Zachary instantly frowned when he heard that.
Meanwhile, tears were already glistening in Lucine's eyes.
"Selena, please don't be upset. I'll give you the necklace. I don't want our relationship to sour because of this."
As she spoke, Lucine made as if to take off the necklace. However, she had only just touched the clasp when Zachary stopped her.
"This is my gift to you. You don't have to take it off."
He then shot an icy glare at Selena. "Lucine was lost out there for 20 years and is used to being timid, so stop throwing a tantrum. You're well aware she values family more than anything, yet you're still treating her like this. You—"
"Are you done?" Selena interrupted him. "If you are, I'm leaving. I don't have time to see you two acting all lovey-dovey."
A hint of panic instantly surfaced on Zachary's face. He hurriedly grabbed Selena's arm tightly.
"Selena, it's not like that between Lucy and me! How could you say that in public? Are you trying to falsely paint her as someone who interfered in her sister's relationship? How could she possibly withstand that accusation?"
Selena simply thought the anxious manner in which Zachary tried to explain himself was laughable.
"Did she not interfere?"
"Of course not!"
While answering, Zachary increased the force of his grip, causing Selena to gasp in pain. However, he didn't notice at all.
"You better not say such things again in public! This is the last time!"
With that, Zachary flung Selena's arm away before returning to Lucine's side, where he began gently comforting her.
He even picked out other expensive jewelry and thoughtfully put them on for her to try.
He would pay for anything that caught her fancy.
When Lucine smiled, Zachary did the same, his eyes filled with tenderness.
Selena let out a self-deprecating laugh at the sight. Just as she was about to leave, an announcement rang out in the mall, warning that the mall's roof was collapsing.
As the trio got ready to evacuate, the ceiling above them trembled as debris rained down on them.
In that critical moment when the ceiling was about to collapse on them, Lucine shoved Zachary out before yanking Selena to her side.
Zechary spun around, only to see a large chunk of debris crushing Lucine's leg. Blood trickled from the wound incessantly.
"Lucine, are you okay? How could you be so foolish? I should've been the one protecting you! Why did you push me away?"
Lucine put on a strained smile.
"I wasn't thinking. All I knew was that I didn't want you to get hurt."
Zachary's expression was filled with heartache for her. He moved the debris on her before lifting her into his arms.
"I'll take you to the hospital right away!"
As the two disappeared into the distance, Zachary completely forgot about Selena.
At that moment, Selena was nearly completely buried beneath the debris, with just some of her upper body peeking out.
She wanted to shout for help, but found that she couldn't make a sound.
The surrounding area was in chaos, so she could only rely on herself as she slowly crawled her way out from under the rubble.
Her body was covered in wounds and dust, causing intense pain to shoot through her with every movement she made.
The sharp corners of the debris sliced her skin, and the sight of her blood mixing with the rubble was gruesome.
Selena had only just dragged herself out from the rubble when she received two messages, one from Lucine and another from Zachary.
The one from Lucine was, "Selena, I won again this time."
Meanwhile, the one from Zachary read, "The mall collapsed, so I'm sending Lucine to the hospital. You should head home first."
He had overlooked her so completely that he didn't even realize she had been buried under the rubble, too.
