Chapter 4

Esther immediately stepped in to defend Lizzie. "It's just an old necklace. What's wrong with her displaying it for a few days? Sirius once saved Blaine's life. Can't you at least show her some kindness?"

I questioned, "But am I the one who owes them anything?"

No one answered.

I looked at Blaine. "Do you think I should give it to her too?"

He was silent for a moment before closing the checklist. "I promised Sirius that I would take care of his only sister."

"So?"

"So nothing can go wrong with this exhibition. Wanda, you've known about this for seven years."

Yes, I had indeed known about that.

During the first year of our marriage, Lizzie came down with a fever in the middle of the night. As a result, he left our anniversary dinner.

On our third anniversary, Lizzie got into a dispute with someone overseas. Blaine canceled the trip he had planned with me to visit Mom's grave and flew to her that very night.

In our fifth year, I suffered a miscarriage and was hospitalized. Lizzie called him and said she'd had a nightmare. He stayed on the phone with her until dawn.

Every time, he said the same thing—that he owed Sirius a debt of gratitude.

I used to think there would eventually be an end to repaying a debt. Only later did I realize that as long as I remained by his side, he could keep taking things from me to repay it for the rest of his life.

Cole called at that moment. I walked to the end of the hallway to answer his call.

He said, "The divorce papers are ready. The cabin in the backyard of Stargazer Mountain Resort is your premarital property. Mr. Zahn has no right to change its use. There's also something else. I found the authorization document you asked me to look into."

"What authorization document?" I asked.

"Last year, Zahn Group planned to incorporate the cabin into the resort's centralized management system. There's a long-term, rent-free use agreement that grants Zahn Group use of the cabin for the next ten years. The acknowledgment form bears your signature."

I said, "I never signed that."

Cole paused for two seconds and said, "The signing date was November 17 of last year."

That was our wedding anniversary. Blaine had told me he wanted to make up for all the grievances I'd endured over the years, so he took me to a countryside resort for an overnight stay.

Before we left, he brought me a stack of the resort's annual operating documents and asked me to sign the last few pages.

I hadn't looked closely. That day, he had fastened the seven-star necklace around my neck himself and told me that no matter what happened, Stargazer Mountain Resort and he would always be my safe haven.

However, it turned out that on the day he seemed to have granted me an ultimate retreat, he was actually giving it to someone else as his so-called repayment.

When I returned to the ballroom, the opening ceremony for the exhibition had already begun. My necklace sat inside a glass display case on a bed of red velvet. Under the lights, the scratch across the center star was painfully obvious.

The host invited Blaine to give a speech.

He took the microphone, and his eyes found me across the crowd. "This exhibition marks Lizzie's new beginning after returning home. It's also a promise I'm fulfilling for someone who is no longer here."

The screen behind him lit up, displaying the redesigned cabin.

Mom's name, which had once been displayed proudly on the exterior, had been completely erased.

In its place were two new words—Sterling Studio.

The guests started applauding.

Blaine stepped off the stage and handed me a document. "After the exhibition, I plan to give Lizzie ten years of use of the cabin. Since you're the owner, I need your signature."

He flipped to the last page for me and even placed a pen in my hand. "Stop making a scene. Sign it, and I'll take you home."

I looked at his hand that was wrapped around mine and slowly pulled the pen free. "Blaine, do you really think I'm just making a scene?"

His expression remained calm. "Then what else is it? You've threatened to leave me so many times. When have you ever actually gone through with it?"

I nodded and refused to sign the agreement.

Instead, I wrote a notice revoking the right to use the cabin in the blank space. Then, I pulled out the divorce papers from my bag and placed them beside his hand. I removed my wedding ring and placed it inside the display case containing the seven-star necklace.

For the first time, Blaine frowned. "Wanda, what are you trying to do now?"

I turned and walked toward the exit.

Behind me, the guests were still waiting for him to say something. Lizzie was tugging at his sleeve.

Blaine didn't follow me. He simply called out to me from across the crowd.

"It's still snowing outside. Once you walk through that door, don't expect me to come after you."

I didn't stop.

This time, someone was already waiting for me outside the resort.

Blaine watched my figure disappear into the snowstorm before turning back to deal with the "mess" I'd left behind in the display case. He was certain that, just like every time during the past seven years, I'd come crawling back and give in after a few days.

But when he casually picked up the wedding ring that should have been on my finger, his expression suddenly changed.

His gaze landed on the seven-star necklace that was underneath it. Not only had the silver chain been fitted with a cheap replacement clasp, but the center star engraved with my birth date had a corner chipped off. A glaring chunk was missing from its edge.

Blaine stared at the damaged star. Then, he whipped around to look toward the doors, his face turning pale.