Chapter 2

When I pushed open the door to our villa and entered, I immediately noticed that the living room was a mess.

George, clad in the black suit with gold trim that Mom had left me for my wedding day, was sitting on my marital bed, excitedly tearing open the gifts the guests had given us that day. Besides that, he was also wearing the jade bangle my maternal grandmother had left my mother, who had passed it on to me.

Winona was partially crouched by the bed, a band-aid in her hands.

"I told you to change into a looser pair of shoes earlier for the toasting segment, yet you stubbornly refused. Now look at you! The back of your heel is chafed raw, isn't it?"

Her tone was indulgent as she carefully stuck the band-aid on the back of George's heel, where the skin was only very faintly red.

At the sound of the door opening, Winona turned to look over her shoulder, only to see me standing barefoot in the doorway.

Her gaze immediately dropped to my feet, which were covered in mud and blood. Her brows furrowed at the sight before she turned to grab the first-aid kit.

Just as I thought she was finally showing some concern for me, she stuffed the first-aid kit straight into my arms.

"So, finally decided to come back, huh? Tend to your wounds yourself."

With that, she headed to the kitchen, poured me a glass of warm water, and handed it to me.

"You really were impulsive today. Everyone was waiting for you at the venue, so even if you got lost, you should've called for help earlier. To just disappear like that? You simply humiliated us both in front of all the guests."

I stared at the glass of water, not moving to take it.

Blood continued to flow from my soles, and every step left a faint bloody footprint on the carpet.

Even so, to her, that barely visible redness on George's foot required her personal attention, while she expected me to tend to my blood-drenched feet myself.

George touched the bangle and explained in a small voice, "Sorry, Simon. I accidentally dirtied my suit earlier when coming down the mountain. Winona told me that you weren't wearing this suit, so she loaned it to me as a temporary measure."

Bowing his head, he put on an innocent look. "It was Winona who gave me this bangle too. I've been having problems sleeping lately, and she said that jade is supposedly able to help calm one's mind and improve one's sleep. If it bothers you that much, I can take them off right now."

I stared straight at him. "Take off the suit and return my bangle to me."

George bit his lip and reached to pull off the bangle. However, it got stuck at his wrist joint, causing him to let out a soft cry of pain. "Winona, it kinda hurts…"

Immediately, Winona walked over and pressed his hand down to stop him.

"Stop forcing it. What if you injure yourself?"

She then brought a bottle of body oil from the bathroom, rubbed it over George's wrist, and slowly helped him slide the bangle off.

"Give us a moment, Simon. George has a low tolerance for pain," she said.

I remained unmoving in the same spot, the blood from my feet having seeped through the carpet beneath me.

To avoid hurting George, Winona was extremely gentle and careful with her movements.

However, just as the bangle slipped past the tips of George's fingers, his hand jerked slightly.

The jade bangle fell onto the marble floor and shattered into several pieces with a sharp crack.

The air went still.

Winona was the first to react, snatching up George's hand and turning it this way and that as she examined it carefully.

"Did any of the fragments cut you?"

Only after she had confirmed that George was fine did she turn to look at me.

"There's no changing the fact that it's shattered now. I'll send some people to the auction house tomorrow and buy you an even higher quality one."

Her tone was cool and indifferent, as though she were talking about a broken glass instead of a family heirloom.

I crouched and used my sleeve to wipe away the oil that clung to the jade fragments.

"That was a family heirloom from my mother," I said hoarsely.

Winona paused briefly, but then she frowned and replied, "George didn't mean to do it. Don't force him to apologize on such a day."

I was wiping the third fragment when I heard that, and my hand suddenly stilled.

As it turned out, to Winona, not only was the groom and wedding suit replaceable, but even the only thing my mother had left for me was too.

"There's no need to buy a new one."

I stood and swept all the fragments into the trash bin.

Since everything was so easily replaceable in her eyes, she couldn't blame me for replacing her too.