Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Elena’s POV

I hurried down the street and reached the entrance of the luxury bar. My heart was pounding, but just as I raised my hand to push the heavy oak door open, I froze.

Voices were carrying clearly through the crack in the door. Damian’s friends were laughing inside, placing bets on me.

"Three days tops," Greg’s voice boomed over the background music. "A cripple like her, who can't even hold a glass properly—where else could she go besides clinging to Damian?"

Inside, Chloe sat close beside Damian on the velvet sofa. "Just let it go, Damian," she said softly, putting her hand on his knee. "Your marriage has been broken for a long time anyway. Just get the divorce over with."

Damian put his arm around Chloe’s waist, pulling her against his side. "I've long been sick of living with a cripple," he said, his voice loud and full of disgust. "I can't even stand looking at her hand anymore."

To make his friends laugh, Damian lifted his right wrist and began imitating my trembling hand, shaking it weakly in the air.

The entire table burst into roaring laughter.

Outside the door, I stood completely still. A bitter, empty smile touched my lips. This was the man I had loved for seven years. This was the man who sat there making fun of the permanent damage in my hand—a injury caused by the collapsing ceiling during the fire, all because I had run into the burning building to save his life back then.

I couldn't endure listening to another second of it.

I pushed the door open and walked straight inside.

The laughter died down slightly, but no one looked surprised. Damian sat there holding Chloe in his arms, a provocative, arrogant smirk spreading across his face as he looked up at me.

"Look at that," one of his friends sneered. "You're really chasing after him hard this time, Elena. Can't let him go, can you?"

I ignored the friend completely. My eyes locked onto the sparkling silver brooch pinned to Chloe’s chest, and a wave of pure anger washed over me.

Damian saw where I was looking, and his smirk grew wider. "It's barely been an hour since we left the bureau," he said smoothly, leaning back. "And you're already back here to beg me?"

I ignored his words, marched up to the couch, grabbed Chloe by her collar, and pulled her forward. "Where did you get that brooch?" I demanded, my voice shaking with rage.

Chloe gasped, shrinking back as if I had hit her. "This?" she stammered, pointing at her chest. "I... I found it in your jewelry box at the house. Damian gave it to me."

I turned my head and glared at Damian. "How could you just give away my things?"

Damian laughed, casually taking a sip of his drink. "Don't make such a scene just to get my attention, Elena. You're just jealous that I like her and treat her well."

"That was my mother's last belonging!" I screamed at him, my knuckles turning white as I gripped the fabric of Chloe's collar. "It's the only thing I have left of her!"

"Your mother has been dead for years," Damian snapped, his tone turning cold and impatient. "It's just a cheap brooch. If Chloe likes it, just let her have it. I'll buy you a more expensive one later, okay?"

Chloe let out a soft laugh, resting her head back against Damian's chest. "It's just a brooch, Elena. There's no need to make such a big fuss over nothing."

Chloe then reached over, picked up a glass filled with strong, amber alcohol from the table, and held it out toward me. "Tell you what," Chloe said with a smirk. "I'll consider returning the brooch to you if you drink this whole glass right now."

"Wait," one of Damian's friends chimed in, grinning. "Isn't she severely allergic to alcohol?"

"She would die for Damian anyway," another friend yelled out, laughing. "What's a little drink?"

The crowd around the table began chanting, urging me to take it. Damian reached out, took the glass from Chloe, and held it directly in front of my face.

"Just drink it, Elena," Damian ordered, his voice cold and commanding. "Stop embarrassing yourself and making a fool out of me over a cheap piece of metal."

I looked into Damian's eyes. In that moment, I realized just how blind I had been to love this man for seven long years. He knew about my condition, yet he stood there expecting me to poison myself just to satisfy his ego.

Before I could back away, Damian grabbed the back of my neck and forced the glass against my lips, pouring the burning liquid down my throat.

I choked violently, coughing as the alcohol burned my throat. Gathering every bit of strength I had left, I shoved Damian away from me with both hands.

"Damian!" Chloe cried out. She immediately jumped up from the sofa and gave me a hard shove on my shoulder.

Because my right hand had no strength and was trembling, I couldn't balance myself. My feet slipped, and I crashed heavily onto the hard floor, the sharp impact ringing through my wrist.

Chloe looked down at me, putting on a delicate, innocent act for the crowd. "Why are you doing this, Elena? You fell on purpose. It looks like I'm bullying you."

She unpinned the brooch from her top and tossed it carelessly onto the floor near my feet. "Take it then. I don't want this cheap thing anyway."

My eyes locked onto the silver brooch lying on the ground. Ignoring the pain in my body, I reached my trembling right hand out toward it.

Before my fingers could touch the silver metal, a black leather shoe stepped forward.

Damian brought his foot down, blocking the brooch completely. He looked down at me like I was a bug beneath his shoe.

"If you're going to ruin this entire party for a stupid brooch," Damian said, his voice flat and devoid of any human warmth, "then no one is going to have it."

He pressed his heel down hard and ground his shoe against the floor.

CRACK.

The metal snapped, and the small delicate stone shattered into tiny, useless fragments beneath his shoe.

A mournful, agonizing cry tore from my throat. I dropped to my knees on the cold floor, ignoring the sharp pain in my hand as I gathered the broken, crushed pieces of my mother's keepsake into my palm.

Tears finally overflowed from my eyes, dripping onto the cold metal fragments. I raised my head, looking up at Damian, Chloe, and every single laughing face in that room.

"I swear," I whispered, my voice trembling with a hatred I had never felt before in my life. "I will never forgive any of you."