The barrage popped up again.

[Gosh! Owen is pissed off.]

[He is like, "Can't you just stop being so stubborn and soften up a little instead of provoking me?"]

[Act cute and cry a little. Don't waste your beauty and Owen's love for you.]

[Seriously, stop being so tough! When Owen goes crazy, no one knows what he might do. He could bankrupt your family and lock you up until you learn your lesson.]

"You're really something!" Owen gritted his teeth, his voice ice cold.

He released his grip, and I took a step forward, noticing the necklace around Robin's neck.

"You said you'd give me that necklace," I said, turning to leave without waiting for his response.

He chased after me, his voice laced with an unreadable emotion. "You remember?"

"I don't need it anymore," I replied.

"For it, she acted cute, followed me around, and called me honey," he whispered.

So, that was why he gave her the necklace he had promised me. My throat tightened, and a wave of nausea hit me.

The comments exploded with excitement.

[He's hinting at you!]

[Owen can't hold back anymore, ha-ha! Just call him honey, and he'll give you everything.]

[He dreams of you calling him honey, and after waking up, he has to change the bedsheets.]

I stopped in my tracks, my words clear and deliberate. "From now on, I'll act cute with other men and call them honey. Then, they'll fulfill my requests."

"Say that again!" he growled, his voice colder than I'd ever heard before.

His hand clamped down on my shoulder, the pressure crushing. Robin followed us, timidly speaking up. "Owen, what's wrong?"

He didn't even look at her, his eyes fixated on me. She pouted, glaring at me. "Did you make him mad? He's never unhappy when he's with me."

Her words disgusted me further. I turned my head, unwilling to say another word.

After a long pause, Owen's hand dropped. He closed his eyes in frustration, the air around him turning gloomy.

"She knows not to make me angry," he said, walking away.

Robin quickly followed, soothing him. They looked like a real couple.

The comments appeared once again.

[You just won't soften up, pushing away the one who loves you.]

[Why couldn't you just say a few kind words to Owen? You had to let that vixen get an opportunity.]

[I'm done. You guys see the trending topic? Someone uploaded photos and videos of them.]

...

I got into the car, turned on my phone, and saw messages from my friends.

[Why are you trending? That woman next to your fiancé is an internet celebrity. Did you know?]

[Are you okay, Chloe? Someone just sent me photos. How could Owen flaunt his mistress in front of you? What a jerk!]

[That woman keeps talking about how some man loves her so much and buys her everything. Turns out, it's Owen.]

[I can't believe it. Owen never had a woman around before. We all thought he was so clean, and now he suddenly has a lover?]

I carefully crafted my replies, then clicked on the trending topic. Clear photos and videos captured the back-and-forth between Owen and me, everything so obvious.

All the comments were in defense of Robin.

[This woman is just jealous of Robin, trying to seduce her boyfriend.]

[Didn't you see how that guy snapped at her? And look how he dotes on Robin.]

[She's still hanging around them, even after they left. Pretending to be lovesick.]

[I can't stand vixens like that! Go to hell! Stay away from Robin's boyfriend!]

So, they thought that my fiancé was someone else's boyfriend.

I shrank into the backseat, staring into nothing.

The topic remained on the trending list, even gaining momentum. Without doubt, it was orchestrated by Owen.

Now I was skeptical about his love for me. If he really loved me, would he have allowed people to recklessly distort the truth and attack me?

I closed my eyes, the pain too much to bear. After a while, I made a call, my voice hoarse. "Get the trending topic taken down, now."

The barrage of comments surged again.

[I feel sorry for you, Chloe. It's unbearable. If only you'd softened up a bit, things wouldn't have turned out like this.]

[Just a bunch of brainless netizens following the hype. Robin is the real mistress! This is infuriating!]

[Owen has gone a bit too far this time, but you're too independent. He still wants to see you rely on him.]

[Seems like this trending topic won't be easy to remove. People are already trying to doxx you. Your family has seen it, and it's bound to affect your stock price.]

My gaze lingered on the last comment for a long time.

Sure enough, my phone rang not long after. The voice on the other end sounded resigned. "Someone's been boosting the trending topic. We're trying to remove it, but it's having almost no effect."

I stayed silent, and the caller asked, "Did you offend someone? This trending topic just keeps blowing up. Someone's pulling some serious strings here. Isn't your fiancé doing anything? Just watching it all happen?"

