Chapter 1

My name was Nadia Cooper, and after seven years of waiting, I finally got the proposal I'd dreamed about... at work. But just as Lucas Madron, my fiancé, was about to get down on one knee, he turned to his first love standing right beside him, knelt in front of her, and slipped a ring on her finger, saying, "Skye, I haven't been able to let go all these years. I can't ignore my heart…"

Skye Ingram, with tears in her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. "Lucas, you're upsetting Nadia. I understand what you're saying. But anyway, I wish you both happiness…"

My coworkers started whispering, waiting to see how I'd handle the humiliation. Without a word, I slid the ring onto Skye's finger, my face a perfect mask of indifference.

"If you can't let go of this jerk, go ahead. Be with him. You have my blessing."

Lucas shot me a glare, his voice sharp. "Skye and I are just friends! Quit being so jealous! This isn't the time for this, this is a proposal!"

I just stared at him, numb. "You ruined a perfectly good proposal. What do you want me to do? You're completely useless."

He snapped at me, completely ignoring what had just happened. Skye stood there, pretending to be innocent.

My head pounded. "It hurts…" I muttered, pressing my hands to my temples.

Lucas immediately rushed to her side, all concern for her. He scooped her up and rushed her out, tossing a final harsh remark over his shoulder. "How many times have I told you? If anything was ever going to happen between me and Skye, it would've happened already. You never stood a chance. And instead of being paranoid, maybe you should focus on getting rid of those spots on your face. You're just petty and ugly."

His logic was twisted, as always. He'd just proposed to another woman in front of me, but somehow, it was all my fault. I'd spent so many sleepless nights taking care of him, preparing medicine, all while letting my appearance suffer, and this was the thanks I got.

They left, and I was left standing there, completely alone. Not a single person came forward to comfort me.

"Lucas, don't mind Nadia! It's all her fault! She's so petty!"

"You should go ahead and get married! We'll be waiting to hear about it!"

My parents chased after Lucas's car, begging him to forgive me, desperate to salvage whatever they could. They came back panting a few minutes later.

"You damn girl! You caused all this trouble!"

"Lucas is a man! So what if he has mistresses? Can't you just endure a little for the family?" They poked my forehead with their fingers, their words like daggers. Lucas's mom chimed in, cold and cruel, "Our family is so much better than yours. You're not attractive enough to keep him. It's your fault, not his. Don't blame him."

It wasn't the first time she had mocked me. I'd bent over backward trying to please her, washing her laundry, taking her to doctors' appointments, but it was never enough. She didn't care about me, and honestly, I was done.

I didn't want to be part of the Madron family anymore. Let whoever wanted to replace me go ahead.

I walked out of the office, feeling like a mess, disheveled and broken. Just as I was wallowing in my thoughts, my phone buzzed with a few messages from Lucas: [I'll come home after you apologize.][I've prepared a beauty essence for you to remove those spots. It's on the table.]

I swallowed hard. The manipulation didn't even faze me anymore.

Then, I got a notification. Someone in town had posted on Twitter: [Who's peeling the lobster for me? Oh, it's Lucas Madron, the terrifying CEO of Madron Group!]

I almost laughed. He was making headlines for being a hero, or so he thought.