My hands shook as I wound the gauze around my thigh, wrapping it again and again until the sharp sting faded into a dull, pulsing ache.
When I finally finished, I lifted my eyes to the mirror. The emerald necklace still hung at my collarbone, glittering cruelly against skin that had cried itself raw. My eyes were swollen, my lashes clumped with dried tears, and my leg was buried beneath layers of white cloth—like a secret I could never truly cover.
In that moment, the truth settled over me with terrifying clarity.
I couldn’t stay here any longer.
I pushed myself upright, ignoring the protest in my muscles, and walked straight to the closet. There were no tears this time. I dragged my suitcases out and began filling them without hesitation. Then I gathered everything else—the letters he once wrote, the photos of our happier days, the tiny mementos I had guarded like treasures—and dumped them in a heap on the floor.
Instead of boxing them up like before, I lit a match.
The fire swallowed our past in seconds, ink bleeding into ash, paper curling into nothingness.
I was finished.
But just as I lifted my luggage, the front door flew open.
Dorian stormed in, eyes darting between the charred remains on the carpet and the row of packed suitcases at my feet.
“What the hell happened here?” he barked. “Why are our things burned? What are you packing for? And why does it smell like smoke in here?”
I looked at him calmly. “I donated them.”
His brows drew together. “Donated? And the bags? Where are you planning to go?”
“A vacation,” I said faintly.
“A vacation?” he repeated sharply. “Our wedding is around the corner and you’re talking about trips without telling me? Is this because of yesterday? Camille, I already apologized.”
Sorry. That word again.
He raked a hand through his hair and started pacing. “You know her family is backing the merger. I couldn’t embarrass her—if she loses face, the deal collapses. I’m doing this for our future. For us.”
My gaze drifted to his legs—the same ones that once knelt before me when he had nothing but broken promises and hope in his eyes.
Now they had walked me straight into heartbreak.
“Please,” he said more gently, reaching for my fingers. “Just give me a little more time. Once this is over, I’ll put you first. I swear.”
I couldn’t speak. My chest felt packed with stones.
Then his eyes fell to my bare hand. “Where’s your ring?”
I stiffened. “I took it off. It doesn’t feel right anymore.”
Something unreadable crossed his face before he pulled me into a hollow hug. “We’ll go to the auction tomorrow. I’ll buy you a better one. Whatever you like.”
I nodded, numb. Just a few more days.
That night, I opened my bank app.
A new transaction glowed on the screen—twenty million dollars.
From Vivienne.
The bargain was complete.
The next morning, I stepped outside and froze. Yvette was already seated beside Dorian in the front of his car.
“Oh—sorry,” she said lightly. “His mother insisted I tag along today. She said I’d be more suitable for something like this. You’ve never been to an auction before, right?”
Dorian met my eyes in the mirror. “It’s business again. Don’t overthink it.”
So I climbed into the back seat, staring out the tinted window. I remembered how Dorian once dreamed about buying us a tiny car. We’ll drive everywhere together, he had said, smiling like the future was ours.
That future had vanished.
At the venue, cameras flashed endlessly. Dorian and Yvette stood close, laughing easily, looking every bit the perfect couple. Reporters whispered their names with awe.
When someone asked who I was, Dorian replied smoothly, “Just a friend.”
The words tore straight through me.
Later, Yvette leaned toward me and murmured, “See? You were never meant to be here.”
I clenched my dress so tightly my nails bit into my skin.
Eventually, I stood, intending to leave quietly—but something on display stopped me cold.
A gold locket.
It lay on velvet, glowing softly under the lights. It was identical to my grandmother’s—the one I sold long ago to pay for Dorian’s medical bills.
He had once sworn to buy it back for me.
Trembling, I reached out—
“Thief!” a woman suddenly screamed, shoving me. “She’s stealing!”
