Chapter 4I Finally Let Go of My Lost Love

When my family went bankrupt, my mother had to sell her only family heirloom to pay off debts.

When she passed away, getting that emerald bracelet back became her dying wish.

When Chris found out, he pulled every string he had and spent a massive fortune to win it back for me.

Back then, I cried so hard I couldn't breathe. I told him I had no idea how I could ever repay him.

His voice was calm, but his eyes were overflowing with pure devotion. "Then just pay me back with yourself."

"Sundra, I want to marry you."

Using that emerald bracelet in place of a ring, he slipped my mother's legacy onto my wrist.

And now, he looked at me and said, "The only reason I gave this to you was because I was going to marry you. Now you want a divorce. You are no longer going to be my wife, so what right do you have to take it with you?"

"You don't seriously think a woman like you is worth five million dollars, do you?"

His brutal words smashed my pride into a million jagged pieces.

I swallowed the heavy, agonizing lump in my throat.

"Five million. I will find a way to get the money and pay you back..."

"I don't need your money!" Chris roared, cutting me off. "Sundra, do you think I give a damn about the money?"

"...You are the one who is throwing this family away. You are throwing everything away. So I am going to save this bracelet for a woman who actually wants to be my wife."

He grabbed Lily's wrist and brutally shoved the emerald bracelet onto her arm.

Just like he did when he asked me to marry him six years ago.

Lily turned her head slightly. Where Chris couldn't see, she looked me dead in the eye and mouthed the words:

[Dead people's jewelry. Gross.]

A violent surge of adrenaline exploded in my chest. I lunged forward, desperately clawing at her arm to get it back.

"If you think it's gross, then give it back to me!"

The second my fingers grazed Lily's skin, she let out an ear-piercing shriek and threw herself backward onto the marble tiles.

Her wrist slammed against the hard floor. The fragile, century-old emerald hit the stone and shattered into several jagged pieces.

My mind went completely blank. Chris froze, just as stunned.

Lily held up her slightly scraped arm, sobbing hysterically.

"Chris... it hurts so much..."

Chris snapped out of his daze and violently shoved me backward.

"Sundra, you are insane! That was your mother's dying wish, and you destroyed it just because you wanted to hurt Lily!"

I crashed heavily onto the floor. The violent impact sent a bizarre, sharp cramp tearing through my lower abdomen.

Trembling, I fought through the pain to explain. "I didn't push her. Lily threw herself backward on purpose to break the bracelet..."

"Shut up!" The veins in Chris's neck bulged. "You act like a lunatic, and then you try to frame Lily. If you hadn't attacked her like a rabid dog, the bracelet wouldn't be..."

A flash of pure terror crossed his eyes. At the same moment, his thoughts crashed into my head.

[What do I do? The only thing my wife cared about is broken.]

[I don't have a single way to make her stay anymore.]

[No... I refuse to just stand here and watch my wife walk away.]

Before I could process his thoughts, Chris grabbed me by the shoulders and dragged me off the floor.

I was completely disoriented. He hauled me down the hall and violently shoved me into the dark, windowless wine cellar.

"You hurt Lily, and you are clearly out of your mind. You are going to stay locked in here for a day until you calm down."

The cramping in my stomach suddenly escalated into an excruciating, twisting agony.

I felt a warm stream of blood seeping between my thighs. Pure, unadulterated panic swallowed me whole.