Chapter 2

Cora's husband had been abusive toward her.

Three months ago, Asher started to help her collect evidence and eventually got her husband sent to prison.

Seeing her covered in old wounds and limping as she walked, Asher helped her settle down somewhere nearby.

Now, he had brought her straight into our home with plans to marry her.

When he led her to me, I happened to be packing up in my room.

Back then, Dad had been worried that I might not have it easy, so he had given me a lot of money and wedding gifts when I got married.

Although Asher hadn't been willing to sleep in the same room as me, I still used that money to redecorate the bedroom according to his tastes, hoping for the day we'd finally sleep in the same bed.

But now, I needed to turn all of that back into cash so I could use it to help Dad win his lawsuit.

"Cora will stay in this room from now on," Asher said, his tone cold and resolute.

This room had the best sunlight and its own balcony, too.

Cora stood behind him as her gaze nervously flickered to the balcony, but her eyes clearly lit up when she saw it.

For the first time, I refused him. "I don't want to. There's another guest room across the hall. Why can't she stay there?"

Asher's expression darkened. "Because Cora likes this one. She's not in great health, so she needs to stay in a room with plenty of sunlight to help her recover. This room was decorated according to her preferences, too."

I glanced around the room that had been decorated in a classical style.

Cora, dressed in a long, mauve dress, shot me a smile. She looked like an angel who stepped out of one of the oil paintings.

So that was what it was.

Seeing me look at her, Asher stepped in front of me and blocked my view. "There's no room for discussion. Try to move everything out before 3:00 pm."

His tone then softened a little as he continued, "Be good, okay?"

I lowered my head. "Okay."

Now that my family was bankrupt, I had lost my biggest pillar of support. Asher no longer needed to pay attention to my feelings or pretend that we were a loving couple.

Before 2:00 pm, I had already finished moving all of my belongings to the room across the hall. It didn't have a balcony, and the trees outside the windows blocked the sunlight. The indoor lights needed to be turned on even during the day.

I then took out all the expensive jewelry Asher had given me over the years, intending to sell it.

The jewelry store owner, Samantha Walker, recognized me. She welcomed me with a smile and ushered me into a private room. I then laid everything out before her.

The first item was the black pearl necklace Asher had given me when he first confessed his feelings to me. He had just begun to earn Dad's trust at the time, and he had spent all his savings to buy it for me.

The second item was the blue diamond ring he had slid onto my finger during our wedding—all while his eyes had been red-rimmed. Dad had just promoted him then, and he had used his connections to buy it off the market.

The third item was a pair of deer-shaped earrings. It was a peace offering for his drunken antics. I really loved these earrings, because he had once said that I was as adorable and playful as a deer.

When Samantha saw me taking out all these items, she sat up straight immediately. "Aren't these all presents Mr. Ziegler gifted you? They're all priceless items now. Are you sure you want to sell them?"

I nodded. "I'm sure."

She carefully examined all the items and confirmed that there was nothing wrong with them before transferring the money into my account.

I couldn't be bothered to haggle, so I just left with the money.

As soon as I stepped out, I found Asher and Cora wandering around the store, hand-in-hand. He leaned right into Cora, with barely any distance between them. He asked, "Do you like this bracelet?"

Cora smiled and nodded. "It's beautiful."

Asher immediately had a sales assistant wrap it up. When he looked up, our eyes happened to meet, and a flicker of surprise crossed his face.

His gaze instinctively flickered to my hand, and he noticed that the blue diamond ring I always wore was missing.

Asher walked up to me and grabbed my wrist. "Where's your ring?" he demanded.

I looked at him calmly, and for the first time, I lied. "I put it away while I was packing things up."

He clearly didn't believe me, and his grip on me tightened so painfully that I struggled to get away.

Cora rushed over frantically and tugged on his sleeve. "Asher…"

This seemed to wake him from his spell and bring him back to his senses. "Sorry…" he murmured as he released my hand.

Behind me, Samantha watched in shock. Feeling embarrassed, I lowered my head and fled.