His Car Has a Labubu Pendant, I Ruined Him

Chapter 2

I stared at that reply for a long time. Then I threw my phone aside, bent over, and dry-heaved.

Nothing came up. I just felt sick.

At 11:00 p.m., Ethan came home.

When he came in, he brought in an unfamiliar sweet scent. It was Lily's perfume.

I sat on the sofa and asked him, "Did driving her home take that long?"

His hand paused while he was changing shoes. After a long moment, he forced out, "Traffic."

I laughed. "For three hours?"

He looked up at me with impatience in his eyes.

"Hannah, what exactly do you want? You're the one who keeps saying Lily is sensible. Now I drive her home, and you're unhappy about that too? We are about to get engaged. You're putting so much pressure on me!"

He was the one who had cheated, but now he was blaming me for pressuring him. He really knew how to twist right and wrong.

I said nothing else.

He tugged at his tie. "I've nothing to say to you. I'm going to bed."

Then he went straight into the bedroom.

I watched him walk away, expressionless. Then I picked up my phone and sent one message each to the wedding planning company and the hotel manager.

Hannah: Keep the engagement party schedule as planned.

Hannah: I want to replace the opening video.

On the day of the engagement party, Lily arrived very early.

She wore a white dress. It wasn't an ordinary white dress.

The dress was satin, cinched at the waist, and fell to her calves. At first glance, it looked like a toned-down evening gown.

She stood beside the guest check-in table and greeted guests on my behalf. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought she was one of the guests of honor.

My mother saw her and frowned. "Is that your assistant?"

I nodded.

My mother lowered her voice. "Dressed like that at an engagement party? She has no sense of propriety."

Lily seemed to hear it. Her eyes reddened again.

Ethan happened to walk over. "What happened?"

Lily shook her head. "Nothing. I may have worn the wrong thing and embarrassed Ms. Pierce."

Ethan looked at my mother. His tone was still restrained, but he was clearly defending Lily. "Mrs. Pierce, Lily is here to help today. She has been running around all morning and working hard."

My mother's face darkened. "Did I say anything?"

Ethan stiffened.

I gently held my mother's hand. "Mom, there are a lot of guests today. Don't get upset over someone irrelevant."

Lily's face went pale.

Ethan frowned at me.

"Hannah."

I ignored him.

I looked beautiful. I wore a red satin gown, with a pair of pearl earrings, and my hair was pinned up.

The makeup artist said I didn't look like a woman about to get engaged. I looked as if I was walking into a battle I had already won.

When I looked at myself in the mirror, I felt the same way.

Today wasn't really my engagement party with Ethan. It was the judgment day I had prepared for him myself.

Ethan and I had known each other for seven years and had been together for five.

From our rented apartment to the home we planned to share, from having nothing to watching both sets of parents sit down to discuss wedding dates, everyone said we were the most stable couple they knew.

On the night he proposed, he stood in the rain holding a bouquet of ice-blue roses. His eyes were red as he said, "Hannah Pierce, I finally have the confidence to marry you."

Back then, I truly believed him. Only later did I learn that sincerity could expire too.

Before the engagement party began, Ethan's mother held my hand and smiled with genuine delight. "Hannah, Ethan is lucky to marry you."

I looked at her, and for a moment, I felt a pang of sadness.

Ethan's mother had always treated me well. She had truly seen me as her future daughter-in-law. Unfortunately, she had a son who didn't deserve me.

Soon, Lily's parents arrived too.