Chapter 2

On the stage sat a single item: a stone ring.

It was crudely made and ugly to look at.

People lowered their paddles one by one. No one wanted to bid on something that looked so hideous, seemingly worthless.

Ryan squinted at it for a long moment before suddenly remembering.

“Isn’t that the ring you gave me and I threw away? You actually went back for it? That’s pathetic.”

That ring was one of the few things my mother left me as a wedding gift. She had personally picked out the stone, and my father had polished it by hand.

They’d told me it was made from a rare, naturally weathered mineral, formed over a thousand years. It was worth billions and strong enough to slice through bone.

My parents had given it to me so I’d always have something to protect myself with. A reminder that, no matter what happened, they would always be with me.

When Ryan got trapped in that snowstorm on the mountain, I put the ring on his finger and begged the heavens to give all my luck to him.

I just wanted him to survive.

And he did.

However, I slipped while I was pulling him out. The ring slashed deep into my chest. I passed out in the snow, and the ring was lost beneath it.

“Did you know that I scraped that ring across your chest on purpose just so I’d have an excuse to throw it away? I mean, look at it. It’s hideous. And since you gave it to me, that made it even worse.”

My eyes burned, but inside, I felt numb.

“It’s mine,” I said again.

A few rich kids tossed out token bids, raising it to three million.

That was all the funds I had left.

One of the girls tried to raise the bid just to be nasty, but Ryan instinctively stopped her.

He stared at my disheveled appearance and sneered. “Still clinging to something I didn’t even want? You really are my little lapdog, huh?

“Fine. You can bid on it for 3 million. But remember how your family humiliated mine back then. Remember how you keep crawling back to me though I never love you. How pathetic!”

With that, he lost interest and walked off, surrounded by a crowd of girls.

I clutched the long-lost stone ring my parents had given me in my hands and smiled.

Mom and Dad were gone, but the ring had come back. Maybe it meant they were watching over me again.

It was too bad I only had three days left to live.

As I smiled, my heart seized up. Everything went black, and I collapsed.

…

The doctor told me to stay in the hospital.

The fragments of stone were embedded too deeply in my heart. If I stayed, maybe I could squeeze out a few extra days.

However, I waved him off and forced myself to walk back to Ryan’s mansion.

What’s the point of living a few days longer if it just means more time being tormented by him? I’d rather die and be with my parents and sister.

When I got home, the dining table was full of people laughing, talking, and eating.

There was no seat for me.

Ryan looked over. “Oh, you actually came back? Do you know what time it is? Because you didn’t cook tonight, Nancy was crying from hunger! You’re not allowed to eat anything for the next few days.”

I didn’t even look at him and walked past the table. “Whatever.”

His face darkened. In just a few strides, he stormed over and slammed me into the wall by the wrist.

A sharp pain shot through my chest, down to my organs. Everything hurt so much that I wanted to throw up.

He was about to yell at me again when he saw my wrist covered in cuts.

I had scratched myself in a daze, unable to bear the pressure of that broken stone digging into my heart.

“You’ve been cutting yourself?” Ryan stepped closer, eyes burning with fury. “Seriously? I endured three years of humiliation, and the second you get uncomfortable, you’re out here trying to die?

“You’re broke, Lily. I bought your life with my money. You think you can die just because you want to? Dream on! I’m going to make sure you live through hell before I let you go.”

I stared at the man I’d loved for nearly ten years, who had taken up nearly all my youth.

However, the more I looked at him, the more he felt like a stranger.

I repeated myself softly. “Whatever.”

Ryan snapped.

He tore off my jacket and, in front of everyone, threw me onto the couch.

If this were any other time, I might’ve felt ashamed. Maybe even excited to finally give myself to the man I’d loved for so long, or glared back at the other women, and held my ground.

My heart hurt too much, though, and I couldn’t feel anything.

Soon, I passed out.