Chapter 2

Wrapped in a blanket, I sat in a wicker chair on the terrace, running my fingers again and again over the faint mark the wedding ring had left on my left ring finger.

At two in the morning, I heard the lock turn.

Lucius’s footsteps drifted up from the stairwell, slow and slightly unsteady from the alcohol.

He walked over and wrapped his arms around me from behind, blanket and all, resting his chin in the curve between my neck and shoulder.

A cloying floral perfume drifted through the alcohol on his breath, clinging to me like overly sweet gum.

My stomach immediately turned.

It was Liz’s scent.

“Still angry?”

His voice was low and husky.

“I get it. You’ve been upset all night. You even left without having any cake.”

His arms tightened around me, locking me firmly against his chest.

I instinctively tried to pull away, but I couldn’t break free.

“Merope, the angrier you get, the more I know how much you care about me.”

His lips brushed my ear, his voice carrying the patronizing assurance of someone granting me a favor.

“Don’t worry. You’ll always be the one I love most.”

Then he brought his left hand around in front of me and opened his palm.

Our wedding ring lay quietly there, gleaming with a cold white light beneath the moon.

“Look.”

I could almost picture the smug smile on his face behind me.

“Stop being angry. Here, let me put it back on you.”

The moment the cool metal touched my fingertip, I jerked my hand away and knocked it aside.

The ring flew through the air, struck the railing once, and disappeared into the darkness below.

Lucius froze with his hand suspended in midair.

A second later, he released me.

I stood up and turned to face him, only to find that his expression had gone frighteningly cold.

“Merope.”

“That was our wedding ring. How could you...”

“I don’t want something that another woman has worn. It feels dirty.”

I cut him off, forcing a bitter curve onto my lips.

For a moment, he had nothing to say.

Then he frowned and let out a helpless sigh.

“Do you really have to make such a big deal out of this? It was only a penalty in a party game, and now you’re actually jealous of a girl like Liz.”

“Haven’t you noticed? Liz looks almost exactly like you used to—bold, radiant, afraid of nothing. That’s the only reason I paid a little more attention to her. But you…”

His gaze swept over me from head to toe, irritation creeping into his expression.

“Look at what you’ve become. You’ve turned into a bitter, resentful wife who does nothing but make things difficult for me.”

I stared at him without saying a word.

Under the moonlight, his face was just as handsome as it had been for the past three years, yet every word that came from his mouth cut into my heart like a knife.

Just then, his phone rang.

The moment he looked at the screen, the impatience between his brows disappeared.

He turned slightly away from me to answer and lowered his voice. With his back to me, even his shoulders seemed to relax.

After ending the call, he straightened the collar of his coat and looked down at me.

“I have some Family business to take care of. Stay home and think about what you did.”

The entire estate fell silent after he left.

My legs suddenly gave out, and I collapsed back into the wicker chair as the last of the strength holding me together drained away.

My phone vibrated beneath the blanket.

It was a friend request.

After accepting it, I opened the woman’s profile—and froze at her latest post.

The photo showed an enormous pink diamond ring, intricately cut and glowing with a soft, luxurious brilliance.

The caption read, “My love said anything too modest would never be worthy of me.”

The hand in the photo had a small red mole on the back.

It was Liz.

So Lucius hadn’t come home in the middle of the night to return our wedding ring because he had suddenly developed a conscience.

He had simply decided that the old one was no longer good enough for his new sweetheart.

Before I could even lower my phone, another post appeared.

In the picture, a man’s hand was gently rubbing a slender ankle, and on his ring finger was the matching band from our wedding set.

The caption read, “I told him I twisted my ankle, and he immediately left that boring woman behind to come take care of me.”

I smiled faintly and sent Liz a message.

“How about we make a deal?”