Chapter 2

I couldn' t breathe. The air in the ballroom felt thick, choking.

Bella' s words echoed in my head. "Let it go." "A moment of desperation."

She didn' t believe me. She believed Julian.

I looked at her, searching for any sign of doubt, any trust in me.

There was none. Only a carefully constructed neutrality for her audience.

"Bella..." I started, my voice hoarse.

"Ethan, please," she said, a warning in her tone. "Don' t make this worse. The watch is back. It' s over."

Over? My reputation was ruined. My heart was shattered.

Julian watched, enjoying every second. His sycophantic friends, my colleagues, started to murmur.

"Can' t believe he' d do that."

"So desperate for money."

"His poor mother, having a son like him."

Their words were like stones, pelting me.

I felt a coldness spread through me. Isolation.

Bella turned away, already managing the crowd, smoothing things over with her practiced charm.

"Just a small misunderstanding, everyone. Let' s get back to the celebration!"

Her voice was bright, false.

I bent down slowly, my limbs heavy. I started picking up my mother' s medical bills. Each paper felt like a ton.

The prescriptions, the specialist' s fees, the evidence of my struggle, now evidence of my supposed crime.

No one helped. They just watched.

I stuffed them back into my bag, my hands trembling.

I stood up and looked at Bella one last time. She wouldn' t meet my eyes.

She was busy talking to a guest, smiling. As if nothing had happened. As if I didn' t exist.

A hand touched my arm. It was Marcus Bell, the head chef. My mentor.

His face was grim. "Ethan, let' s go," he said quietly.

I nodded, unable to speak.

He led me out of the ballroom, away from the stares and whispers.

The cold night air hit my face. It didn' t help the burning shame inside me.

Marcus didn' t say anything for a while. We just walked.

"She didn' t even ask me," I finally choked out. "She just... believed him."

Marcus sighed. "Bella values her image, Ethan. And Julian... he' s from her world."

Her world. A world I clearly wasn' t part of.

"The watch was planted, Marcus. I swear."

"I believe you, son," he said, his voice kind. "But proving it now... Julian and Bella have already written the story."

I felt a deep, bitter anger rise, but it was quickly drowned by despair.

What could I do? I was just a sous-chef. They were powerful.

My phone buzzed. A text from Bella.

"Don' t come to work tomorrow. We need to talk. But not here."

Not at the restaurant. She didn' t want me to embarrass her further.

The betrayal felt complete.