Chapter 2

Arnold froze, his eyes locked on the man standing in the doorway. The stranger was handsome, his aura speaking of noble status. He was dressed only in a bathrobe. 

Arnold checked the room number again, confusion and panic surging within him.

‘Am I in the wrong place?’ he thought, his heart pounding louder with each passing second.

The man leaned casually against the door frame, an amused smile playing on his lips. 

From where Arnold stood, he could clearly see the lavish honeymoon suite behind the man. His instincts screaming at him to run, but his feet remained rooted in place.

“Ethan, who’s at the door? What’s taking so long?” The familiar honeyed voice ranged from the room.

Diana stepped out, her hair damp from the shower, the bathrobe clinging to her well-toned body. Her eyes widened with surprise for just a moment before she slipped back into her usual mask of indifference.

“Arnold?” Her voice was cold, devoid of any warmth or concern. “What are you doing here?”

Arnold’s hand trembled as he held up his phone, the message still glowing on the screen like a cruel joke. “I got your text, Diana. Why... why are you here?”

Diana barely glanced at the message, dismissing it with a flick of her wrist as if it were nothing more than an annoying pop-up. “So? Why does it matter?”

Before Arnold could respond, Ethan moved closer to Diana, and wrapped an arm around Diana’s waist, pulling her into his embrace. 

“This must be the ‘boring man’ you mentioned, Diana,” Ethan taunted, his voice adorned with a cruel amusement. The words struck Arnold like a bolt of electricity, leaving him momentarily paralyzed.

Arnold’s disbelief quickly turned to fury, his fists clenching with tension.

“Diana, what’s going on? Who is this man?” He reached for Diana’s hand, but she pulled away, retreating toward Ethan.

Diana’s lips curled into a cruel smile, a look that Arnold had never seen before, or perhaps never allowed himself to see. “Isn’t it obvious, Arnold? This is the man I love, the man who can give me everything you never could. I had waited for him for three years.”

Ethan’s smirk widened as he brushed a strand of Diana’s hair behind her ear, his touch intimate, possessive. “I went abroad three years ago, and we lost touch. However, when I came back two months ago, Diana and I picked up right where we left off. She was waiting for me, not you.”

The words were like a hammer, shattering the foundation of Arnold’s reality. He stumbled, his voice barely a whisper. “No, it can’t be true. You’re joking, right, Diana?”

Diana’s gaze was icy, her disdain palpable. “No, It’s already time to wake up. You’re a nobody, Arnold. I married you because I had no better choice, not because I ever loved you.”

His world shattered, the weight of their betrayal pressing down on him like an avalanche. “I see. So, you’ve been waiting for him... all this time?”

Diana rolled her eyes, her tone filled with contempt. “Of course. The moment Ethan returned, you became useless to me.”

Ethan’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he watched Arnold’s misery. “Face it, Arnold. She was never yours. You were nothing but a little toy, a joke to pass the time.”

Rage boiled inside Arnold, the humiliation was too much to bear for him. He just held on to his last bit of sanity and looked at Ethan with bloodshot eyes.

“You bastard!” He lunged at Ethan, grabbing him by the collar, his vision clouded with fury.

However, Ethan didn’t flinch. Instead, he laughed at Arnold’s face. “Your paper tiger look is not enough. You lost the game even before it started, Arnold.”

Ethan leaned in closer, his voice dripping with venom. “This hotel, the restaurant where you planned your little surprise, everything belongs to my family. I knew about your reservation tonight, and I made sure Diana would be with me instead.”

This time Arnold didn’t restrain himself anymore. Without thinking, he swung his fist successfully toward Ethan’s face with every ounce of force he could muster.

Still, it was not enough to cool him off. So, he wanted to punch that face even more.

As he prepared to strike again, something sharp and cold crashed against his skull, sending a wave of pain through his head. Something red and fishy started to flow from the back of his head.

Arnold staggered and looked up to see Diana standing there, holding the shattered remains of a wine bottle. There was only indifference for him in her eyes.

She shook her head with annoyance. “Stop it, Arnold. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

The pain in his head was nothing compared to the agony tearing through his heart. “Diana... how could you do this to me?”

Diana’s sneer deepened, her eyes filled with scorn. “How could I? Are you still asking that question? You’re the dumbest person I’ve ever known.”

She pointed at him, her finger like a knife, stabbing at whatever remained of his dignity. “Let me spell it out for you, Arnold. You’re a pathetic loser. I’m done pretending. I’m done with you.”

Ethan, wiping the blood from his lip, smirked as Diana tenderly touched his wounded face. “Now you see, Arnold. She’s mine, and she’s always been mine.”

To solidify his claim, Ethan pulled Diana into a deep, passionate kiss, right in front of Arnold, as if to brand her as his forever.

Arnold’s heart shattered completely as he watched the woman he loved, the woman he thought he knew, in the arms of another man.

Completely defeated, Arnold turned to leave, his legs heavy with despair, his spirit crushed beyond repair.

“Wait, Arnold,” Diana’s voice stopped him, sharp and mocking. “You forgot something.”

He froze, only to feel something small and hard hit his back and bounce to the floor. Arnold looked down to see the ring he had given her, lying cold and abandoned.

Diana’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “You really thought I’d keep that worthless piece of metal? You’re a fool, Arnold. You never deserved me.”