Chapter 3

Tears streamed down my face without stopping.

The house was still packed with all the things it had always held, yet I felt completely hollow inside.

I wanted to leave. I wanted to go back to my family.

My family might have been a minor branch that depended on Jack’s, but we had earned our own place and standing.

Then I remembered the embroidered family insignia my mother had left me. I had kept it tucked away in the wardrobe in my bedroom.

It was a symbol of the Stanton family. When messages had to be sent over long distances, the insignia was safer than a written letter.

Every family member had a unique embroidered design registered in the family records. Whenever we needed assistance, it served as proof of our identity and our right to call upon the family.

I rushed back to my bedroom and began tearing through everything.

No matter how hard I searched, I could not find it.

I could let go of the real estate division I built for Jack, but I could not lose the insignia my mother had left me.

I immediately went looking for Jack, so frantic that fresh tears spilled from my eyes.

“There’s a spy! The insignia my mother left me is gone. It’s my proof of identity, the thing that allows me to call on my family when I need their help. If it fell into a spy’s hands, do you have any idea what could happen?”

Jack stood by the window, pulling the curtains closed for Layla. He turned to look at me.

“There’s no spy. I gave your insignia to Layla. Her family isn’t as powerful as yours. She has nothing to rely on, so I had to give her your insignia. It’s the only way she can have the backing she needs to move forward without fear.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

That insignia represented the strength and protection my family had given me. He had taken it without asking and handed it to someone else.

I thought he rescued that girl because he pitied her, like someone rescuing a stray kitten or puppy.

I realized I had been wrong. No matter how much he pitied her, he would not have done all this for her.

His feelings for her were more than pity. It was love. Love had made this cold, indifferent man show warmth to someone else.

I grabbed Layla by the collar, my eyes burning red.

“That was something my mother left me! If you want your family’s support, then go ask your own parents for it!”

Layla’s eyes filled with tears. Her face crumpled with hurt.

“You know my parents are trying to force me into an arranged marriage. You know my family isn’t as powerful as yours, and yet you still choose to rub it in my face. Just because I was born into a terrible family, does that mean I don’t deserve to have someone stand behind me?”

At that moment, I understood. When a person was pushed far enough, they really could laugh instead of cry.

“I never said you didn’t deserve support. If you want that kind of backing, then earn it yourself. What does stealing something that belongs to me have to do with that?”

“Mr. Parker… look what she’s doing.”

Layla’s eyes were red. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she clung to Jack and acted pitiful.

Jack immediately pulled her behind him. When he looked at me again, all the warmth in his expression was gone.

“Eleanor, your family has always supported you in whatever you wanted to do. Even without that insignia, if you asked them for help, would they really turn you down?

“Layla is different. Her family only sees her as a bargaining chip. No one is willing to stand up for her or help her on her terms. So what would it hurt you to give her a little?

“Besides, once you and I are together, are you really going to be short on support?”

Whatever tiny bit of hope I had left for Jack finally shattered. I bit down hard on my lip.

This much support? No matter how small it was, that support belonged to me. It came from my own family. Compared to the promises Jack kept dangling in front of me, I knew exactly which one I could rely on.

I began searching through Layla’s room, turning everything upside down. No matter how thoroughly I searched, I could not find my insignia.

Exhausted, I sank to the floor. Tears streamed down my face.

Layla looked down at me, barely able to hide her satisfaction.

“Can’t find it, can you? This is the source of my confidence. Mr. Parker gave it to me, so of course I had to hide something this important somewhere safe. I wouldn’t want some outsider stealing it, after all.”

The smile on her face cut deeper than any words could have.

I grabbed the nearest book and swung it toward her face. Jack lunged forward and pulled Layla out of the way, taking the blow himself.

The corner of the book struck his back. A streak of bright red blood slowly seeped through his shirt.

The blood was so red, even redder than the blood he spilled years ago when he took that dangerous job just to buy me that necklace.

All the strength drained from my body. I collapsed onto the floor, tears falling freely as I lay there, unable to move.