Chapter 5

"Here's fifty million dollars. Once you've recovered, we'll have our wedding in the Maldives. You always said you wanted…" he said.

"Wedding?" I repeated.

I took the check and slowly tore it into pieces, hissing, "Do you think I'd ever marry a murderer again?"

…

A pair of high heels owned by Jenny was by the entryway when I returned to the Hart villa.

I could hear sweet laughter coming from upstairs.

"This necklace is gorgeous, Chance! It's so much prettier than the pearl necklace Nora has."

My fingers tightened weakly around the banister. The mechanical heart in my chest began to burn.

I heard his voice threaded with intimate laughter as he said, "Buy a few more if you like it."

He wrapped his arm around her waist, and he was twining his fingers through her hair. He did that with me eight years ago.

Jenny waved her phone at me.

"Nora. Look at what people are saying online. 'The socialite wife of a rich heir is actually the daughter of a call girl.' Haha! So your mom was a prostitute!"

My vision went black. The mechanical heart thumped in my chest. The pain nearly made me faint.

She had taken my heart, so why was she cruel still?

My mother was already dead!

Chance frowned at me and asked, "What now? Jenny has just recovered. Don't upset her," he said.

I lunged to snatch the phone.

"Enough!" he yelled.

He shoved me, causing me to stumble and fall down the stairs. The mechanical heart whirred inside me.

However, he turned to cradle Jenny in his arms, his voice tender as he said, "Don't worry. I won't let her come near you again."

I laid on the floor and stared at their embracing figures. I felt more than pathetic.

…

Jenny brought me to the seaside. She told me she was going to erase the online rumors of my mom if I went there.

The rain was pouring hard.

Jenny walked over with an umbrella. There was a victorious smile on her face, and she waved a yellowed diary at me.

"Guess what's written inside, Nora?" she asked.

She flipped the pages, rain drops splattering the yellowed pages.

"March 12, 2005. Day eighteen of being sold to a club by debt collectors. Today, a man named Mr. Hart paid my ransom. He said he wanted me to be his mistress… I'm grateful he saved me, but… I have a family. I have a wonderful husband and daughter. Turns out our family's debt was because of this man. He wanted to own me, and I was foolish enough to be grateful to him!" she read.

…

"In the end, I agreed to sell my daughter to him. I'm sorry, Nora. I had no other choice," she continued to read.

"Shut up!" I yelled.

I ran to get the diary, the pain from my mechanical heart tearing me apart.

Jenny only laughed and stepped back. Her heels sunk into the wet sand.

"What's wrong? Afraid I'll tell everyone you were sold to the Harts by your mom? Do you think Chance doesn't know? He knew all along. He thinks you and your mother are disgusting. Your mom was nothing but a wh*re who seduced his grandfather, and you're the same," she said.

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. It was ridiculous!

"Nora!" I heard Chance from afar. He ran through the rain but stopped abruptly when he saw the diary.

Jenny took the opportunity to shove me to the ground.

"Chance, she's trying to kill me!" she yelled.

He pulled her into his arms protectively, his gaze on me full of loathing as he said, "Since you like making up lies so much, why not go take a dip in the sea to clear your head?"

I stared coldly at the man I had loved for eight years, my chest tightening with anger and sorrow.

"You've killed four lives." I spat.

Without a second thought, I dove into the sea.