Chapter 2

Arden felt sick to her stomach. The next second, her phone rang. It was her mother, Katherine Bronson.

"Get back here. Now," Katherine said bluntly. She hung up right after.

Arden tightened her grip on the phone as she listened to the busy tone. As far as she could remember, Katherine had always been cold and indifferent to her.

She would stand above it all and demand that Arden get top grades, that she be obedient and sensible, that she give way to Irene in everything…

Arden once thought that was just what mothers were like. But Irene's birth had overturned everything she thought she knew.

It turned out Katherine could smile gently, too. Even when Irene made mistakes, she would just say lightly, "Don't do it again next time."

Arden hadn't understood why as a child. Only when she grew up did she realize it was nothing more than the difference between being loved and not being loved.

…

Arden returned home. As soon as she set foot inside, she saw Graham hovering at Irene's side.

She looked at Irene in her white dress, with her long hair loose over her shoulders. Suddenly, she realized they actually looked quite similar, especially their eyes. They were nearly identical.

No wonder Graham would often drift off while staring into her eyes.

"Arden, why are you back?" Irene looked surprised.

Arden didn't answer. She clearly caught the flash of impatience in Graham's eyes before it turned to panic.

He hurriedly explained, "Ary, don't get the wrong idea about this. I ran into Irene on the way to the office; she twisted her ankle. I was worried she'd run into trouble on her own, so I brought her back."

Arden was about to speak when her gaze was suddenly drawn to Irene's wrist. At some point, a bracelet had appeared there. It was adorned with drop-shaped emeralds of excellent clarity. Most importantly, it was something their grandfather, Patrick Jacquet, had left to Arden before his passing.

Arden could never bear to wear it; she kept it carefully stored at home. But now…

"Why is the bracelet on her?" She looked sharply at Graham.

His gaze flickered. Then, he said, "I noticed that you never wore it, so I thought you didn't like it. Irene's birthday is in a couple of days, so I gave it to her as a gift. If you like it, I'll get you another one."

Arden's breath hitched. She'd clearly told him before that the bracelet was one Patrick had left for her, and she'd often talked about wearing it on her wedding day. It would be like he was there with her.

And now, Graham claimed he thought she didn't like it.

Even though she already knew the truth, hearing his words now made her eyes sting. "I don't want another. I want this one."

He frowned. "I've already given it to Irene. How can I take it back?"

"That's your problem." Arden wasn't interested in his excuses. "You took something that's mine and gave it away without asking. Now that there's a problem, it's on you to fix it."

Graham hadn't expected her to be so unyielding. His expression turned cold. "Ary, even if you're angry with me, you don't need to bully Irene!"

Arden almost laughed. All she wanted was to take back what was hers, yet he'd somehow made her out to be a bully. How had she been blind to this for years?

Irene acted like she'd been startled and hurried to take off the bracelet. "I'm sorry, Arden. I didn't know it was yours. I'll give it back right now."

She sounded pitiful, and her eyes became red-rimmed. She said she would take the bracelet off, but it remained clasped in place, even after a while.

"What do you mean you'll give it back? It was a gift to you, so it's yours now." Graham got irritated and stopped her from doing anything.

"That's not right, Graham. Don't fight with Arden because of me," Irene said, feigning concern.

"Today is—Arden, what are you doing?"

Tired of watching them play the loving couple, Arden reached straight for the bracelet to take it back. Graham's temper flared, and he shielded Irene, refusing to let Arden get close.

Arden said, "Give me back the bracelet."

Irene sounded as if she were on the verge of tears. "Arden, you're hurting me."

Graham barked, "Let go of her!"

He shoved Arden hard. In the chaos, the bracelet snapped and landed on the floor. Meanwhile, Arden's lower back slammed into a corner of the table. Sharp pain coursed through her, making her vision turn black for a moment.

She couldn't care less about her injury for now. She ran to the bracelet, trying to piece it back together. This was the last keepsake Patrick had left her. It couldn't be broken. It couldn't…

But no matter how she tried to put the chain back together, it lay in segments in her palm. Her eyes blurred as tears welled up in them. She clenched around the broken chain until it felt like it would embed in her flesh.

"What's going on?" Katherine came out of the bedroom, looking annoyed at the scene. "You cause trouble every time you're home. Can't you settle down for once?"

With a frown, she tossed a contract toward Arden. "Sign this, then get out. Don't bother coming back anymore if I catch you bullying your sister again."

Arden looked down at the contract to see it was a share transfer agreement. Her head buzzed.

So, this was why Katherine had summoned her home. This was what she was up to.

First the bracelet, now the shares. Did they want to strip away everything she still had from the Jacquet family, then throw her out without anything to her name?

A cold emptiness spread in Arden's chest, and something became lodged in her throat.

Katherine grew impatient when she saw that Arden wasn't moving. "What are you waiting for? Irene is getting married soon. How can she go without any wedding gifts?"

Arden enunciated, "This is mine. If you want her to have wedding gifts, you can prepare them yourself."

"Are you defying me?" Katherine glared at her.

Graham stepped in, his voice gentle and coaxing. "Ary, I don't care about these things. I have a company, anyway. I'll give you all the money I make, alright?

"The Whitmans are a big family. If Irene doesn't have something of her own, it'll be hard for her after she marries Cedric. She's your sister—you'll feel bad if she suffers, won't you?"

Arden didn't respond to his righteous persuasion. She just looked at him steadily, her gaze so clear that it seemed to see right through to the heart.

It made Graham uneasy. "Ary, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just never realized you were so considerate toward others," she said evenly.

He scrambled to explain. "Irene is your sister. I—"

She cut him off. "No way I'm signing."

With that, she turned to leave.

"Arden, how can you be so selfish?" Katherine's furious voice rang out behind her, but Arden didn't stop. She strode out of the house.

"Ary!" Graham hurried after her, having already composed himself. He looked helpless and indulgent as he asked, "What are you doing? Even if you want to leave, you've gotta take me with you."

Arden was exhausted and didn't want to watch him put on a show anymore. "Aren't you staying?"

Irene needed him to fuss over her, after all.

"Why would I stay without you?" He seemed to think she'd said something silly. "I was out of line just now. Come on, let's go home."

Arden paused, then got into the backseat. "Take me to No. 381, Newind Street."

This was a neighborhood of villas; cabs rarely came in. It made more sense to ride out instead of walking out, but she couldn't stand sitting in the front with him.

He was puzzled. "Why are you in the back?"

She didn't answer. He glanced back and saw that she was leaning against the window with her eyes closed. His expression shifted. Then, he started the navigation and headed where she'd said.

Halfway there, his phone rang with a call from Katherine. "Graham, Cedric's back from a work trip today. Irene hurt her foot, but she insists on meeting him. I've got urgent things on my end, so can you come back and drive her?"

Graham slammed the brakes. "No problem. I'll be right there."

It was only after he hung up that he remembered Arden in the back. As he hesitated over what to say, he turned to find that she'd opened her eyes.

"Ary, you—"

"If you've got things to do, go." Arden cut him off, a faint smile on her lips. "I'll be fine alone."

Graham was visibly relieved. "Okay. I'll make it up to you when I'm done."

His words were apologetic, but his eyes were alight at the thought of going to his beloved. His acting was so clumsy, yet it had still fooled her for five years.

Arden got out and watched the car disappear. Then, she turned to look at the hospital not far away.

If Graham had driven just a bit further, he would've realized she was headed for a checkup. Maybe he would've even noticed that her body had been pushed to its absolute limit.