Tonight was Christmas Eve. Luna Whitfield had rushed back from the UK just for one thing—to give her boyfriend a huge surprise. On the phone, Sebastian Langley had told her that once she got back, he had something very important to tell her. Luna had been secretly buzzing the whole way home, wondering if maybe, just maybe, Sebastian was finally going to propose.

At eleven-thirty, she showed up at his door right on time, carrying all that sweetness and excitement in her chest. In the fancy gift bag in her hand was a scarf she had knitted for him herself, stitch by stitch. She was just about to take out her key when she glanced down and noticed the door was slightly open.

A strange feeling crept up in her chest. She slowly pushed the door open. Rose petals were scattered all over the floor, and a candlelit dinner had already been set. Then from the upstairs bedroom came sounds that instantly felt wrong. Luna froze for a second, then followed the noise upstairs. Before she even reached the top, she heard a woman’s voice—one she knew all too well.

A terrible thought flashed through her mind. She almost rejected it on instinct. No way. This was Sebastian. Her Sebastian. Anyone else in the world might do something like this, but not him. Never him.

But when she reached the second floor and saw the clothes scattered across the hallway—the suit, the tie, the short skirt, the red high heels...

Her breathing stopped. Her legs felt so heavy it was like they’d been filled with concrete. She forced herself forward, step by step, until she reached the bedroom door. Through the half-open doorway, the woman inside was not a stranger.

It was her dear cousin, Serena Whitfield.

“Babe, has Luna really not been able to satisfy you all these seven years? You’re seriously amazing.”

“Guess I still haven’t worked hard enough if you’re thinking about other things. Hah.”

“So this is the important thing you wanted to tell me, right, Sebastian?” Luna stood at the doorway, and just being there already made her stomach churn. If she took even one more step inside, she felt like she’d throw up.

Sebastian’s body stiffened. He turned around sharply, and when he saw Luna standing there, surprise flashed across his face. But it vanished fast. He got out of bed calmly, grabbed some clothes, and threw them on like nothing had happened.

“Don’t you have anything to explain?” Even now, there was still the tiniest scrap of hope in Luna’s heart. She wanted him to say this was all fake, that it wasn’t what she thought, that this wasn’t what he wanted.

“Explain what? You already saw it, didn’t you? We’ve been together for seven years. I’m a normal man. Serena understands men way better than you do—she knows how to make a man happy.” As he said it, he pulled Serena into his arms and gently kissed her on the cheek.

That scene hit Luna like a blade straight to the chest. It hurt so much she could barely breathe. Even inhaling felt sharp and raw.

The moment Sebastian straightened up, Luna lifted her hand and slapped him hard across the face.

“That slap is for you.” Her heart hurt so badly it felt like it was being torn open. She lifted her chin and stared at the ceiling, forcing the tears back with everything she had.

She was Luna Whitfield. How could she cry in front of this cheating scumbag and this shameless woman? That would be an insult to herself.

Sebastian let out a cold laugh. “Are you done making a scene? If you are, then get out.”

Luna stared at him in disbelief. He was actually telling her to leave. Every single thing in this place had been chosen by her, piece by piece, for him. And now it had turned into a love nest for him and someone else.

“Sebastian told you to leave, so just go already,” Serena said smugly. “You were never his type anyway.”

“Oh, you want me gone?” Luna let out a short laugh, her eyes turning icy in an instant. “Fine...” Then she suddenly raised her hand and slapped Serena across the face too. If she just walked away now, wouldn’t that be letting this bitch off way too easy?

She had never, not even for a second, imagined her own cousin could be this shameless. How was she supposed to swallow something like this?

"Are you done acting crazy yet?" Luna Whitfield raised her hand, wanting to slap him again, but Sebastian Langley caught her wrist and shoved her aside.

She fell hard onto the floor, palms stinging, and looked up at the man she had loved with all her heart. And right now, the only person he cared about was the woman in his arms.

Serena Whitfield leaned against Sebastian with that weak, pitiful look, eyes wet and misty, one hand covering her cheek as she sobbed softly. Sebastian's brows were locked tight as he glared at Luna.

"Heh." Luna let out a cold laugh, pushed herself up from the floor, and bent to pick up the gift bag that had fallen nearby. "You know what this is? Your New Year's gift. I stayed up late for nights getting it ready for you. But now? You don't deserve it. Just take it as me, Luna Whitfield, being blind as hell..."

Her fingers tightened around the lighter. With one flick, the paper bag caught fire. She stood there watching the flames crawl up little by little, and along with it, the last bit of love in her heart burned away too.

The next second, she tossed the burning bag onto the bed, turned around, and walked out without a single glance back.

Behind her came a woman's panicked scream and a man's furious cursing, but Luna didn't stop, didn't care, didn't even turn around.

The wind outside was viciously cold tonight, so cold it made her eyes water. Luna gave a small laugh, wiped the tears off her face, dragged her suitcase forward, and pulled out her phone from her pocket.

"Where are you? Come drink with me. Same old place. I'll wait for you there." Luna hung up and got into a cab.

Neon lights flashed. Music pounded. The whole place was loud enough to shake a person's skull. Luna shoved her suitcase to one side and kept pouring drinks into herself one glass after another. At this point, she had no clue how much she'd already had.

This was the bar she used to come to with her best friend, Chloe Thornton. Honestly, with her current washed-up rich-girl status, a place like this was way out of her budget. Every single time, Chloe was the one paying, and she never let Luna argue about it.

Tonight was Christmas Eve. Everywhere was packed with joy and noise. It had just passed midnight, and the night's madness was only getting started. The more she watched the smiling faces around her, the worse her chest hurt.

This year's Christmas Eve really was one for the books.

By the time Chloe rushed over, Luna had already drunk a lot.

"Little Bai, what happened?" Chloe was the only one who called her that. At first Luna hated it. Thought it sounded like a dog's name. But after hearing it so many times, she'd gotten used to it.

"Heh! Chloe... hic... you're here. Good. Lemme tell you something. Guess what I saw when I went to find Sebastian just now?" Luna grabbed Chloe's hand, her eyes red, her voice shaking. "I saw that bastard sleeping with Serena Whitfield. Seriously. Tell me, am I an idiot? Chloe, tell me, am I the dumbest, stupidest woman on earth? Actually... it doesn't even hurt as much as I thought it would. I just feel stupid. So stupid. Come on, let's drink to it. Congrats to me for finally seeing what a total scumbag he is. Heh..."

Holding onto Chloe's arm, Luna shouted almost hysterically, then suddenly laughed like she'd lost it. Her voice was quickly swallowed up by the blasting music around them. Even she couldn't tell anymore if she was crying inside or laughing at herself.

She just wanted to forget. Forget all of it. Just for tonight. After tonight, she would still be the same Luna Whitfield as before—the tough one, the one who could stand back up.

There was nothing in this world that could crush her.

Nothing.