Chapter 5

On Friday, I finished handing off my last project and turned in my resignation.

The HR director, Laura Bennett, was one of my few real friends.

"I'll sit on this letter until you're gone, then file it. If Kane finds out early, there's no way he'll let you leave."

I nodded. "Thank you."

She sighed. "In school and at work, you were always the best. You're every bit Kane's equal. Everyone thought the two of you were perfect together, and he loved you so much. When your family's company ran into trouble and lost its standing, he stood up to his own family and insisted on marrying you. How did it come to this?"

I didn't answer.

After my family put me down for so long, I'd almost forgotten that everyone else thought Kane and I were a perfect match.

Only my family thought I wasn't good enough for him.

I'd worked so hard to stand beside Kane that I'd even given up design, the thing I loved most, and switched to project management.

But to my parents, none of it counted for anything.

"How can you compare yourself to your sister? You're healthy. Everything's easy for you. She was born frail. You should let her have her way and take care of her!"

So they made me give Zelinda the credit for saving Kane, hoping to secure the Orsini family's support and keep the Bellucci family afloat.

What they hadn't counted on was Kane insisting on marrying me anyway.

That had given me hope too. I'd thought a debt of gratitude wasn't enough to shake what we had.

But the relationship I'd fought so hard to preserve had long since shattered, like everything caught in that explosion.

I said goodbye to Laura and didn't get home until late.

The second I walked in, I heard laughter.

Kane and Zelinda were back, loaded down with gifts.

They were sitting side by side on the couch, talking, their heads close together.

Kane noticed me first and got up right away to take my hand.

"Where have you been? It's so late. I've been waiting for you."

I didn't answer. I pulled my hand away.

"I have a headache. I'm going to my room."

Kane caught up with me on the landing and wrapped his arms around me from behind. "Still angry? Be good. Tomorrow is our wedding. Stop making a fuss.

"I had the dress cleaned and sent back. And I brought you a present."

He took out a velvet box. Inside, a pair of ruby earrings sparkled.

"See? This is my heart. From now on, only you get to wear it."

His words were sweet, but they sent a chill through me.

That morning, Zelinda had posted on Twitter, showing off a new ruby necklace.

"Not a honeymoon, but better than one. Best gift ever. Thank you."

She'd added a comment under it too.

"Such a gorgeous ruby. Too bad a few little pieces had to be cut away. It would have been even more perfect otherwise."

She deleted it quickly, but I'd already seen it.

So those scraps had become my earrings.

And Kane was calling them his heart. So that was how much of his heart I had. Just the scraps.

He tried to put them on me, but I turned my head away. "It's late. I need to get some rest."

Kane thought nothing of it and smiled. "Fair enough. Wear them for me at the wedding tomorrow.

"There's one more thing. After the wedding, take a break from work for a while."

I thought he'd found out I'd quit, but then he said, "Hand all your projects over to Zelinda for now. Let her get some experience."

I went stiff, pulled out of his arms, and looked him in the eye for the first time that night.

"You want me to give her my job as project director?"

Kane looked away and tried to sound casual. "Don't read too much into it. We've both been so busy these past few years. Now that we're finally getting married, wouldn't it be nice if you spent more time with me?"

I stared at him for a long time, until his smile faded and he frowned. Then I said softly, "Okay."

Only then did Kane relax. "I knew it. You're always so understanding."

He kissed my forehead and started to walk me upstairs.

But Zelinda called to him from downstairs. "Kane, are my pajamas in your suitcase?"

Kane stopped. "Be good and get some sleep. Tomorrow morning, I'm coming to marry you."

With that, he turned and went back downstairs without waiting for my answer.

Their laughter and voices drifted upstairs, then faded as the night wore on.

I didn't sleep. I sat quietly until dawn, then lit the fireplace.

I put the wedding dress I'd designed myself into the fire and watched the flames swallow it. It was like burning the person I used to be.

A car pulled up outside.

Early that morning, while everyone else was still asleep, I rolled my suitcase out and left without a sound.