Chapter 3

Zayden moved his head around and saw that the voice that instructed the guards to let go of him came from Kean— the wealthy CEO, who was also his boss and now his girlfriend (or ex-girlfriend)’s soon-to-be husband. Kean was holding his phone, and he was currently positioning it just so the phone’s camera would get a good angle at Zayden. He was live-streaming at MemoGram, and he was currently telling his viewers what was happening.

The fact that Kean was even live-streaming him looking so pitiful and helpless made Zayden even angrier. It made him feel like his ego was stepped down multiple times... it made him feel like he was the lesser of a man than he was.

As the guards followed Kean’s command, Zayden slowly stood up and ironed his clothes with his hands. He even patted some parts of his clothes that got some dirty dust from the ground. After a few seconds, he was ready to grab Ashley’s arm and take her somewhere private... where only the two of them could talk. But he was stopped by what he had just noticed.

He noticed the dress that Ashley was wearing. The dress was that signature silver-colored pink satin dress— the dress that he bought last month for their fifth anniversary... the dress that he had saved up money for three months. He could still remember how Ashley wanted the dress... and because he loved her so much, he wanted to give her all the things she desired.

So Ashley wanted this dress for this engagement party? Did she want to buy this so much because she had already planned where she would be wearing it? Zayden could not help but think about these things in his head.

He then also inspected all the luxurious things on Ashley— her pieces of jewelry (necklace, bracelet, and earrings), her high-heeled shoes, and even the bag that was hanging on her right shoulder. All of these things seemed new. He hadn’t seen these before. Based on their quality, they all seemed authentic... they all seemed expensive.

Did Kean buy all these for her? Another question popped out of Zayden’s mind. He also felt some kind of sting in his heart as he felt like he was such a loser.

“Who’s this guy?” Kean flipped his expensive phone just so he could be seen at the angle of the camera while still live streaming. “Does any of you know this guy? Comment down his name, please! I want to know the name of the guy who’s trying to mess up our engagement party...” He then flipped his phone back to its original position, and the camera angle focused again on Zayden.

“Tsk.. tsk...” Kean clicked his tongue and shook his head multiple times. “Am I some kind of a ghost? Why... why are you ignoring me?” He then lightly pushed Zayden’s shoulder, but Zayden did not even budge. He did not even give Kean a glance... he just acted as if Kean was a strong wind that just pushed him.

Even if Zayden was feeling embarrassed, he tried to act cool and decided to just continue ignoring what Kean was doing. He walked fast toward Ashley, grabbed her right hand, and asked her silently (the voice was loud enough for Ashley to hear it clearly), “What are you doing, my love? What... what did I just witness earlier?” His voice broke. He looked directly at Ashley’s face, trying to decipher the look in her eyes just so he could analyze the feelings she was trying to hide, but he really could not. The Ashley in front of him was really not the Ashley that he loved... not the Ashley that he had had a relationship with for five long years.

“My love, please...” Zayden brushed Ashley’s arm, but Kean immediately pushed away Zayden’s hands and said, “Stop touching my girl...” Kean put an emphasis on the word ‘my.’ He even gritted his teeth.

Zayden ignored Kean once more. He continued asking Ashley, but as he kept on doing so, he slowly saw a hint of embarrassment in Ashley’s eyes and mannerisms. He knew Ashley so well... and he knew that whenever Ashley rubbed her palms with her small fingers, she felt embarrassed or upset about the situation.

Because of that, he felt humiliated. But that was not enough for him to finally give up.

“I told you not to freaking touch my girl!” Kean pushed Zayden again, this time with enough force that Zayden fell to the floor.

Zayden immediately stood up and pushed Kean with the same force. Kean fell to the floor, and his phone even reached the other side of the room.

“She’s my girl! We’ve been in a relationship for five long years already!” Zayden exclaimed.

As Kean was standing up and ironing his clothes, Zayden took this chance to hug Ashley and asked her in a whisper, “Did he force you into this? Did... did he try to threaten you? That’s why you could not speak up?” As he asked these questions, tears slowly filled his eyes. He felt some kind of sting again in his heart as he did not feel Ashley’s hands hugging him back. “You... you know you can tell me everything, Ash, right? You know I can do everything for you... I... I can save you from him...” His tears finally escaped his eyes.

After a few seconds of hugging, Ashley pushed him and told him, “Just... just get away from me, please...”

“Who the hell is this guy, babe? Why... why is he doing this?!” As Kean raised his voice, people’s attention was caught. They started to gossip... and their eyes were all focused on them as if they were some kind of a live theater show.

“Is... is it true that you two have been in a relationship for five years?!” Kean’s brows furrowed. He looked so angry and confused.

Ashley then walked toward Kean and tried to hug him, but he immediately shook his head. “Just... just please... please answer me!”

Ashley took a deep breath and said words that felt like a dagger that was put in and out of Zayden’s heart.