Chapter 2

Liam walked toward me, holding a glass of champagne. The mockery in his eyes was plain to see.

"You should be the one enjoying it," I said calmly. "This is truly your last time."

My heart felt colder than ever.

When I first returned to the Stone family, I was scared and cautious. Liam, my classmate at the time, was the only one who seemed to look out for me.

Later, I begged Grandpa for months to help Liam' s struggling family business. He finally agreed, but on one condition: Liam and I had to get engaged.

For Liam's sake, I agreed. I was naive. I thought he cared about me.

I never expected that all he wanted was a connection to the Stone family.

After he became my fiancé, Liam started visiting the Stone mansion frequently. It wasn't long before he and Chloe started an affair.

Liam paused at my words, then let out a sharp, ugly laugh. His voice was loud, quickly drawing everyone's attention.

"Do you still think you' re the Stone family heir? You' ll be kicked out of here in a few days."

He stepped closer, his voice dripping with contempt.

"Still putting on airs in front of me? Ava, do you really think you' re worthy?"

"The Stone family will belong to Chloe."

Everyone gathered around us, eager for more drama. Chloe stood there in a designer gown, looking like a princess. I was in simple athletic wear. The contrast was stark.

"Since it' s come to this," Liam continued, his voice full of disgust, "and you' re no longer the Stone heir, our engagement should be called off."

He pulled a necklace from his suit pocket.

The moment I saw it, rage flooded my mind.

In my entire life, only two people had ever been truly good to me: Grandpa and my foster mother.

Grandpa tried to be fair, but he had a whole company to run. My foster mother, however, had given me all the love I ever knew. She passed away when I was fourteen.

On her deathbed, she held my hand and placed this very necklace in it. It was made of cheap crystal, but it was my most precious possession.

"Ava," she had whispered, her voice weak, "when I' m gone, you' ll have to rely on yourself. The Stone family... they are ruthless people."

"You need to find a good man who will take care of you. This necklace can be a gift from me to him."

It was the last thing she ever gave me.

When I got engaged to Liam, I gave him the necklace. A symbol of my trust, of my hope.

And now, here it was. This necklace, filled with my most precious memories, was being held up with contempt.

Then he threw it on the floor.

I gasped and bent down to pick it up, but his shoe came down on it first.

He crushed it under his heel.

"I, Liam Miller, would never marry a failure like you. Our engagement is over."

I couldn't hear anything anymore. The sound of the cheap crystal shattering echoed in my head.

My foster mother' s smiles, her kind gestures, flashed through my mind.

Tears streamed down my face, hot and uncontrollable. I couldn't stop them.

"Such a failure," a cold voice said. It was my birth mother. "How could I have a daughter like you? It' s just a cheap necklace."

"Crying like that, you have no composure at all. You're no Stone."

I looked up, my vision blurred by tears, and stared directly at her.

My mother flinched for a second, then her face filled with anger. She strode forward and slapped me hard across the face.

"How dare you look at me like that? You disrespectful child! How did I give birth to someone like you?"

The force of the slap made me stumble.

"If it weren' t for Chloe, you' d drive us crazy with your attitude," she spat, raising her hand to hit me again.

But she was stopped by Chloe.

"Mom, don' t be angry," Chloe said, her voice syrupy sweet. "Ava is just immature. I' ll teach her, slowly."