I had just reached out my hand.
Wendy let out a sudden shriek.
Her whole body tipped forward with the wheelchair, lurching violently toward me.
The knife edge swung straight at my face.
My heart seized and I stumbled back on instinct.
Abner was right beside me.
He let go of my hand almost reflexively and shoved me hard out of the way.
“Wendy, watch out!”
He lunged forward and pulled her tight against him, shielding her with his entire body.
That shove of his.
It snapped the heel clean off my shoe.
I lost my balance completely and crashed backward into the champagne tower.
“CRASH——”
Hundreds of glass flutes hit the floor and shattered.
Jagged shards drove deep into my palms and knees.
The entire hall went silent.
I lay sprawled in the wreckage, pain drilling through my palms.
Abner held Wendy tight and turned to glare at me.
Not a trace of concern in his eyes.
Only rage.
“Maud! What the hell is wrong with you!”
“You know her legs are bad! You can't even hold a knife steady and you nearly killed her in front of everyone!”
His voice rang brutal and sharp through the open hall.
I gritted my teeth and pulled the largest shard out of my palm.
Blood dripped onto the expensive carpet.
I braced against the floor and slowly stood.
My gaze locked on the red mark shifting across the back of Abner's neck.
“Abner.”
My voice came out dry and rough.
“The jade token you want. I put it in a bank vault before I left the house.”
His fury cut off mid-breath.
He froze for a beat.
His eyes darted, and his tone wrenched into something entirely different.
“Why would you put it in a bank……Maud, I wasn't yelling at you. I was just so worried about Wendy.”
He let go of Wendy, strode over, and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to press against my bleeding hand.
I turned my body aside and avoided his reach.
“Tomorrow.”
I stared at him. “Come to the bank tomorrow. I'll give it to you then.”
Something feverish and greedy flashed through the depths of his eyes.
“Good. I'll go with you myself.”
That night.
He came to my room carrying the first-aid kit, insisting on cleaning the cuts on my knees himself.
“Maud, today was my fault.”
He knelt on one knee in front of me, his hand wrapped around my calf.
“The moment I saw Wendy fall, all I could think of was the fire. How she broke her legs trying to save me.”
“I owe her my life. I can't not repay that.”
He looked up, his fingers tracing lightly over my ankle.
“Once the share transfer is done tomorrow, we'll go file for the marriage license.”
“Every day I have left after that is yours.”
I looked at his blurred face.
Listened to every word of that pretty little speech.
Then I jerked my leg free.
“No need. I'll put the medicine on myself.”
At the dinner table.
Abner had specifically ordered the kitchen to prepare a whole crispy fish—my favorite.
He picked out the bones with care.
I sat beside him, holding my chopsticks in silence.
Just as I thought he would place the fish in my bowl.
His chopsticks paused in midair.
Changed direction.
And set the fish down in Wendy's bowl.
“Wendy, eat more.”
He turned to me with a look that said I should understand.
“Maud, Wendy's been burning through a lot of energy with her physical therapy lately. She needs the nutrition.”
“You can pick out the bones yourself, right?”
Wendy pinched her chopsticks and deliberately let the couple's bracelet on her wrist catch the light, giving it a little shake.
Her voice dripped honey as she made a show of declining. “Abner, Maud hurt her hand. You should give it to her instead.”
