Chapter 2

After Ariana walked away, several people scoffed. "What's she throwing a tantrum for? She would still go into the pool obediently to pick up the rings if Mr. Lodge threatened to not proceed with the engagement."

"Exactly. Everyone knows the person Mr. Lodge loves is Ms. Granger. Ariana Torrey? She's just a shameless lady who keeps throwing herself at Mr. Lodge when he doesn't even like her. If it weren't because Mrs. Lodge Senior liked her, would Mr. Lodge even spare her a glance?"

…

People were whispering and pointing at Ariana discreetly.

Meanwhile, Ariana, who was soaked through, had headed back inside the banquet hall.

Her stepmother, Gwen Lambert, hurried over and caught up with her. "Ariana Torrey, where have you been? How did you end up looking like this? It's your engagement party today! Hurry and go somewhere you can dry your dress.

"Also, we can't have you dressed so conservatively! Men like it more if a lady is a little sexy."

Gwen yanked at the collar of Ariana's gown until her cleavage was showing. Then, she nodded with satisfaction.

Ariana paid no mind to what Gwen was doing or saying. Her gaze drifted across the hall, which was overflowing with guests. The lights in the hall were slightly dimmed, and everyone seemed to be trying to talk to a certain man.

Brian was dressed in a black suit. He had a frigid look on his perfectly chiseled face. Those deep-set eyes seemed to not carry any warmth in them.

The man gave off an intimidating aura. Below those eyes, Brian had a tall nose and thin lips. It was as though his face was the heavens' greatest work of art.

"Men are mostly beings that are dominated by their carnal desires. You're officially Mr. Lodge's fiancée starting tomorrow.

"You need to please him and try to conceive his child as soon as possible so that he'll marry you for the child's sake. You'll enjoy a life of luxury and extravagance once you become Mrs. Lodge."

Gwen got more and more excited while saying that. It was as though the person who was getting engaged to Brian that day was her.

"A life of luxury and extravagance?" Ariana scoffed inwardly.

During her previous life, Ariana spent three years doing everything she could to show Brian her feelings for him were sincere.

Yet, what Ariana got in return was her being abducted on the day of her wedding. The abductors even tormented her for three whole days.

On the first day after she was abducted, Ariana kept praying for Brian to show up and save her. Unfortunately, she had no idea that Brian never planned on marrying her since the beginning.

Instead, he drove their bridal car to the airport to pick up Evelyn who had just returned to the country.

On that very day, Brian and Evelyn exchanged their wedding rings and vowed to spend the rest of their lives together at the venue that was originally reserved for Ariana and Brian's wedding.

Ariana had waited pointlessly for all these years. In the end, it turned out Brian had prepared the wedding with Evelyn in mind.

On the second day, Brian told others that Ariana had run away from the wedding. He showed no concern over the matters of Ariana's life and death. Although he knew she had been abducted, Brian only cared about spending time with Evelyn.

On the third day, Brian refused to pay the ransom. He also refused to be connected to Ariana in any way anymore as he and Evelyn went and completed the wedding registration that day.

Ariana felt as though she had spent three days in hell. Her heart was filled with hope at first. Gradually, her hope diminished and vanished entirely.

Back to the present, they were having her and Brian's engagement party today.

Whether it was her make-up or outfit, Ariana had picked the exact same style Evelyn would usually go for.

Everyone in Gleaston knew that Evelyn was Brian's one true love and Ariana was just a cheap replacement.

Ariana could still remember how Brian had looked at her with barely disguised contempt when she went up to him in her current outfit. He said, "You're just a poor imitation of the real thing. Eve would never look this slutty."

Evelyn's parents had passed away early on. She and Brian were childhood friends who grew up together.

At some point, the Grangers stopped providing the Lodges their support as there was increased tension between the two families. Moreover, Belinda did not like Evelyn that much.

If it were not for these reasons, Brian would have married Evelyn a long time ago.

Brian preferred someone pure and demure like Evelyn. Coincidentally, Ariana bore some resemblance to Evelyn.

Therefore, Gwen kept making Ariana dress up by imitating Evelyn's style to gain Brian's attention.

Ariana had stuck by Brian's side for three long months. The whole city knew about how she was brazenly doing all sorts of things just to marry into the Lodge family. Yet, Brian acted as if he was totally oblivious to it.

With Belinda showing more favor for Ariana, Brian eventually agreed to get engaged to her since Belinda kept urging him to.

However, the humiliation Ariana had suffered during the engagement party and how Brian had left her here all by herself because of Evelyn…

On top of that, there was the fact that Brian had used Ariana for three years only to ruthlessly discard her in the end. All those things were like knives to Ariana's heart.

When she thought about the tragic end she had in her past life, the only thing Ariana wanted to do now was to let Brian go. Since Brian liked Evelyn, Ariana decided she should just back off.

"Ms. Lambert, I'd like to speak to Mr. Lodge alone for a moment."

A faint smile hung on Ariana's face. Gwen soon lowered her guard since Ariana seemed like the usual docile child she was.

