I looked outside at the bright sunlight flooding the hospital entrance.

I finally understood why it wasn't raining.

It was because she was making me speechless with her bullshit.

"Chloe, are you trying to provoke me?" Ethan stepped forward, shot a concerned look at Mandy, then turned his cold voice on me.

That fall was so fake, worse than a background extra's acting. There was no way he couldn't see it.

"What, are we doing this now? She falls over just from me pulling my arm away?" I shot back, my own voice turning icy.

Ethan's face flushed with anger, and his glare was sharp enough to cut.

"Don't you dare twist this! Apologize to Mandy, now!"

"Or else, you know what I'm capable of."

With Ethan backing her up, Mandy couldn't hide the triumphant smirk on her face as she stared at me with pure provocation.

As the heir to the Sterling fortune, Ethan had a thousand ways to make my life a living hell.

With a snap of his fingers, he could make it impossible for me to survive in this city.

Thinking of that, I forced myself to swallow my anger.

But some of the people nearby had already pulled out their phones and were filming me, muttering insults.

"What is wrong with people? He's clearly not into her, and she gets violent."

"Probably just a bitter single person, jealous of a happy couple."

"She seems totally unhinged…"

Their words made the veins in my temples throb, and my head hurt even more.

Just then, Mandy put on her innocent face again, lacing her fingers with Ethan's.

"Ethan, it's okay. I'm sure she's just emotional."

"But Chloe does have a bit of a temper, doesn't she? You must have had a hard time when you were with her…"

Her words only fueled the crowd's chatter.

Now, most of them were aimed at me, with someone even yelling that I was a psycho bitch.

"Are you going to apologize or not?"

Ethan's face was still a cold mask, his eyes burning with a warning.

Under the pressure, I gritted my teeth and forced the words out.

"I'm sorry. It was my fault…"

My body was trembling slightly from the effort of holding back my emotions.

A strange, unreadable expression flickered in Ethan's eyes as he looked at me.

"Can I go now?"

When he didn't answer, I turned and walked away as fast as I could, refusing to stand there like a clown being mocked by a crowd.

"Chloe…"

I heard him call my name, followed by footsteps.

But he never caught up.

Another voice stopped him. "Ethan, I… I feel dizzy. Can you help me get to a doctor…?"

Hah.

A bunch of actors.

I hope they take their show on the road and stay out of my life.

I was so tired. I didn't want anything to do with them ever again.

Two days later, my boss assigned me a huge commission.

It required not only a photoshoot but also a hand-painted portrait.

In the entire studio, I was the only one with the skills to handle a request like that.

And my boss said the client was paying a premium, enough to cover my surgery with plenty left over.

So, I took the job without a second thought.

It was only later that I found out the client was Mandy.

She had specifically come to our studio and requested me by name.

My job was to take their couple photos and then paint a portrait of their blissful love.