Chapter 4

My mind went white. I stared blankly at the cross necklace in Vera's hand.

It was my mother's keepsake.

She'd said she wouldn't live to see my child born, so she wanted to prepare a gift for the baby at least.

After my mother died, I never took that necklace off.

"Give it back!"

Once I snapped out of it, I lunged at Vera.

But Vera hid behind Damian, peeking out from over his shoulder.

"What's with the panic? You're the one who bumped into me first!"

"It's just an ordinary necklace. If you want, I'll pay you back ten of them!"

She deliberately put heavy emphasis on the word "bumped."

Like she was reminding Damian that I'd been picking on her all along.

I tried to step around Damian, but he shifted sideways and blocked me.

I looked up at him.

He knew what that necklace meant to me, and he was still shielding Vera.

"Damian, she pulled my necklace off on purpose."

"Get out of my way, or don't blame me for what happens next."

Damian stared at me for a long moment, then sneered.

"I thought you'd actually learned some sense. Turns out you're still this unreasonable."

"I saw it perfectly clearly. You're the one who bumped into Vera first."

I froze where I stood.

He didn't believe me.

Despair burned away every last bit of my anger, and the ashes left behind hardened into ice.

Damian, this is where we end.

Damian turned to Vera. "Give the necklace back to her."

Vera lowered her eyes and slowly opened her hand.

"All right. I'll do what you say."

Just as I reached out to take it, her wrist gave a light little turn.

The cross slipped from her palm and hit the floor.

Metal struck marble with a crisp, ringing sound.

Like the echo of a heartstring snapping.

I crouched down to pick it up and found one corner of the cross had chipped off.

My trembling fingertips brushed over the broken edge, and it sliced a small cut into my skin.

Blood welled up, but I didn't feel the pain.

The noise of the casino hall nearby suddenly felt very far away.

I clutched the cross tight, sinking alone into the abyss.

When I looked up again, my gaze was locked hard on Vera's face.

She shrank back half a step, both hands gripping Damian's sleeve.

"Don, I didn't do anything."

"She didn't catch it herself. You can't blame me!"

Damian pulled Vera back a step and looked down at me.

"Seraphina, calm down. It was just a small accident. No one wanted this."

He paused. "Tonight's banquet is important. Don't throw a tantrum here."

Vera had deliberately destroyed the keepsake my mother gave me.

And what Damian cared about was the banquet and his reputation.

The pain in my fingertip caught up with me, belated and overwhelming.

It surged like a collapsed dam.

Everything around me slowed down.

I stumbled to my feet, but the storm in my eyes broke loose anyway.

Damian froze. A flicker of pity rose on his face.

He'd just taken a step toward me when Vera yanked him back hard.

"Don, the congressman is still waiting in the private room. We have to go entertain him."

"He's a guest I worked so hard to get here. We can't neglect him."

Damian glanced back toward the private room.

"Seraphina, go home first. I'll have someone repair the cross for you."

With that, he turned and walked toward the suite.

The last bit of warmth in my chest drained away.

The world that had been moving in slow motion lurched back to normal speed.

I stopped crying and carefully tucked the cross into my bag.

I'd taken two steps when Damian stopped and turned back to tell me:

"Be good. We'll talk about this when I get home. Wait for me at the estate. Remember, I'll..."

I turned and walked away. Whatever he said after that, I didn't catch.

Back at the estate, I picked up the luggage I'd already packed.

The suitcase was light. Just a few clothes, some documents, and my old jewelry design sketches.

Three years of marriage, and I took nothing Damian had ever bought me.

The only thing I was taking was the version of me from three years ago.

Before I left, I slid the Chalk emerald wedding ring off my ring finger.

Along with the divorce papers, I set it on the desk and walked out the door.

The streets of Las Vegas at three in the morning were still bright.

The Sphere had become a giant moon sitting on the ground.

It was as lonely as I was, because like me, it was stuck somewhere it didn't belong.

I pressed hard on the gas and left everything behind.

The moon belonged up in the sky.

And I was never going to wait for Damian again.