Chapter 1

The roar of the crowd was a distant hum, a muffled wave of sound that couldn't penetrate the thick backstage door.

I stood there, holding a small, velvet-wrapped box. Inside was a necklace I had commissioned months ago, a custom piece called "Starry Night," with diamonds and sapphires arranged to look like the sky on the night I first met Chloe.

I had flown five hours cross-country, skipping a crucial investor meeting for my company, Apex Innovations, just to be here. To surprise her. Chloe Davis, my girlfriend, was in the national dance competition finals. I wanted to see her face when she won, to be the first person she hugged.

Her voice, clear and musical, drifted through the slightly ajar door of her dressing room. She was talking to the host of the event, a man with a booming, artificial television voice.

"Chloe, you're a true artist," the host said. "And I hear you have quite a few admirers. That tech CEO, Ethan Miller, he seems very dedicated to you."

A small, dismissive laugh from Chloe.

"Ethan? He's just a suitor, one of many."

The words floated out of the room and hung in the air. Suitor. Not 'boyfriend'. Not 'my love'. Just a suitor.

My hand tightened on the velvet box.

"He's very generous, though," the host pressed. "We've all seen the press. The cars, the gifts..."

"Some people just have more money than sense," Chloe replied, her tone light and airy. "Honestly, I think he's just trying to buy his way into a world he doesn't belong in. A bit of a gold-digger, you could say, just for status instead of money."

Gold-digger.

The word hit me with physical force. My fingers went numb. The velvet box slipped, hitting the concrete floor with a dull, heavy thud. It didn't bounce. It just lay there, a dead weight.

Inside the room, they didn't seem to notice.

"Well, true connection is what matters," the host agreed, shifting his tone. "The meeting of minds."

"Exactly," Chloe's voice was firm now, full of conviction. "That's why I value spiritual connection so much more. All the money in the world can't buy a shared soul. It can't buy genuine talent or understanding."

My own soul felt like it had just been torn in half. I could almost hear the sound of it ripping, a quiet, devastating noise that was louder than the cheering from the auditorium.

I stared at the closed door. Behind it was Chloe Davis, the woman I loved. The woman who was, in my mind, a celestial being. She was a principal dancer, her movements on stage like poetry. She came from a family of academics and artists, carrying an air of grace and sophistication that I always felt I lacked. She was beautiful, talented, and everyone adored her.

And me? I was just Ethan Miller. I grew up in a small town with nothing. I wasn't sophisticated. I didn't know about art or classical music. My world was code, servers, and market projections. I was pragmatic, hardworking, and according to the woman I loved, a gold-digger trying to buy his way in.

The realization settled deep in my bones, cold and sharp. All this time, I thought I was building a future with her.

It turned out I was just funding her present.