Chapter 6

Ever since Jayla moved in, Margo had seen a whole different side of Huxton.

He remembered everything Jayla hated eating. One frown from her, and he'd replace her meal.

When storms scared her, he was there the second thunder rumbled.

The study he'd never let Margo enter?

Jayla could walk in whenever she wanted.

Margo finally understood what Huxton looked like when he actually loved someone.

For years, she'd secretly treasured the fact that he stopped trying to hurt himself whenever she was there. She'd convinced herself it meant he was starting to care.

'What a joke.'

One day, Margo passed the study and spotted Jayla messing with something.

She stopped at the half-open door.

It was the antique gold locket Huxton's grandmother had left him.

Jayla dangled it carelessly from her fingers, nearly dropping it.

Margo's heart jumped. She rushed in and snatched it away.

"What are you doing? That belonged to Huxton's grandmother. You can't mess around with it."

"Why do you care?" Jayla snapped, grabbing it back.

Then she caught Margo's nervous look and smiled.

"You care that much? Then..."

She opened her hand.

The locket hit the marble floor.

The tiny hinge snapped, and the lid broke clean off.

Margo froze.

That locket was Huxton's most prized possession—a family heirloom his grandmother had placed in his hand right before she died.

"What happened?"

Huxton stood in the doorway, staring coldly at the broken locket.

"Ms. Myer broke it," Jayla said before Margo could speak, putting on an innocent face. "I just wanted a closer look, but she rushed over and tried to grab it."

Margo looked at Huxton. "There's a security camera in here. Check it."

The room went dead silent.

Jayla's face changed.

A second later, she reluctantly backed down.

"Sorry, Huxton. I dropped it by accident. Is it important? I can buy you another one."

To Margo's surprise, Huxton's anger disappeared instantly.

He rushed over and grabbed Jayla's hand.

"Are you hurt?"

Margo watched him carefully check Jayla's fingers, her heart twisting.

No one knew better than her how much that locket meant to him.

Three years ago, Yvonne had lost that same locket right after Huxton's leg surgery.

Even in his condition, Huxton had searched for it in the snow for three hours.

When he came back empty-handed, he blew up at his mom, locked himself in his room, and trashed the place.

Margo went out into the snow and searched every inch of the yard.

By dawn, her fingers were numb.

But she found it.

And now Jayla had broken it on purpose, and all Huxton cared about was whether she'd hurt her hand.

Margo smiled bitterly.

'So this is how much he loves her.'

And she'd actually believed he'd marry her once he recovered.

Night after night, she'd stayed by his bed, watching him suffer through rehab and promising herself she'd never leave.

At his lowest, she'd even written one stupid little wish in her diary:

[When he can walk again, I'll marry him.]

Now she finally saw how foolish she'd been.

At least she'd woken up.

She'd never hand her heart to someone who didn't value it again.