Chapter 3

"Last time at the Civil Affairs Bureau, we ran into a college classmate. Someone asked me about it." Victoria Montgomery tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. "There’s a reunion tonight. Lucas might hear rumors. You’re coming with me to clear things up."

Ethan Sinclair finally recalled the encounter outside the bureau.

In his past life, he’d been so smug he couldn’t keep his mouth shut, and the news spread like wildfire. This time, he’d stayed tight-lipped—yet somehow, word still got out.

The black sedan screeched to a halt in front of the club. Victoria slammed the car door shut, her heels clicking sharply against the steps.

"Remember, just say you were delivering your cousin’s ID." She turned abruptly, her red lips pressed into a thin line. "One word more, and you know what happens."

Ethan studied her tense profile and almost laughed.

"Relax. I’ll make it clear we didn’t get married." He paused. "Since that’s the truth."

When the private room door swung open, seven or eight pairs of eyes locked onto them.

"Ethan!" someone hooted. "Heard you and Victoria tied the knot! Where’s the invite?"

Calmly, he pulled out his household register. The "single" status glared under the lights.

"Just dropping off an ID." His tone was as casual as discussing the weather.

The room erupted in gasps.

"Bullshit!" A girl in a leopard-print dress slammed the table. "Everyone at Stanford knew what you did for her back then!"

Fragmented memories flashed through Ethan’s mind—the rose with morning dew outside the girls’ dorm at 6 a.m., the shadow lunging at him on the basketball court, the shredded grad school acceptance letter in the dean’s office…

"That’s all in the past," he said softly.

The chatter died instantly. At the entrance, Victoria walked in arm-in-arm with Lucas Whitmore. She wore a pearl-white dress that made him look even more slender beside her.

"Proposal?" Lucas’s ears turned pink. "Victoria, you—"

Her nails dug into her palms. She saw the mockery in Ethan’s eyes and the stars in Lucas’s.

"Yes," she heard herself say. "Lucas, I wanted to surprise you."