Chapter 2

My breath hitched. That bag was one of only 50 worldwide, and it had disappeared from my walk-in closet half a year ago.

Cosmo told me he'd accidentally scratched it while he was getting something, so he ended up throwing it away. Then, he asked a friend to buy me another one. At the time, I was touched by his sincerity.

"Mommy." Korra suddenly tugged at my sleeve and chirped, "That lady's necklace looks just like yours!"

My eyes shifted to Callista's neck. A delicate rose-gold chain held a dainty airplane-shaped pendant, its wings encrusted with pavé diamonds.

It was the fifth-anniversary gift I'd specially commissioned from a designer. Our initials were engraved on the inside.

"It really does," I said dryly.

Callista's smile finally froze for a split second before she composed herself. "That's impossible! My husband had this custom-made for me. He said it holds a beautiful meaning, like he's flying a plane and taking me around the world."

Cosmo had told me the exact same thing at our fifth-anniversary dinner. He said once Korra was a little older, he would take us around the world.

That night, he had fastened this necklace around my neck and told me it was one of a kind, much like our love.

The day the necklace went missing, he had turned the whole house upside down to look for it. In the end, he had held me and said, "What's gone is gone. I'll get an even better one custom-made for you."

A month later, an even more lavish necklace, adorned with larger diamonds, appeared in my jewelry box. He'd had it custom-made through a friend overseas. Naturally, it was bought with the allowance I gave him.

He had given my belongings to his mistress and used my own money to buy replacements for me. My stomach churned when I realized that.

"Are you not feeling well?" Callista finally noticed that something was off about me.

"I'm just a little airsick." I forced a smile and accepted a glass of water from the flight attendant.

I swallowed a mouthful of warm water and forced my voice to remain steady. "How long have you been married to your husband?"

Callista froze for a moment before an awkward expression flashed across her face. "We aren't married yet."

Perhaps she caught the brief flicker of astonishment that flashed across my face, because she hurriedly added, "Don't look down on me just yet. He doesn't have any feelings for his wife at all!"

My fingers abruptly tightened around the glass until my knuckles turned white.

"He told me his family pressured him into it. That woman was only after his status. She insisted on marrying into his family." Her lips curled in disdain.

"He said she's dull as dishwater, and being with her is pure torture every single day. He said it was unbearable. If he hadn't met me, he doesn't know how he ever would have survived."

Right after saying that, she looked genuinely heartbroken for Cosmo, as though he was the greatest victim in this twisted relationship.

After hearing that, a tempest raged inside me.

I was a gold digger? Cosmo had actually told her that I was the one who insisted on marrying into his family?

I still remembered the first time I had brought him home to meet my family. He had stood awkwardly in our living room, wearing a shirt so washed-out it had almost lost its color.

He came from a humble background. His parents were ordinary factory workers. He had worked his hardest just to get into an aviation academy.

After graduation, he spent several years working ground operations at the airport before grinding his way into a low-level flight officer assistant position. Had he not used that decent-looking face of his to pursue me relentlessly, how could he possibly have the glamorous life he enjoys today?

I couldn't bear to see his potential go to waste, so I begged Dad to use his connections and pull some strings for him, helping him climb all the way to the position of captain. I felt for his humble origins, so I spared no expense when it came to him. I gave him the kind of life he could never have dreamed of before.