The caller didn't know the person behind it all was none other than my fiancé. But soon enough, he wouldn't be anymore.

My dad's call came through next, his voice thick with anger. "What the hell is going on? If no one had asked me, I wouldn't have even known."

I paused. "Owen has an affair. Why blame me?"

"Men like Owen cheat all the time," Garrett Vega huffed. "How could you let something like this get out of hand? And let that woman walk around like she owns the place, flaunting herself in front of you?"

"The trending topic was cooked by Owen," I patiently explained. "That woman is his mistress. Dad, this isn't my fault. I've already asked people to take it down."

"Not being able to control his heart is your fault," Garrett snorted and hung up the phone.

As the car pulled off, the driver turned his head and said, "Miss, we've arrived at the villa."

I numbly opened the car door, taking slow, deliberate steps toward the dark house, as I chewed over Garrett's pompous words.

When he had an affair, supporting all those women outside, it was somehow my mother's fault for getting older and losing her charm.

He conveniently forgot that my mother had used her savings to support his startup and had given everything she had.

...

That night, I called Owen.

He answered almost immediately, his tone lazy. "What's up?"

"Stop heating that trending topic," I said softly.

He paused, drawling, "What's with the mood? Are you upset?"

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice cracking.

He fell silent, and I continued, "Do you enjoy watching me get dragged through the mud, being called a mistress, and seeing the stock price drop? Is this what you want? Are you satisfied?"

My body trembled all over. I couldn't believe there was such an unreasonable man.

Owen paused, then softened. "Don't cry, babe. Do you want to see me? I can come find you right now."

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

A gust of cold wind blew over to the balcony. It swept across my face, cooling the tears that had just fallen. I felt like a complete joke.

In the end, only one word came out, rough and dry. "No."

"No?" Owen repeated, his tone unreadable. His voice then turned cold once again. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want to see you," I replied, gathering my last bit of strength to hang up the phone.

I lay back on the bed, unable to fall asleep.

As the trending topic soared high, relatives in the family group chat tagged me one after another, each message dripping with resentment.

Finally, a cousin typed: [Let's face it. If you can't keep Owen, just step aside. Do you even realize how significantly this impacts us?]

The younger generation in the group jumped in.

Another cousin sent a laughing emoji: [So embarrassing, being ridden by a mistress. If I were you, I wouldn't even show my face. Owen spent all his money on his mistress. Didn't he ever spend anything on you? Why not just let someone else replace you? He doesn't like you anyway.]

The group chat went silent, and I laughed bitterly, wishing one of my cousins could replace me to marry Owen.

But the Vega Group was still run by Garrett, and I was his only daughter. He wouldn't miss the chance to flatter the Lockharts.

I muted the group chat and scrolled through the feeds. The first thing I saw was a photo shared by some rich kid.

Standing in the center were none other than Owen and Robin. He had his arm wrapped around her waist, lazily raising an eyebrow at the camera. His friends were gathered around them, toasting and enjoying themselves.

What did it look like? An official announcement of their relationship.

I gave the post a thumbs-up and turned off my phone. But then, the barrage flooded into my mind.

[Don't be sad. This is all just a show. We all know that Owen's heart belongs to you.]

[Yeah, after his friend posted that, he checked to see if you liked it a minute later.]

[He's been wanting to see you. You rejected him tonight, and he's been heartbroken.]

[Give him a call, telling him you're jealous, and he'll come running right to you.]

I closed my eyes, forcing all those noises out of my head. After what felt like an eternity, I propped myself up from bed and texted my lawyer: [Send me the engagement annulment agreement. I'll find a chance to give it to Owen.]

I needed one full day to handle the property transfer, and I couldn't let anyone find out or interfere. After attending the banquet, I would take a midnight flight and leave for another country.

By then, the agreement would be sent in two copies, one to Garrett and the other to Owen.

If I stayed and refused to marry Owen, there would be no peace. Garrett would just marry me off to someone else.

Everything went smoothly.

...

I had carefully chosen a fishtail dress for the occasion. With a bright smile, I walked into the banquet hall in my high heels.

My friends approached to catch up with me, and one of them nudged me. "No companion, huh? My brother can help."

I considered the offer, then shook my head. "It's fine. I don't think it's shameful to be alone."

"True that. A man around would just get in the way of our conversation," Ginevra Dixon grinned.