Chapter 400

She turned to me, eyes burning with rage and something deeper—something more painful. Something I had never seen before.

“I do not need your pity or acts of charity. Do you think I don't know how you see me now? You think I'm a broken and useless woman, don't you?”

I was momentarily tongue tied as I gaped at her in shock. “Arielle, I–”

“Do you think throwing money at this will fix it?” Her voice cracked, but the fire in it was unrelenting. “Do you think you can just buy back the part of me that’s already dead?”

I took a step forward, my hands held out in a placating gesture. “I'll find a solution, I promise I will, Arielle, please...”

“You don’t get it.” She took a shaky breath, hands curling into fists. “I don’t care about expensive ingredients. I don’t care about world-class chefs. I don’t care about any of it because none of it matters anymore!”

She was screaming now, and it made my chest ache. She never yelled. Not like this. I tried to steady my voice, to hold on to reason, be