Chapter 3

The crack of the slap sent my face snapping to one side, and a stinging heat spread fast across my cheek.

I stared at Lena in disbelief.

She struck a righteous pose. "Hazel, you can bully me all you like in private, but how could you talk to Mom and Dad like that?"

My parents still had my hands pinned. I didn't even have the chance to dodge.

The second slap landed just as hard as the first.

"That one was for Nathan. How could you humiliate him in front of all these people, with no regard for his reputation at all?"

My cheek throbbed until it went numb, but the sting wasn't what got to me—it was how absurd the whole thing felt.

I wrenched myself free of my parents' grip. Before I could even find my footing, Nathan's mother stormed over, her face twisted with disgust.

"Enough! Do you know what kind of occasion this is? You had to make a scene like this, with absolutely no sense of restraint. As if you were ever good enough to marry into the Sinclairs."

The moment she turned to Lena, her whole expression melted into a smile.

"Lena's the sensible one. This is exactly what a daughter-in-law should be. My son is lucky beyond words that he gets to marry you. You're worth a hundred of those countryside girls."

Nathan looked embarrassed. He shot me an unhappy look. "See? It's exactly because you never know how to behave that my mother's never satisfied with you."

I stared at him, my throat tightening.

It wasn't hard to guess why—every single time his mother had gone after me, he'd chosen to say nothing.

He'd never once stood firmly on my side, which was exactly why his mother felt free to look down on me. She knew that no matter how far she pushed, Nathan would never back me up.

The murmurs around us grew louder. Embarrassed, Nathan lowered his voice.

"Hazel, go on home for now. Just a month."

He reached for my hand. "In a month, you'll still be my wife."

I didn't answer. My gaze slid past everyone and landed on the bridal carriage sitting in the corner.

Pearls studded every inch of it, catching the light in a soft glow.

Nobody knew that while our parents had spent all their time nursing Lena through one fake illness after another, every single one of those pearls—normally something an elder in the family dove for by hand—had been gathered by me, one trip after another, into the ocean, myself.

I stared at that carriage, my voice coming out rough. "And the carriage?"

My father frowned. "We'll have another one made for you later. This one goes to Lena for now."

My mother sounded impatient. "Lena's real parents are no longer here. It's sad enough that she has no family to dive for pearls on her behalf. What's the harm in letting her have the carriage?"

Give it up. Again. All these years, how much had I already given up for her?

The recommendation slot at school—given to her. The promotion at the company—given to her.

My parents' love, my brother's favoritism—given to her.

And now, even my husband.

My nails dug hard into my palms. "No. This carriage is mine. I built it myself, and I'm taking it with me."

Ryan grabbed for my arm. "Hazel, stop being unreasonable! It's bad luck for a Bennett daughter to marry without a bridal carriage—she'll live in poverty her whole life! How can you be so selfish, so vicious?

"There are so many people watching. Don't embarrass our family any further."

I bit down hard enough to taste blood, the coppery tang spreading slowly across my tongue.

I spoke, each word deliberate. "Fine. But then I'll tell God the truth, too. That you lied to her."

The moment I said it, every face in the room changed.

Nobody here would dare deceive God.

Ryan panicked. He kicked out at me, hard, trying to stop me before I could move.

My head cracked against the corner of a table, and the world tilted into a dizzy blur.

Before I could get back up, he'd already snatched a torch from beside him and hurled it straight at the carriage.

The flames roared to life instantly, pearls popping and cracking one after another as they burned.

Ryan sneered through gritted teeth. "No evidence left now. Let's see you go crying to anyone."

The firelight lit up every face in the room. Not one person moved to help.

My parents shot me a cold glance, then turned and hurried Lena away from the flames.

Nathan looked thoroughly irritated. "I told you—this was just supposed to be a wedding for your sister, to make up for what she's missed out on. I'm still registering our marriage in a month. What more do you want?

"You made this mess. You clean it up yourself.

"Go home and apologize to Lena. Otherwise, don't even think about marrying into the Sinclairs."

With that, he led Lena off to the banquet hall next door.

The wooden carriage burned fast. Ten years of swallowed grievances and compromises burned right along with it, gone for good.

He'd been wrong about one thing. I was never a woman who had no choice but Nathan Sinclair.

My phone buzzed. The second I picked up, an anxious voice came through before I could even say hello. "Sweetheart, are they giving you a hard time?"

Every ounce of grief I'd swallowed down came rushing up at once. Tears spilled over. "Dad. Mom. I want to come home."

A crash of noise came from the other end, like a chair had been knocked over.

"Don't cry, sweetheart! We're coming to get you right now!"