Chapter 3

Ruby's POV

By the time I woke up in the hospital, it was already the next day.

At first, I thought Immanuel had brought me there. However, the nurse told me that it was my butler, Richard Smith, who had found me unconscious in my room. He was the one who'd taken me to the hospital.

Fortunately, I had been brought in soon enough. I only needed to rest for a while, and I would gradually recover.

After thanking the nurse, I took out my phone and saw that all the messages were from Immanuel.

In the past, if I disappeared for an hour or two, he would become frantic and practically search everywhere for me.

But after I had been unconscious in the hospital all night, he had only sent me a few messages. To make things worse, all of them were about Chanel.

"Chanel is fine. She was just frightened, so I'm staying with her at the hospital tonight."

"You've gone too far. Even if you were angry because she wore your wedding dress, you shouldn't have pushed her!"

"Prepare a gift for Chanel and apologize to her. As long as she forgives you, we'll go ahead with the engagement party as planned."

Just then, I received a call from the city hall. "Ms. Jones, your new passport is ready. You can come pick it up."

After hanging up, I let out a long sigh.

I was finally leaving.

I didn't reply to Immanuel's messages. Ignoring the nurse's attempts to stop me from leaving, I completed the discharge procedures.

When I got home, I opened the closet and took out the suitcase I had packed earlier. I then casually tossed every gift Immanuel had ever given me into the fireplace and watched the flames burn them to ashes.

They all burned down just like the love between Immanuel and me.

On my way out, I passed through the yard and saw the holly tree standing quietly there. Immanuel had planted it for me when we first got together. He had said that the tree stayed green all year round, just like his love for me, which would never change.

Now, it seemed like a joke.

I stood beneath the veranda and said in a soft voice, "Nancy, cut that tree down."

Nancy was startled. "But Mr. Grant treasures that tree more than anything—"

I cut her off, "Cut it down and plant roses instead since Chanel likes them."

Nancy had seen how willingly Immanuel catered to Chanel's every whim. After hesitating for a moment, she nodded.

I turned around, pulling my suitcase behind me. Then, I walked out through the iron gate without looking back.

...

Third-Person POV

At the hospital, Immanuel was sitting beside Chanel's bed when he suddenly felt uneasy.

He took out his phone and called my number. No one answered. He called again, only to find that my phone was turned off.

He stood up and said to Chanel, "Let's go home first."

Chanel pouted and disagreed, "But I want to stay a little longer and let the doctors observe my condition."

"I asked Ruby to prepare a gift to apologize to you. She should have it ready by now. Don't let her efforts go to waste," Immanuel insisted.

In the end, Chanel reluctantly nodded.

The black sedan drove back toward the villa. Immanuel froze as soon as they reached the entrance.

The iron gate was open, and the house help were working together to saw down the tree in the middle of the yard.

"Who said you could touch that tree?" Immanuel rushed out of the car, his face livid.

The staff stammered in fear. "I-It was Ms. Jovine. She told us to cut it down. She said Ms. Ewing likes roses, so she wanted us to plant roses instead—"

Chanel clapped her hands excitedly from the back seat. "Yay! Let's plant roses everywhere and put up a swing, too..."

"Did I agree to that?" Immanuel's voice was low and heavy with displeasure.

He strode toward the house before suddenly remembering something and turning back to ask the maids. "Where is she?"

The maids looked at one another. They all said they had only seen Ruby leave with her suitcase, but none of them knew where she'd gone.

Just then, Nancy rushed out of the villa. Her face was pale, and she was holding a jewelry box.

"Mr. Grant, all of Ms. Jovine's things are gone! She only left this jewelry box and said it was a gift for Ms. Ewing. I just opened it and took a look. This doesn't seem right..."

Immanuel opened the jewelry box and saw a ring lying inside. He turned it over and saw the engraving on the inside of the band—I & R.

The shock from seeing it made his vision go black for a moment.

It was the engagement ring he had given Ruby.