Chapter 3

When Rosalind caught the glint of something unhinged in Ethan’s eyes, her chest tightened.

Instinct took over. She rushed at him, reaching for the knife before he could hurt himself.

Ethan flinched away and swung hard, accidentally hurting her.

She winced but did not pull back. She grabbed his wrist and forcefully knocked the knife from his hand.

It clattered onto the carpet.

She kept her voice low and suppressed the turmoil in her chest as she said, “Nina is gone! Are you going to throw your life away too? What are you even doing?”

Samson rushed over immediately. He stared at her wound, and his eyes turned teary.

“Rose, you’re hurt!”

He turned to Ethan and said in a sorrowful tone, “Ethan, Nina is gone, and Rose is hurting even more than you are. She hasn’t slept for days. Is Nina really more important than Rose?”

Samson’s words wiped the last bit of warmth from Rosalind’s face. Any pity she had left for Ethan was gone.

She looked at Ethan, but his gaze was fixed elsewhere.

He stretched out a hand and said hoarsely, “Give me back Nina’s cross necklace.”

Samson shook his head and put on an innocent look.

“I didn’t take it. Why would I ever touch Nina’s belongings?”

Ethan lunged forward and reached to search through his clothes.

Rosalind could no longer bear to watch. She shoved him to the floor with force.

He landed hard on the floor. A piercing pain shot through him when his elbow and arm struck the tea table.

Rosalind frowned and said to him in a stern voice, “Enough of this. Nina is dead. We can always have more children.”

Those words tore through him like shards of glass. He felt nothing but desolation.

She paused, then added, “I’ve set up an appointment with a therapist for you tomorrow. As for him...”

Her gaze swept over Samson beside her. Her voice grew heavier. “When you pull yourself together, I’ll cut him off for good.”

Samson dropped his gaze and clung to her sleeve with a look of meek devotion. Beneath that submissive front, a flicker of smugness flickered in his eyes.

Without looking at Ethan, she pulled Samson along and said coldly, “Let’s go.”

The two turned and walked away.

Ethan collapsed onto the floor, completely drained. Just then, Samson, who was lagging behind her, slowly turned his head and shot Ethan a contemptuous smirk.

A moment later, he unclenched his palm, and a cross necklace dangled from his fingers. He let it fall.

It hit the floor with a crisp, clear sound.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

That was the cross necklace he had driven all night to get for Nina. She had worn it every single day and kept it close to her chest.

Before he could even react, Samson raised his foot and stomped on the necklace lying on the floor.

It made a sharp, brittle sound.

The cross necklace, the one that carried all of Ethan’s love and longing for Nina, shattered beneath Samson’s shoe. It could never be put back together again.

Panic surged through him as he lurched forward and scrambled toward it.

“No!” His voice broke as he cried out.

Rosalind did not slow down. She kept walking and pulled Samson with her straight to the elevator.

As the elevator doors slid shut behind them, Ethan collapsed to his knees. His fingers shook as he gathered the broken fragments. Every piece cut into his palm.

Scenes of Nina wearing that cross necklace and beaming with a radiant smile flashed through his mind over and over.

He sobbed until he could hardly breathe. Only then did the tears finally stop.

Raising his head, he walked to the desk and sat down.

The computer hummed to life as he powered it on. His fingers moved stiffly over the keyboard.

He composed an email and sent it to Samson’s university.