He Betrayed Me, I Dumped Him

Chapter 2

The moment my mom finished speaking, the guards seized Ryan and Chloe and dragged them toward the door.

Chloe lost her composure and screamed at Ethan.

"Ethan! You promised to protect me for the rest of my life. Are you going to stand there while your mother and sister humiliate me?

"If I had known you were this weak, I never would have rejected Ryan and chosen you!"

Ryan jolted as if zapped by lightning. He stared at Chloe with undisguised devotion.

"Chloe, just say the word. I'll walk through hell for you."

Ethan laughed bitterly.

"I see. So I've been the villain keeping you two apart all along. Chloe, if being with me is such a sacrifice, you can make your choice again before we start planning the wedding."

Now Chloe was truly panicked.

"I never said I wouldn't marry you! I just want you to have my back a little more! I'm going to be part of the Carter family. If your mother and sister can humiliate me in public now, how am I supposed to live with them after we marry?"

Ryan chimed in, backing her up.

"Ethan, Chloe grew up in the country. She isn't calculating. Wasn't it her honesty that you saw in her in the first place?"

Ethan studied Chloe's tear-stained face and hesitated. Then he waved for the guards to release them.

He sighed and gently ruffled her hair, looking both helpless and affectionate.

"They're my family. I grew up with them. If they can't accept you, how am I supposed to marry you?"

Chloe's eyes reddened, and she flung herself into my brother's arms, letting out a wail.

"Ethan, I thought you were really going to abandon me. I just thought Nora and Ryan looked good together, and I got carried away playing matchmaker. I panicked and said the wrong thing. There are so many rules in the city that I can't speak without offending someone."

Once her tears subsided, she turned to me with exaggerated sincerity.

"Nora, I really wasn't trying to upset you."

My mother shot me a subtle shake of her head.

I caught the signal immediately and waved it off with a dismissive gesture.

"I admit I have a temper. The moment someone mentioned a blind date, I lost control. The truth is, I already have someone I like, and I don't want to be involved with anyone new. Chloe, you don't need to worry about my love life anymore."

Ethan glanced at me with approval.

"A new jewelry collection just arrived from Ballaria. Nora, if you like it, I'll have the entire collection delivered to your room."

Ryan watched us play off each other seamlessly, his expression filled with disbelief.

"Someone you like? We've known each other for years, and I've never heard a whisper about this mystery man."

I just made that up because I wanted nothing to do with the three of them. But Ethan was completely under Chloe's spell. If I did not give him a real name, he might decide to force Ryan and me together so he could marry Chloe sooner.

My previous life had taught me a painful lesson. When forced to choose, Ethan put his own desires before his sister.

I thought quickly, and a name came to me.

"Julian Reed."

My brother and Ryan both froze.

"You must be joking. Julian? He barely acknowledges anyone. Why would he be interested in you?"

"Nora, Ryan can be unpleasant, but Julian is distant with everyone. How could you possibly have a chance with him?"

But Julian had helped me in my previous life. When Ryan brought a model home to humiliate me, I went to Ethan's company to ask for help. But Ethan was too busy comforting Chloe to allow me inside.

It was Julian who exposed Ryan's affairs in the boardroom and spared me the humiliation of living with the woman Ryan had brought home.

Meanwhile, Ryan was ruining my reputation throughout our social circle. I wanted to ask Ethan to help me divorce him, but Chloe happened to be threatening to leave Ethan at the time.

Overwhelmed by Chloe's drama, Ethan snapped, "Women should know their place. Stop making a scene over every little thing."

No one listened to me while the media tore me apart and called me a shameless woman who refused to let go. Once again, Julian stepped forward. He corrected the lies and took on a mountain of trouble just to protect me.

That same night, Ryan was ambushed in an underground garage and nearly beaten to death. My mom investigated, and every lead pointed back to Julian's law firm.

In the end, I died, and the life inside me died with me.

My mother fell to her knees, begging anyone who would listen to bring me justice.

Years of chaos eventually destroyed Ethan's feelings for Chloe. After my death, he sent Ryan to prison and divorced Chloe.

My mother spent endless nights weeping, but she was powerless to do anything more.

Julian stood outside the courthouse before a crowd of reporters and said furiously, "If Ethan had not protected Chloe time after time, if he had ever defended his sister, would Ryan have dared to treat Nora that way? She was destroyed, and Ethan still claims he bears no responsibility."

He forced my brother to make a public apology.

Julian rarely spoke to me and always seemed to keep his distance, but I was certain of one thing. He loved me.