look at me.

"A friend gave it to me. It's just a little trinket. Stop being so suspicious."

I said nothing else.

That night, I came across a private alt account belonging to Lily Hart, my assistant.

The post read: I finally managed to get a limited-edition Labubu charm for my boyfriend. I waited in line for three hours, my hands frozen red, but he said he loved it. It's already hanging in his car now.

The photo showed the same Labubu charm with the pink strap.

I opened her profile. It was filled with posts about her relationship.

I scrolled through them one by one.

Then, in a restaurant photo she posted, I saw the rosary bracelet on a man's wrist. It was the blessed rosary bracelet I had gotten for Ethan at a chapel last year. There was only one like it in the world.

He had said he would wear it forever. He had kept that promise. He just wore it to see another woman.

That night, I messaged the wedding planning company.

Hannah: Keep the engagement party schedule as planned.

Hannah: But I want to replace the opening video.

I didn't know why Ethan cheated. I only knew that anyone who betrayed love and commitment had to pay a painful price.

*****

The next day, I went to the hotel as scheduled to go over the engagement party plans.

We had agreed to meet at 2:00 p.m.

I arrived 10 minutes early, but Ethan still didn't show up.

I called him. He didn't answer the first time. He picked up the second time. There was noise in the background.

I asked, "Where are you?"

He sounded rushed. "Almost there."

"How long is almost?"

"Hannah, I said I'm almost there. Do you really have to press me right now?"

I froze.

He had never spoken to me like that before. Even if he was only going to be five minutes late, he used to text me ahead of time and explain why. When he arrived, he would apologize properly.

An hour later, Ethan finally arrived. He pushed the door open, and a girl followed him in.

It was Lily, my assistant. I was the one who had hired her six months earlier.

Her resume had been unremarkable, but during the interview, her eyes reddened as she told me her family had always put her brother first. She said finishing college had already been hard enough, and she really needed the job.

I felt sorry for her, so I kept her on as my assistant.

She worked hard. She arrived early, left late, prepared my documents before meetings, and even reminded me softly to eat when work ran through mealtimes.

During that time, I had spoken highly of her to Ethan.

At the time, Ethan only warned me, "Don't be so nice to everyone. People will take you for a fool."

Now, it seemed they really had both taken me for a fool.

Lily wore a pale pink coat and held a file folder in her arms. Her cheeks were faintly flushed. The moment she saw me, she lowered her head. "Ms. Pierce, I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

I didn't look at her. Instead, I looked calmly at Ethan. "Why is she here?"

Ethan tossed his car keys onto the table. "Didn't you say the schedule materials were at the office? I picked her up on the way and brought them over."

I asked lightly, "The office isn't on the way to the hotel."

He frowned. "She's just a young woman, and she was carrying all these documents. It would have been inconvenient for her to take a cab. What is wrong with me giving her a ride?"

Lily stood to the side, and her eyes suddenly turned red. "Ms. Pierce, please don't blame Mr. Cole. I was worried there might be an issue with the documents, so I wanted to deliver them myself."

Before I could speak, Ethan's face darkened. "Hannah, we are here to confirm the engagement party schedule today, not interrogate people."

I looked at him, and a small, sharp pain pierced my chest. I had only asked one question. Yet he had already started taking offense on Lily's behalf.

The hotel manager handed over the schedule.

Ethan sat beside me, and his phone kept lighting up.

I glanced at it. The contact name was Lily. She was clearly sitting right across from him, yet she was still texting him.

Ethan lowered his head to reply, and the corners of his mouth even lifted slightly.

The whole thing felt absurd.

After we left the hotel, Ethan said he had work to handle and told me to go home by myself.

I didn't argue.

After I got home, I opened Lily's private alt account on my phone. As expected, she had just posted an update:

I made his girlfriend unhappy again today, but he still drove me home first.

The attached photo showed the night view outside a car window. In the corner, Ethan's hand rested on the steering wheel.

I gripped my phone as my fingertips slowly went cold.

A: [He has a girlfriend, and you're still doing this. Aren't you afraid his girlfriend will tear you apart?]

Lily: [He said she isn't his true love. They have been together for so long that the love is already gone. He said he only feels relaxed with me. I'm his true love.]

B: [But aren't you knowingly being the other woman?]

Lily: [Of course not. He said the one who isn't loved is the real other woman.]