Chapter 6

When I woke, the first thing I did was feel my palm.

It had been bandaged.

The necklace was gone.

I bolted upright. Martha, sitting beside the bed, quickly put a hand on my shoulder.

“It’s here.”

She handed me a small clear box.

Inside were the broken chain, the pendant, and a few almost invisible fragments of blue enamel.

I clutched the box, and the tears finally came.

Martha didn’t tell me not to cry.

She sat beside me until I could breathe again, then placed an envelope on the nightstand.

“Your mother’s jeweler is still in business. I spoke to him. He’s willing to take a look.”

“Thank you.”

“And I’ll find out what happened with the dinner.”

I lifted my head.

Martha met my eyes.

“When you were speaking, you kept looking at the side door. Your mother used to do that when she was nervous, too. But she was looking for your father. You weren’t.”

I opened my mouth.

No sound came out.

The hospital room door opened.

Julian stood in the doorway, his jacket over his arm, his tie loosened.

His expression tightened when he saw Martha.

“The doctor said she needs rest.”

Martha didn’t leave right away.

Only after I nodded did she squeeze my hand and walk out.

Julian set a glass of water beside the bed.

“The cut isn’t deep. The doctor says the scar shouldn’t be noticeable.”

I didn’t touch the water.

His gaze fell to the box in my hands.

“Jewelry can be repaired.”

I held it tighter.

The movement seemed to sting him. His voice dropped.

“I pushed you harder than I meant to.”

I looked out the window and said nothing.

Once, that single admission would have been enough for me to make a thousand excuses.

He was tired. He was under pressure. He hadn’t meant it.

Now all I wanted to know was when he would leave.

The silence began to irritate him.

“Sienna’s face is swollen, too.”

I turned toward him.

He avoided my eyes and continued.

“Apologize to her. We’ll put the dinner behind us. I can give you another wedding.”

The room went quiet except for the faint sound of the equipment.

Suddenly, I laughed.

Julian frowned.

“What’s funny?”

“You really think I want to marry you again?”

His expression slowly went blank.

“Don’t say things you’ll regret, Claire.”

I opened the bedside drawer and took out the documents my attorney had left.

“Talk to my lawyer. About all of it.”

He glanced at the cover but didn’t take them.

“My father found you one?”

“I asked for one.”

“Do you understand what leaving the Moretti family means?”

I lowered my eyes and ran a finger over the lid of the box.

“Yes.”

No more of his cars. No more of his bodyguards. No one treating me politely because I was his fiancée.

But no one using my parents to make me submit, either.

Julian stood there for a while, then pushed the water closer.

“We’ll talk when you’ve calmed down.”

After he left, I called a nurse and asked her to contact my doctor.

That evening, I left the hospital with someone to accompany me and went to my mother’s old apartment.

It was small. No servants. No guards at the door.

For the first time, I slept through the night.

Early the next morning, Declan called.

“The car’s there. Take your time. I told the driver to wait.”

I sat at my mother’s old piano, watching sunlight fall across the lid.

“Declan.”

“Yes?”

“If I come to you, what will you want in return?”

He didn’t speak for a long time.

When he did, his voice was lower.

“Claire, I’m not making a deal with you.”