Chapter 5

The day before the launch, we had a full-dress rehearsal.

It was held at the Jacob Javits Center, the biggest convention venue in the city.

Project Nova was our baby. If tomorrow went well, we would secure a $50 million Series A funding round, officially making Novis MedTech a unicorn company.

I stood on the massive stage, clicking through the slides with my left hand, double-checking the flow.

My right hand was throbbing with a dull, white-hot pain, but I had popped three painkillers to numb it.

Ashton sat in the front row, frowning at his Rolex.

"Chloe, this is going too slow. When is Serena's segment?"

I stopped and looked down at him cold.

"Serena is literally just walking on stage to hand us a bouquet of flowers. What is there to rehearse?"

Ashton stood up, his voice tight.

"Her leg isn't fully recovered, and those stage steps are steep. I'm not comfortable. Plus, I want to add a tribute video at the end of the presentation to thank everyone who supported us. Serena is going to be the main highlight."

I froze.

"A tribute video? That’s not in the schedule. And for the past three years, the people who worked eighty-hour weeks in the lab writing code and debugging were me and the dev team. Serena did absolutely nothing but bring us Starbucks once a month. Why is she the highlight?"

Ashton walked up the stage stairs, lowering his voice.

"Chloe, don't be so petty. Serena lost her ability to run because of me. I owe her this. Giving her some recognition on a stage like this will make her feel valued."

"Besides, you're going to be my wife. You're the co-founder of this company. Why are you jealous of a silly little highlight?"

Always the same excuse.

I let out a cold laugh.

"What if I say no?"

Ashton’s gaze turned freezing.

"Chloe, I'm the CEO of this company. It's already decided."

He turned to the tech booth and shouted, "Cue Serena's video!"

The massive LED screen behind me flickered, and the video started playing.

It wasn't a documentary of our engineering team's sleepless nights.

It was a compilation of Ashton and Serena.

Ashton carrying Serena on his back during a hike.

Serena feeding Ashton fruit in his office.

Even a snapshot from two nights ago—Ashton holding the ginger cat, smiling warmly at Serena under a streetlamp.

At the end of the video, text faded in:

“To the one who never gave up on me. Thank you for being in my life.”

The crew members in the venue looked at each other awkwardly.

Everyone knew tomorrow was our engagement gala.

Yet this video looked like a public love confession to another woman.

A wave of intense nausea hit me.

"Ashton, do you honestly think playing this at our engagement is appropriate?"

Ashton looked slightly embarrassed, but he doubled down anyway.

"This is just a rough cut. I'll have them add some photos of you in there before tomorrow."

"Add me in? To make it look like a throuple?" I mocked openly.

Ashton snapped.

"Chloe Vance! Does everything out of your mouth have to be so venomous? Serena cried all night because of what you said yesterday. She was too scared to even show up to rehearsal today! What more do you want?"

Just then, his phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID and picked up immediately.

"Serena, what's wrong?"

Serena’s terrified scream pierced through the quiet venue.

"Ashton, help me! I'm on the rooftop skywalk... my vertigo kicked in and my legs locked up. It's so high... I'm so scared..."

Ashton’s face went pale.

"Don't move! Close your eyes, I'm coming up right now!"

He hung up and bolted toward the exit.

I lunged forward and grabbed his arm.

"Ashton! The lead investors are arriving in ten minutes to review the rehearsal. If you leave right now, what happens to the pitch?"

Ashton violently shook my hand off.

The force of his shove threw me off balance, sending me crashing to the floor.

My right hand slammed hard against the wooden stage.

Thud.

An agonizing pain ripped through my arm, and my vision went black for a second.

Blood immediately seeped through the bandage, pooling onto the stage.

Ashton stood over me, his eyes devoid of any pity—only burning rage.

"Chloe, the investors can wait. But if anything happens to Serena, I will never forgive you!"

With that, he ran out of the hall without looking back.

I lay on the cold stage, staring at the fresh blood on the floor, and suddenly burst into laughter.

I laughed until tears streamed down my face.

You'll never forgive me?

Ashton, you have it backward.

I am the one who will never forgive you.

The stage crew rushed over to help me up.

"Ms. Vance, you're bleeding really badly! We need to get you to an urgent care!"

I used their support to stand up, then gently pushed them away.

"No need."

I picked up the presentation clicker with my left hand, wiped my tears, and stood tall.

"Tech booth, delete that garbage video. Restore the original slides."

"Everyone, back to your positions."

"We are continuing the rehearsal."

At that moment, I finally woke up.

Depending on a man whose heart was never yours is a fool's errand. You can only depend on yourself.

AsAshton, since you love Serena so much.

I'll gladly let you have her.