She shot upright in bed, urgently pressing for details. But the caller’s answers were vague—advising only that she quickly find a lawyer or prepare money for bail negotiations.
Elena steadied herself, hung up, and counted the cash she had. Only about fifty thousand remained.
In the years of her marriage to Adrian, he had seemed attentive in every way—constantly gifting her jewelry, clothes, and luxuries so she never had to worry about material needs.
But now, thinking back, he had never given her any actual financial control. She had no idea about his salary, their savings, or Shaw Corporation’s operations. Her daily expenses came only from her own hospital salary.
She had even used much of her earnings to buy reciprocal gifts for Adrian. Though her gifts were modest compared to his, they at least carried sincerity. Yet those tokens always ended up shoved aside, forgotten.
Now, desperate, Elena gathered all of Adrian’s past gifts and took them to a luxury resale boutique, hoping to sell them. But after a glance, the manager’s expression turned awkward.
“Sorry, ma’am. These are all just accessory pieces—we can’t take them.”
Elena’s fingers trembled. She had suspected as much.
Lowering her gaze, she asked evenly, “Could you at least tell me where the genuine pieces are?”
The manager, seasoned from years of clientele, gave a practiced smile.
“I’m afraid that’s private client information. We can’t disclose it.”
The harsh light glared across the glass counter, stabbing at her eyes. Elena swayed slightly, dizzy. Still, she managed to ask,
“Then… what collection do these belong to?”
“These are from our Summer Limited ‘Stars & Moon’ series,” the manager explained with enthusiasm. “The highlight is the ‘Moon & Stars’ necklace, featuring a 5.21-carat pink diamond symbolizing ‘I love you.’ The necklace you brought in is ‘Starlight,’ meant to accompany the Moon & Stars piece—together, a romantic blessing.”
He continued describing the other items, his words blurring into meaningless noise as Elena’s ears rang. The voices around her felt muffled, yet deafening, filling her skull.
“Mr. Shaw must adore her… to gift jewelry worth tens of millions so casually…”
So it was true. Adrian valued Vivian Cole far more than she ever imagined—while degrading Elena in ways she hadn’t even realized.
Staggering, she left the counter and went home, only to find Adrian walking quickly toward her.
“Elena, where did you go?” he asked, though his eyes darted nervously to the boxes in her hands.
Feigning calm, he pressed, “Why did you take so many pieces of jewelry out?”
Elena steadied her gaze on him.
“You look… nervous.”
His pupils shrank, then he forced a smile.
“Of course I am. These pieces mark our love. If they got lost, even buying them again wouldn’t be the same.”
He pulled her into his arms, voice soft, almost playful.
“Don’t you care about them too?”
So close, his warm breath dampened her neck—sticky, suffocating, making her stomach turn.
Without a flinch, she eased away.
“I thought about donating them for charity, but the staff told me they’re all fakes.”
“Adrian, how do you explain that?”
His grip tightened, then he scowled.
“Impossible. I bought these myself. They must’ve lied, trying to trick you. Forget the donation—I’ll handle it. You just keep wearing them.”
He brightened suddenly.
“By the way, I noticed your neck was bare. Tomorrow, I’ll buy you a new necklace.”
His obsidian eyes sparkled with devotion, as though she was his entire world.
Once, Elena would have felt blessed. Now she felt only cold irony.
A new necklace? No doubt just another “accessory.”
“…Fine,” she murmured, expression flat as she lowered her gaze.
With no money from reselling jewelry, Elena had to find another way.
Since the Carter family’s downfall, her so-called friends had scattered. Years of Adrian’s manipulation had further cut her off from outside contacts. She had no one to turn to.
She tried asking colleagues at Memorial Hospital for loans, but the amount scared them off. Only one fellow doctor she was close to transferred her twenty thousand.
“I don’t have much either, but take this for now. If it’s not enough, I’ll think of something else.”
