The next day, Adrian wrapped his arms around me from behind, just as he always did, resting his chin on the top of my head.
"Today is our third wedding anniversary. I cleared my entire schedule so I could spend the day with you."
His voice was as gentle as ever.
Without changing my expression, I eased him away from me, but I didn't refuse.
I had already asked a lawyer to draft the divorce papers.
This would be the last anniversary we ever spent together. I might as well treat it like one final meal before the end.
And before I left, I didn't want any unnecessary complications.
That evening, I walked into the auction hall with my arm linked through Adrian's.
I still wore the same heavy bangs hiding my eyes, the freckles painted across my face, and a dark dress that didn't fit properly. Standing beside Adrian, polished and commanding as ever, I looked like a shabby country girl who didn't belong there.
The looks cast my way by the socialites around us were openly scornful and mocking.
As always, Adrian clasped my hand tightly and murmured, "Don't mind them. You're my wife."
Before yesterday, that would have moved me beyond words.
Now, all it did was make me sick.
Who was this loving performance really for?
Was it meant as compensation for the tool he had used? Or was it meant to keep me docile, so I would stay obediently by his side and go on serving as a shield for him and Vivian?
Keeping my face blank, I flipped through the auction catalog until my eyes landed on a blue diamond brooch called "Heart of the Deep".
The designer had drawn inspiration from a shipwreck. It was meant to symbolize a love forgotten at the bottom of the sea.
"I want that one," I said.
The opening bid was 20 million dollars.
Without the slightest hesitation, Adrian lifted his paddle.
"30 million."
"40 million."
The price kept climbing.
The wealthy women around us leaned toward one another, whispering with poorly hidden envy.
"Mr. Blackwood really knows how to spend."
"Looking like that and still being spoiled this much... she really is lucky."
"He married her despite everyone's objections. That has to be true love."
The bidding was closing in on 60 million dollars, and no one else in the room followed. The auctioneer raised the hammer, ready to bring it down.
Then a clear female voice rang out from the back.
"80 million."
The entire room erupted.
Countless heads turned at once, all eyes locking onto the woman in the white dress. She wore no visible makeup, yet she was breathtakingly beautiful all the same.
The moment I saw her face, my whole body went rigid.
It was Vivian.
What was she doing here?
Hadn't Adrian kept her hidden away, never letting her appear in public?
If she could step openly into the spotlight now, did that mean even my last bit of value as his shield was gone?
Whispers rose all around me.
"Who is that? She's actually daring to bid against Mrs. Blackwood?"
"I've never seen her before. Which family is she from?"
"She's got nerve. Mr. Blackwood is famous for protecting his own. If she's crossed him, she's in trouble."
Everyone was waiting for Adrian to lose his temper and crush her with an even higher bid.
I stared at Adrian too. At least on the surface, I was still his wife...
But Adrian calmly set his paddle down.
Leaning closer, he explained in that same gentle voice, "Serena, this brooch is too elaborate. It doesn't really suit you. There's a ruby set coming up later. It'll flatter your complexion much better."
My grip tightened around the auction catalog, a bitter weight settling in my chest.
Of course. The moment Vivian appeared, I already knew that brooch would never be mine.
How ridiculous that I had still let myself hope.
The second Adrian lowered his paddle, Vivian smiled with open satisfaction. She lifted a familiar black card in her hand and signaled for the auctioneer to charge it.
After a stunned silence fell over the room, quiet snickers began to spread.
No one dared laugh outright, but their expressions said it plainly enough. Even Adrian's devotion, apparently, had its limits.
I looked at that tender, affectionate face of his, and bile rose in my throat. He really had gone to great lengths. His performance was flawless.
I said nothing, my gaze shifting between Adrian and Vivian.
Though they were seated more than a dozen rows apart, their eyes met all the same.
One was restrained, holding himself back. The other wore the spoiled confidence of someone dearly cherished.
The auction came to an end.
In the reception area, Vivian approached us directly, a glass of champagne in her hand.
"Mrs. Blackwood, I'm so sorry. I hate to take something you wanted." She gave the velvet box in her hand a little shake, her voice sweet and delicate. "But my husband adores me. He says if I like something, I can buy it without a second thought. A woman should be spoiled a little, don't you think?"
With such open provocation, everyone assumed Adrian would finally lose his temper. After all, he was famous for doting on his wife.
They were all waiting to see Adrian throw this reckless girl out.
And yet Adrian only frowned and warned her, "That's enough."
Then he put an arm around me, as if intending to leave with me.
So he really did love her that much. He couldn't even bring himself to pretend to be harsh with her.
But I had no intention of letting him have his way.
I turned and stopped, meeting Vivian's smug gaze. "It is beautiful," I said softly. "But..."
In one swift motion, I snatched the box from her hands and took out the blue diamond brooch.
The perfectly cut stone threw off blinding flashes beneath the crystal lights.
Then I let go.
The outrageously expensive blue diamond struck the marble floor, split cleanly down the middle, and lost all its brilliance.
Sharp gasps rippled through the room.
"Oh no, how clumsy of me." I dusted off my hands, glanced at the shattered diamond on the floor, then at Vivian's bloodless face. "The quality's not all that impressive, is it? Eighty million dollars for something this fragile? What a waste. But I'm sure your husband adores you enough to buy you another one, Miss Mercer, right? It's not like swiping the card hurts."
Vivian trembled with rage.
Adrian stepped forward and snapped at me under his breath, "Serena, stop this. If you damage someone else's property, you pay for it."
Pay for it? Using money from his primary card to cover a purchase made on his secondary one?
I ignored him and turned to walk out.
"Serena, stop right there!" Still unwilling to let it go, Vivian chased after me and blocked my path in the hallway.
"Who the hell do you think you are? Do you even know who I am?" she shouted, jabbing a finger in my face.
"A hidden little mistress, isn't that all?" I said evenly.
She looked surprised for a moment, then sneered. "So you know about me and Adrian? And you still dare act up in front of me? You're nothing but an ugly, stupid stand-in."
A stand-in. Those words drove straight into my chest.
Seeing the color drain from my face only made her more smug. "You think Adrian actually loves you? Dream on. You're just a shield. Even touching you disgusts him."
That was the sentence that finally set off all the rage I had been suppressing.
I raised my hand and slapped her across the face. With a cold laugh, I said, "Stand-in or not, I've still been publicly acknowledged as Mrs. Blackwood for three years. And you? You've never even been acknowledged in public at all, have you?"
"Serena, you slapped me?"
Vivian was stunned by the blow. When she finally came to herself, she lunged at me like a madwoman.
In the middle of the struggle, neither of us noticed the black sedan out of control in the distance, barreling straight toward us.
"Watch out!" a man's voice shouted from behind us, tight with panic.
We whipped around, only to find the car already almost on us.
The fear of death swallowed me whole in an instant.
And in that split second, I saw Adrian running toward us.
Without the slightest hesitation, he threw himself toward Vivian, wrapped his body around hers, and dragged her out of the way.
And I was hit full-on by the car and thrown onto the freezing pavement.
Agonizing pain tore through my leg, but I barely felt it.
I only stared into the distance, where Adrian was frantically checking Vivian over, asking again and again, "Vivian, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
He never even turned around to look at me.
In that moment, whatever love I had left, whatever pathetic hope I had still been clinging to, was crushed to pieces and vanished completely.
