Chapter 4

My heart clenched.

The bracelet in Whitney’s raised hand wobbled. It looked like it could fall at any moment.

I gritted my teeth and spoke each word through my clenched jaw.

“Whitney, that bracelet is the token passed down to the wives of the Foster family. Have you ever considered the consequences of something bad happening to it?”

“What of it? You’re the one who did something wrong! If you just do what I say, the bracelet will be fine!”

Whitney looked completely unconcerned. She even sounded a little impatient.

She hooked the bracelet with her finger and started spinning it. My heart was in my throat.

“Fine. I’ll take the trending topic down.”

I took out my phone and made a call.

In less than half an hour, the trending topic that had been blowing up disappeared.

A new one replaced it.

[Foster Family’s Grand Wedding Canceled. Innocent Award-Winning Actress to Be Blacklisted.]

The smile that had just appeared on Whitney’s lips froze.

Her body trembled. She shoved the phone screen at my face.

“Yale… What does this trending topic mean? Aren’t you done yet? Do you know how much damage a fake rumor like this could do to my career?”

I looked at her. Even at this point, she still had not realized the truth. I suddenly found it ridiculous.

Without the rose-colored glasses I once had for her, I saw how foolish she really was.

“It means exactly what it says. What’s wrong? Have you played dumb so many times that you can’t even read anymore?”

My voice was cold. “Now, give the bracelet back. I might still consider not taking this any further.”

“How could you?!” Whitney flew into a rage. “You just want to ruin my career, so I’ll quietly retire after we get married! Yale, how can you be so selfish?”

“Selfish?” I laughed. “Before the wedding, you insisted on changing the script just to satisfy your own desires. You wanted to turn a fake scene into something real. So, which one of us is truly the selfish one?”

It seemed I had struck a nerve. Whitney lost control. She screamed and slammed the crystal bracelet onto the floor.

My eyes widened.

I watched the bracelet shatter into pieces. My eyes turned red with anger. I rushed forward and tried to gather the fragments.

The sharp edges cut into my hands. Blood began to ooze out of my wounds.

However, I felt no pain in my hands. Only my heart ached as if it had shattered too.

My mother died early. After that, the bracelet returned to my grandmother.

I insisted on marrying Whitney no matter what. Only then did my grandmother agree to give the bracelet to her.

I never expected it to end like this.

I looked up and glared at Whitney.

“How dare you…”

“It’s just broken. What of it? You can buy me another one another day. I won’t blame you.”

Whitney sounded a little guilty for a moment. Then, she spoke as if she were completely in the right.

I scoffed.

Suddenly, Yarden stumbled and stepped hard on my hand.

The broken crystal pieces I had been trying to gather burrowed into my palm.

“Ah!”

The sharp pain shot through my fingers, and I finally cried out.

Yarden let out an exaggerated gasp, followed by a stiff, fake apology.

I raised my head and met Whitney’s gaze. There was a flicker of pity in her eyes.

“Good. At least you know what pain feels like. You hit Yarden just now. It’s only fair that you suffer a little too. Take care of your wound yourself. Don’t make it so I can’t put the ring on your finger at the wedding tomorrow.

“A wedding happens only once. If you ruin it for me, I won’t forgive you.”

Her words were as cold as the winter wind. They almost made my anger flare.

I stared at the crystal shards in my palm. My heart felt ice cold.

“Whitney, you and Yarden have no tomorrow.”

At that moment, both Whitney’s and Yarden’s phones rang at the same time.

They picked up their phones at the same time. Their agents’ voices thundered through the line.

“What did you do to anger Mr. Foster? Do you know all your scheduled events have been canceled?”