Vikki’s POV
The noise next door went on until three in the morning, keeping me wide awake and exhausted.
By dawn, my nerves were shot, and a sudden burst of shouting jolted me out of bed.
The door slammed open with a deafening bang. A small, round-faced child marched into my bedroom.
He started tugging at my hair and clothes, shouting, “Bad woman! You stole my daddy! I won’t let you! Get out of this house!”
I sat there, momentarily stunned.
I glanced out the window at the perfect pair outside. The memories of last night flashed through my mind, and something dark stirred inside me.
“Get out,” I said coldly. “Stop yelling in front of me. Your mommy and daddy won’t want you soon anyway—because they’ll be busy having new babies.”
The boy froze, then burst into tears, wailing at the top of his lungs.
“You’re a bad woman! I hate you!”
His cries quickly drew Tessa’s attention. She rushed into the room, scooping the child into her arms, cooing to comfort him while glaring at me.
“Gerard, Vikki’s gone too far this time! Taking it out on a kid? If she’s got a problem, she can come at me instead!”
And, as always, Gerard turned on me—furious, scolding me as if I’d committed some unforgivable sin.
“How could you fight a child? Didn’t I tell you before—no one can take your place as my wife? Why can’t you just listen? Sometimes I wonder if spending five million to marry you was even worth it.”
Before I could respond, he continued, his attention still fixed on Tessa and the boy.
“Acee likes cookies. Go bake him a few as an apology.”
I looked at the man standing before me, so tender and patient as he teased the child, and felt as though I was staring at a stranger.
“If you love that kid so much,” I said, “why don’t you bake the cookies yourself? Or does your love only ever stay in words?”
I had once asked him, more than once, if he wanted us to have a baby of our own. Every time, he refused.
Now, I understood—it wasn’t that he didn’t want a child. He just didn’t want me to be the one giving birth to them.
I got up, washed, and headed out.
Gerard glanced at me, assuming I’d gone to buy groceries, and said nothing.
It wasn’t until hours later, when I still hadn’t returned and the boy started crying from hunger, that Gerard finally lost his patience.
“Where the hell are you? Do you not think Acee’s starving? If you don’t come back soon, don’t bother stepping foot in this villa again. You’re unbelievably ungrateful!”
I ignored him completely.
Instead, I sat down with the divorce lawyer I had contacted, going over the agreement Gerard and I had signed in advance long ago.
As long as I submitted it to the county clerk’s office tomorrow morning, I’d have the divorce certificate.
“Vikki,” the lawyer said hesitantly, “this contract isn’t favorable to you at all. Are you sure you want to go through with the divorce?”
I didn’t answer. But I had never been more certain of anything in my life.
When I returned home, Tessa and Acee were gone.
Only Gerard remained, sitting on the couch, his expression clouded.
For the first time, he seemed to sense that something important was slipping away, and that he’d never get it back.
“You’re home,” he said. “Look—I bought you this bracelet. Do you like it? Don’t be mad anymore, alright? This was all part of my test for you. Once you’ve passed, we’ll finally be together forever.”
“Real love,” he added, “can withstand any test.”
Under the light, the sapphire bracelet gleamed with cold brilliance—luxurious and expensive.
But my heart felt like it had fallen into ice water.
I’d seen this exact bracelet on Tessa’s Instagram post yesterday: a comparison photo of a $1.50 knockoff and a $99,000 luxury piece.
She’d even captioned it. [Some people only deserve the cheap version.]
I hadn’t understood what she meant then.
I did now.
Maybe my expression gave me away because Gerard asked nervously.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”
I shook my head.
Then, he carefully clasped the bracelet around my wrist himself.
“See? It looks perfect on you. Anyway, Mom and Dad want us to come over for dinner. Go get ready. We’re heading to the old villa.”
For a brief moment, I froze.
So that was the point—the bracelet was just bait, a way to make me obedient, to make me go back to his parents’ place with him.
He must not want anyone there to find out about his affair with Tessa.
Too bad he’d forgotten—that place held nothing but painful memories for me.
Most of the time, I stayed as far away from it as possible.
