Chapter 1 Guilt Trip

I took a deep breath, stepped forth, and held my mother's hand. "She just flew back home, and the bracelet's the first thing she asks for, Mommy. I think she really loves it. If the rightful owner wants it back, we should give it back to her."

I made sure to emphasize that she was the rightful owner so everyone could understand what I was implying.

The look on Queenie's face changed. She parted her lips to say something, but I wasn't going to give her any quarter.

"Mr. Chandler." I turned around, my eyes already wet with unshed tears. "Mommy was just discharged after her car accident and has forgotten a lot of things. Please don't get mad at her for not giving Ms. Samson the bracelet.

"You know how Mommy is; she just really hates parting with the things you give her. She treasures everything that you've given her."

A month after she married into this family, my mother told me to gradually change how I addressed Yves. I had started calling him Daddy at the end of the first month she married into the Chandler family.

So, it didn't escape Yves' notice that I'd switched back to a more formal address, causing him to frown.

I quietly held my mother's hand.

She got my message and tried to tug the bracelet off. Unfortunately, it got stuck at her wrist, making it hard for her to remove it. Still, she didn't hesitate to violently rip it off her wrist. By the end of it, her wrist had turned red and swollen.

I took the bracelet and carefully presented it to Queenie. "I'm sorry. My mother just got a bit frustrated trying to take it off earlier. Please take this. Can you forgive us? We had no idea this was yours."

Yves' frown deepened as he accepted the bracelet. "I did say that the bracelet belongs to my wife, and that's Yvonne right now. No one can take her place." Then, he turned to look at Queenie. "I'm sorry if you took whatever I said the wrong way."

She froze up as if someone had tased her dumb. She staggered and tried to say something, but Yves turned around and put an arm around my mother's shoulder. Then, he extended a hand to me.

"Tina, take your mother upstairs. She needs to get some rest."

I nodded and swiftly took my mother's hand in mine.

When I passed by Queenie, I could feel her venomous eyes boring holes into me. In the meantime, the floating comments nearly filled my vision.

"She's going to get even with you for this humiliation after she goes home. But now you should make Yves feel more guilty toward your mother. She still hasn't put any cream on her swollen wrist."

My steps stuttered for a bit, but I quickly regained my composure. Then, I calmly led my mother upstairs. Queenie had made herself scarce when I wasn't paying attention as I heard the butler politely sending her away downstairs.

Once I brought my mother to her room, I wasted no time checking her wrist. The redness marring her skin had become more prominent now, and some places were even turning purple and blue.

If that didn't alarm me, the fact that my mother immediately groaned in pain upon the barest of my touches definitely did.

Just then, someone opened the door. Yves came in holding a first-aid kit. His eyes rested on my mother's wrist, looking utterly heartbroken. "Let me take a look at it." He sat on the edge of the bed and put my mother's hand on his lap.

"You silly girl. Why'd you pull the bracelet off so hard? Now, look at how you've hurt yourself. I'll have the family physician check on you."

My mother asked quietly, her voice hesitant, "Won't Ms. Samson be upset? She looked like she really loved the bracelet…"

Yves paused and looked at her. He gazed into her face and sighed quietly. I was watching this scene from the entrance. My mother had lost her memories, so he knew that she wasn't putting on a facade at all. Her earnestness hit Yves hard.

He rubbed some balm on my mother's wrist and took her hand to blow on it.

I was going to tiptoe away to give them some space, but he stopped me before I could, saying, "Tina. I'm very sorry for today. There'll be an auction tomorrow. You and your mother will be joining me. Pick anything you want. I want to make it up to you."

I said okay and turned to my room. The floating comments became lively as soon as the door closed behind me.

"There's going to be a ring called Ocean's Heart at the auction tomorrow. It also happened to be Philip and Liliana's engagement ring. They had to pawn it off because their family hadn't been doing well at the time.

"Liliana adores that ring. If you and your mother can snag that, Liliana will definitely welcome you two with open arms."