He Dumped Me for a Fake, I’m the Real Heiress

Chapter 2

After hanging up, I quietly packed my things and tossed every gift Owen had ever given me into the trash. They were barely worth calling gifts anyway. A $5 stuffed toy, a $3 preserved flower, and a pair of plain matching rings he had bought from a street vendor.

I had never cared about the price tag on a gift. What mattered to me was the thought behind it. Now, I realized Owen's sincerity was every bit as cheap as the junk he had given me. Once I had cleared everything out, I called the landlord, ended my lease, and walked away from the home I had shared with him for five years.

The Blake family car was waiting downstairs. I hadn't even reached it when a message from Owen appeared on my phone.

Owen: I'm drunk. Come pick me up. If you don't, I'll throw away the pendant your adoptive mother gave me.

My expression hardened, and my stomach twisted with disgust. That pendant had belonged to my adoptive mother. It was the only valuable possession she had left behind. Worried that Owen would look down on my poor family, she had handed it to him and begged him to treat me right. Now, he was using it to hold me hostage.

The chauffeur looked at me. "Miss Blake, are you getting in?"

"Take me to Cloudcrest Club."

Cloudcrest Club was an exclusive private club. Owen had never smoked or touched alcohol before, yet somehow, he was now spending his nights in places like this.

I pushed open the door to the private room. Smoke hung thick in the air. Every head turned toward me, followed by a burst of laughter that filled the room.

"Owen, the pet you've been keeping is pathetic. One call, and she comes running to you."

Owen tightened his arm around Lydia's waist, his eyes gleaming with smug satisfaction and faint resignation.

'I knew it. She still couldn't stay away from me.'

He didn't notice the frozen look in Lydia's eyes.

"Owen, who is she?"

Owen gave a scornful look. "Just some woman who's been obsessed with me. Didn't you insist on meeting her?"

I couldn't make sense of it. He was the one who told me to stay away from Lydia, yet now he had deliberately summoned me here only to humiliate me.

Hearing his answer, Lydia visibly relaxed.

'So the woman Owen can never seem to shake off is Celine.'

A smug smile crept across her face.

'So what if Celine is the Blake Group heiress? The man she loves is in love with me. And now, for the sake of my happiness, he's humiliating her in public.'

Owen held out a glass of hard liquor and said coldly, "Drink it, and I'll give you the pendant back."

I frowned. "I'm allergic to alcohol."

Owen knew that. Once, I had accidentally eaten liquor-filled chocolate, and my entire body had broken out in hives. My face had nearly swollen beyond recognition.

"It's fine. Take some medicine if you react. You won't die from it."

I kept my expression firm, making it clear I wasn't touching the drink. The next second, Lydia grabbed the pendant from the table and smashed it against the floor. It broke into several pieces. My pupils contracted, and tears instantly stung my eyes.

The guilt in Owen's eyes was impossible to miss. "It's only a pendant. It's broken, so let it be. Since it's already gone, you don't have to drink anymore."

Lydia smiled, "Celine, why are you making such a big deal over a cheap pendant? Don't tell me you've never owned anything decent."

For the first time, I really looked at Lydia. I picked up the glass and flung the liquor straight into her face.

Lydia shrieked and shot to her feet. "Are you insane?"

The next second, Owen slapped me hard across the face. My cheek burned, and the entire room went silent.