My personal maid was kneeling beside the bed crying so hard her shoulders shook.
“Oh my God! Thank God...” she sobbed. “How could Mr. Moretti treat you this way after everything? After Kyle and Cora...”
I turned my face away quietly. My head hurt. My chest hurt worse.
The entire mansion felt empty even though it was worth hundreds of millions.
My maid kept talking angrily through tears. “He’s gone too far this time. Burning their ashes? Letting that woman humiliate you? If your mother was alive, she’d be heartbroken seeing this...”
“Enough,” I whispered weakly. “Please. I just wanna be alone.”
She hesitated before finally leaving.
The room turned silent, and the second the door closed, tears started falling again. I cried quietly into my pillow because I was too exhausted to even make a sound anymore.
How pathetic had I become?
I used to be Lorraine Sinclair. Daughter of one of the most powerful families in the country. Now I was just the wife everybody pitied. The wife whose husband openly paraded his mistress around like a prize.
After a while, I slowly reached for my phone on the bedside table and stared at one particular number saved there. The emergency number my father gave me years ago.
He once told me quietly, “No matter how many decades pass, if you call this number, someone from the Sinclair family will answer.”
My fingers trembled as I pressed dial it. The call connected almost instantly.
“Miss Lorraine.”
Just hearing that voice shattered something inside me all over again.
“I wanna leave,” I whispered. My voice trembled violently. “I wanna disappear from this place.”
The man on the other end immediately went silent.
I wiped my tears slowly and forced the words out.
“Help me fake my death.”
The line became completely still for two seconds then his voice came calm and firm.
“It’ll be done.”
“How long?”
“eleven days,” he answered quietly. “Give me eleven days and everything will be ready.”
I looked toward the giant glass windows overlooking the city skyline. The moonlight looked so cold tonight just like Xander.
A broken laugh escaped my lips.
“Xander,” I whispered softly to myself, “if you stopped loving me... then I’ll leave you first.”
Because I couldn’t survive this anymore. I couldn’t survive watching him destroy me piece by piece.
...
The next morning, Xander came to my room like nothing had happened.
Several staff members followed behind him carrying expensive gift boxes from luxury brands. Diamonds. Rare jewelry. Designer bags. Limited edition watches.
The usual things he threw at me whenever he wanted to shut me up.
“Lory,” he said calmly while loosening his tie, “about yesterday... yeah, shit got messy.”
Messy? Was that what he called it now?
He waved a hand toward the gifts. “I had the guys bring you some things. Pick whatever you want.”
I stared at him silently. There was nothing left inside me anymore.
“I don’t want any of it.”
His brows pulled together immediately. “Don’t fucking start acting difficult again.”
Again?
That word hurt.
Xander sighed heavily and sat down on the couch.
“I’m busy as hell, Lorraine. I don’t have time to keep calming you down every five fucking minutes.”
My chest tightened painfully.
I remembered years ago when he canceled a billion dollar meeting in Tokyo because I got upset he came home late for our anniversary dinner.
Back then he held me all night and said, “Baby, nothing matters more than you.”
Now he couldn’t even pretend to care.
I opened my mouth to speak but suddenly loud footsteps interrupted us.
“I don’t want this crap! Xander! I hate these!”
Claudia stormed into the room carrying several expensive boxes before throwing them onto the floor dramatically.
The staff looked terrified but Xander just smiled.
“What now?” he asked gently. “You don’t like those either?”
“No,” Claudia huffed while crossing her arms. “You can’t just buy me off every time.”
There was teasing in her voice. Xander chuckled softly under his breath.
“Alright then, baby. Tell me what you want and I’ll get it.”
I stared at him quietly. So he still knew how to be patient. Still knew how to spoil someone gently.
It just wasn’t me anymore.
Then Claudia’s eyes suddenly landed on my wrist.
“Oh.” Her face lit up instantly. “That bracelet’s pretty.”
My entire body stiffened. Instinctively, I covered it with my hand.
“No.” My voice came out too fast. Too desperate.
“You can’t have this.”
The silver bracelet around my wrist was old and delicate, engraved with tiny family initials.
My mother gave it to me before she died. Before Kyle and Cora were even born. It had been passed down from mother to daughter in my family for generations. It was the only thing left that still made me feel connected to home.
Xander frowned immediately. “It’s just a bracelet.”
“No... It’s not just a bracelet.”
Claudia pouted dramatically. “But I like it. Xander, do something!”
Xander looked annoyed now. “For fuck’s sake, Lorraine. Just give it to her.”
I stared at him like he slapped me.
“I’ll buy you ten better ones,” he continued impatiently. “Custom made if you want. Diamonds, platinum, whatever.”
Tears filled my eyes instantly. He didn’t remember. Of course he didn’t.
“Do you even know what this bracelet is?” I whispered.
Xander answered casually, “Your mother gave it to you before she died. Some old family heirloom shit.”
That was it.
Not the bracelet my mother kissed onto my wrist while telling me to stay strong no matter what happened. Not the bracelet she wore while raising me. Not the bracelet meant to be passed down to my daughter someday.
Just some old family heirloom shit.
Something inside me went cold. Didn’t he once hold this bracelet in his hands and tell me he’d protect it forever because it was part of me? How could someone forget love this easily?
“It’s been years, Lory,” Xander said flatly. “You need to let go of the past. Lol.”
Then before I could react, he grabbed my wrist hard and ripped the bracelet off.
“Ah!” The sharp metal scraped my skin painfully. A red mark instantly appeared around my wrist.
I gasped and clutched my arm while tears burned my eyes. “Xander!” My voice shook. “Please...”
But he already handed it to Claudia. She held the bracelet up under the light, smiling happily. “It’s actually really pretty, baby! I like it.”
Xander leaned closer to her with that low dangerous voice that used to belong only to me. “If we ever have a daughter,” he murmured softly, “I’ll buy you something even better.”
My heart stopped. For a second, I genuinely thought I heard wrong.
A daughter?
Claudia’s face turned red instantly.
“Who said I wanna have your babies?” she laughed while lightly hitting his chest.
Xander smirked and grabbed her waist. “Yeah? Keep talking shit.”
She squealed and ran out of the room laughing while he followed after her like nothing else in the world mattered.
I forced myself off the bed and stumbled after him weakly.
“Xander... you promised me.” Tears finally spilled uncontrollably down my face. “You said you’d love me forever...”
But he was already gone and I collapsed onto the floor shaking.