She approved of it instantly since Ariana was asking to speak to Brian. "Of course! Of course! We'll become a family soon, after all."

Gwen was grinning from ear to ear. She immediately loosened her grip on the collar of Ariana's gown, which she was helping to adjust.

Then, Ariana walked over to where Brian was.

Brian did not turn his gaze to Ariana. His bodyguard tactfully blocked Ariana's path. "Ms. Torrey, Mr. Lodge is a little busy. I'm afraid he won't be able to see you now."

Ariana replied, "I have something important to talk to him about."

"Mr. Lodge has to greet the guests. I'm afraid he's not free." There was a flash of annoyance in the bodyguard's eyes.

Ariana noticed the bodyguard's attitude toward her.

It was understandable. At the moment, people knew her as a woman who only had eyes for Brian and kept following him around.

Brian must have grown extremely annoyed with her. Otherwise, his bodyguard could not possibly dare speak to Ariana in this manner.

"Brian and I will be officially engaged after tonight. Have you not thought about the consequences of speaking to the future Mrs. Lodge in that manner?"

The bodyguard found it absurd for Ariana to consider herself the future Mrs. Lodge. "Ms. Torrey, what we're having here today is an engagement party. Even if it's a wedding ceremony, I have to carry out my duties as per instructions.

"Mr. Lodge is not free if he says he's not free. I think you should not waste your energy and just head back to your seat. Please don't cause us more trouble."

"Cause them trouble? So, Brian has always considered me a trouble," Ariana pondered.

"What if I insist on seeing him now?"

"Ms. Torrey, must you cause a scene and make a fool of yourself now?"

For the past three months, Ariana had made every desperate attempt to pursue Brian.

She would have breakfast delivered to Brian's office in the morning, but Brian would toss the food away without even checking its content.

In the afternoon, Ariana would try to visit Brian at his company. Yet, Brian had not once let her into his office.

Ariana would even wait for Brian to get off work outside the office building in the evening. However, Brian would rather work overtime than see Ariana's face for once.

Brian's subordinates who were perceptive enough could obviously tell that Brian despised Ariana. Yet, Ariana seemed completely oblivious to the reality of her situation.

There was no way someone like her would become the future Mrs. Lodge. Even today's engagement party was held because Belinda had pressured Brian into doing it.

For the bodyguard and his colleagues, Evelyn was the only person they had acknowledged as the future Mrs. Lodge.

The bodyguard thought that Ariana would just accept being brushed off again like the pushover she had always been since she fell silent. He said, "I'll have to escort you away by force if you don't leave now, Ms. Torrey."

Ariana would lose face if she were to be escorted away by force during the engagement party.

Usually, Ariana would walk away quietly after hearing that.

However, she snickered this time. "Are all the bodyguards working for Brian this rude and ill-mannered?"

The bodyguard was momentarily stunned.

"I may not be the official Mrs. Lodge yet, but I am a lady of the Torrey family. Even Brian Lodge wouldn't dare stand before me and speak to me like that. Yet, you, a mere bodyguard, threatened to escort me away by force? I'm impressed by the way the Lodges do things."

The bodyguard's expression hardened. Even though Ariana had not married into the Lodge family, she was indeed the lady of the Torrey family.

"Ms. Torrey… That's not what I meant…" The bodyguard's smile faltered. Even his attitude was less severe and critical.

Ariana had not once spoken to them in a harsh tone since she wanted to maintain a gentle image in front of Brian. The bodyguard never expected Ariana, who used to be a pushover, to have such a sharp tongue today.

"It seems the Lodges aren't that sincere about becoming in-laws with the Torreys. We should just call off the engagement, then."

As soon as she said that, Ariana heard the sound of someone clapping their hands.

She had no idea how long the man had been listening to their conversation. When Brian came up to her, he cast a glance at Ariana's empty hands. Then, he said in a mocking tone, "Ariana Torrey, are you finally going to stop pretending?"

He thought that Ariana would actually dive into the pool to retrieve the ring. Yet, it turned out she was only pretending to.

For the last three months, Ariana had been acting like a pure, innocent lady in front of Brian when she was deep down a rude and arrogant person. Brian felt like he had learned a new side of her after listening to her words from earlier.

Ariana fixed her gaze on Brian. This time, she did not miss the look of scorn and disgust in Brian's eyes.

In her previous life, Ariana had foolishly given her heart to Brian.

For him, she tried her best to learn how to become a good wife and a good mother. Ariana also did everything she could to help with his company's affairs. In addition, she even helped with taking care of Belinda.

Ariana thought she could win Brian's heart by doing all those things.

Yet, she got abducted by Brian's enemy on her wedding day. Brian had even refused to pay five million dollars for the ransom.

She could not help but find it amusing.

Ariana had worked really hard to become the next Mrs. Lodge. However, all of her efforts turned out to be solely for her own satisfaction.

Ariana beamed at Brian. "That's right. I can't keep on with the pretense anymore. Let's break off the engagement. We're both quite busy, after all."