Chapter 4

Back then, Harrison might have seemed cold, but every bit of affection he had went to me.

He was so particular about cleanliness that he never let anyone near him.

But whenever it snowed, he’d take my cold hand without hesitation and tuck it into his coat pocket to warm it.

He was a workaholic, yet he canceled a meeting over a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars and drove me to the beach overnight, just because I’d casually mentioned wanting to see the ocean.

He’d frown and scold me for being reckless, then take off his coat and wrap it around me.

But over the past three years, the transmigrator had twisted our relationship while trying to complete her conquest missions.

She’d drugged Harrison and climbed into his bed. She’d acted like a lunatic, picking fights with every woman who got near him.

She’d trampled my dignity and worn down the deep affection Harrison once felt for me until all that remained was disgust.

He was only treating Jocelyn so well now because she reminded him of who I’d been before I lost my mind three years ago.

I looked at the contempt in his eyes and felt nothing but weariness.

The necklace belonged to my mother. It was one of the few keepsakes she’d left me.

But the transmigrator had worn it around her neck every day, flaunting it to provoke Jocelyn.

Now, somehow, it belonged to Jocelyn.

The transmigrator would probably have argued that the necklace was mine.

I didn’t.

There was no point explaining anything to these people.

I reached behind my neck and found the clasp.

With a click, I released it.

A smug smile flashed across Jocelyn’s face. She reached out to take it.

“Thank you, Summer—”

But I didn’t hand it to her.

I turned my wrist and tossed the necklace into the puddle at my feet.

Mud splashed across Jocelyn’s dress.

“Ah!” Jocelyn shrieked and stumbled back, then burst into tears.

“Summer, if you didn’t want to give it to me, you could’ve just said so. Why throw away something Mom left for me…?”

“What are you doing?” Harrison pulled Jocelyn under the umbrella and glared at me.

Shane was furious. He rushed over and raised his hand to slap me again.

“You bitch! I’ll—”

I stood still and watched his hand hover in the air.

“Go ahead,” I said coldly. “If you hit me, tomorrow’s headline will be ‘Shane Leigh Assaults an Ordinary Woman in Broad Daylight.’”

Shane’s hand froze.

He trembled with rage, but didn’t dare bring it down.

I ignored him.

In front of them all, I took off my earrings and bracelet.

Then I bent down and pulled off the heels that had rubbed my heels raw and bloody.

I stood barefoot in the rain and looked up at the people on the steps.

“I won’t take a single thing from the Leigh family with me. From this moment on, I have nothing to do with the Leigh or Kane families.”

Then I turned and walked away.

The fans at the bottom of the steps were stunned by the way I’d acted.

Someone took a step back. The crowd that had blocked the way parted without thinking.

Rain ran down my face as I walked farther into the night.

Shane still had his hand raised. His gaze dropped to the heels on the ground.

Suddenly, he shuddered.

The backs of the shoes were soaked through with blood.

The other men on the steps stared at the red stains, too.

Over the past three years, the “Summer Leigh” they knew would scream and cry for half a month over the slightest paper cut, forcing them all to comfort her.

But just now, my heels had been rubbed raw, and I’d walked barefoot over ground full of gravel in the rain without even frowning.

It felt familiar and strange at the same time.

Because before my body got stolen by the transmigrator three years ago, the real Summer Leigh had been just like this.

Jocelyn sensed the shift in the mood.

She saw the men staring in the direction I’d gone, and panic flashed in her eyes.

She quickly crouched and picked up the necklace.

“Don’t be mad at Summer, you guys.” Jocelyn held the necklace in her hands and smiled.

“She must’ve taken it from my room without thinking. She didn’t mean to steal it. I said I didn’t blame her. Why is she still so bad-tempered?”

Then she instinctively leaned toward Harrison.

Usually, he would have caught her gently.

But this time, Harrison didn’t move. He stepped halfway aside to avoid her.

Jocelyn stumbled and fell short of his arms. She looked up in disbelief.

“Harrison…”

Harrison frowned at the necklace in her hands and asked in a low voice, “Jocelyn, you said she stole this from your room?”

Jocelyn’s heart lurched, but she nodded through it.

“Y-yes. It was a coming-of-age gift my mother left for me—”

“You’re lying.”