Chapter 2

Seven days after the world ended, Ethan Vance found me.

He was Daniel's older brother, a rising star in Silicon Valley, a man I had always known but never really known. He found me huddled in the empty shell of my family home, a place now haunted by memories and debt collectors.

He didn't say much at first. He just stood in the doorway, his expression filled with a sorrow that seemed to mirror my own.

Then, he spoke, his voice quiet but firm.

"Chloe, I've secretly admired you for years. Now I finally have the chance to take care of you. Will you marry me?"

I stared at him, unable to process the words. The world had abandoned me. My ex-fiancé and his family had treated me like garbage. Yet here was his brother, offering me a lifeline.

His eyes were full of sincerity, a deep, unwavering honesty that I desperately wanted to believe in.

He saw my hesitation and took a step closer, sinking to one knee on the dusty floor of my ruined home.

"I know this is sudden," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "I know you're in pain. But I can't stand by and watch you suffer alone. Let me protect you. Let me be your family now."

I was broken, empty, with nothing left to lose. In that moment, his proposal wasn't a question of love, it was a question of survival.

I whispered, "Yes."

The three years that followed were quiet.

Ethan was a perfect husband. He was patient, kind, and gentle. He shielded me from the relentless online gossip and the scornful looks of strangers. He slowly, carefully, helped me piece together a fragile sense of normalcy.

I never fully healed. The scars were too deep. But I learned to live with them, hidden away in the safe, quiet world Ethan had built for me. I believed he was my savior.

Tonight, he had a late-night meeting at a high-tech incubator downtown. He asked me to pick him up, a simple, domestic request.

I arrived a few minutes early and parked across the street, watching the sleek glass entrance of the building. Soon, Ethan emerged with another man. I recognized him as Mark, Ethan's best friend since childhood.

They stopped just outside the doors, under a streetlight, their voices carrying clearly in the quiet night air. I couldn't hear what they were saying at first, but then Mark' s voice rose, laced with an anger I' d never heard from him before.

"Ethan, it's been three years. Shouldn't you take down those awful deepfakes? Now that Tiffany is happily integrated into your family, why keep tormenting Chloe?"

My blood ran cold. Tiffany. Daniel's new wife, a woman who had slid into the life that was supposed to be mine.

Mark' s voice grew louder, more agitated.

"And even now, I can't understand why you had to destroy Chloe's parents' careers just to get Tiffany into your family. They were your mentors!"

I stopped breathing. The world outside my car window seemed to tilt on its axis.

Ethan' s reply was low, chillingly calm.

"The Miller family's influence was too strong. As long as they were respected, how could Tiffany feel secure? If Tiffany wasn't at ease, how could I be?"