"No need."

Through that voice recorder, I already knew everything.

My family and Ryder's family had known each other for generations.

When I was eighteen, my mother, Eleanor Hawthorne, fell critically ill. Ryder's mother, Portia Calloway, donated a kidney that saved Mum's life.

Before the surgery, Mum lay in the hospital bed crying. "How are we ever supposed to repay something like this?"

Mrs. Calloway half-joked, "If you really want to repay me, then let Lyra marry my son someday."

I stood there at a loss, unsure what to say.

Ryder answered first, "Then it's settled, Mrs. Hawthorne. I like Lyra. I'll definitely marry her in the future." He spoke with such certainty as if he would never go back on his word.

So, three years ago, Ryder and I got engaged. I stayed in the country, while he went abroad.

Perhaps out of gratitude, I deliberately picked up cooking and basic nursing care. Whenever I had time, I would go to Ryder's house to take care of his parents.

The rumors outside grew harsher and harsher.

People said I was Ryder's shameless little follower, that before even marrying him, I had already degraded myself into being his family's servant.

However, whenever I thought about Mum, I endured it all.

To vent my frustration, I secretly started practicing racing. I even achieved quite a few good results.

Later, Mum's illness returned, and she passed away. My father, Victor Hawthorne, remarried and started a new family, and my position in that household became more and more insignificant.

It felt as though, aside from Ryder, there was no one left I could rely on.

Now he was telling me that he liked someone else.

So to him, I had only ever been a naive affection from his youth, far less meaningful than the feelings he developed in just a dozen days with someone new.

I thought I would cry, yet not a single tear fell.

Silently, I opened the safe and took out the tokens we had exchanged during our engagement.

His was an exquisite antique hairpin, symbolizing the rightful wife binding one's hair together for life.

The one I had given him was a double-carved ruby pendant Mum had passed down to me. It symbolized the virtue of a gentleman. That pendant was the only thing Mum had left for me.

I made an appointment with Ryder to meet again. Since the engagement was already broken, the tokens naturally had to be exchanged back.

Just after midnight, Ryder updated his social media. In the photo, he and Nova were tightly embracing, their hands forming a heart together.

Ryder wrote: "No special skills. Just managed to win over the person I wanted on Valentine's Day."

So that was why he had been in such a hurry to break off the engagement. He wanted to announce their relationship on Valentine's Day.

I tapped the like button. If he liked her that much, then they might as well stay locked together forever.

A few minutes later, a message suddenly popped up on my phone.

Orion Vance: "Happy Valentine's Day."

I stared at the name for several seconds, my mind freezing. I never expected he would be the first person to say that to me.

In our circle, everyone said Orion was someone of extraordinary status, someone far beyond reach. As for me, I had only met him a few times through racing.

Maybe he had sent the message to the wrong person, but the next second, another message appeared.

"You deserve someone better."

…

Before I even had time to think about Orion's words, I was already drowning in a flood of rumors.

Almost everyone around me was saying that Ryder had dumped me.

Early that morning, Dad scolded me harshly. Even my stepmother, Vanessa Hawthorne, mocked me with cold sarcasm, saying I was useless.

I found it almost laughable. At some point, despite being the one betrayed, I had somehow become the embarrassing one.

Soon after, a number of people began sending me private messages.

"So I heard Ryder got himself a new girlfriend? Hahaha. And on Valentine's Day too. I honestly don't even know how to comfort you."

"These past few years weren't a loss, though. At least you learned how to serve people well, right, Lyra?"

"He's just stubborn but softhearted. If you beg him nicely, maybe he'll change his mind. If that doesn't work, you could always cry, make a scene, or threaten suicide."

I ignored all of their mockery.

One by one, I blocked and deleted them.

Right now, all I wanted was Mum's keepsake back. I placed the hairpin and the voice recorder together into a box.

At the appointed time, I arrived at the meeting place, but when I got there, I realized I had been tricked.

An entire table of people was already sitting there. Every single one of them was part of Ryder's usual group of friends back home.

He and Nova sat in the middle of the table, laughing and chatting with everyone around them.

The moment the door opened, every pair of eyes in the room turned toward me.

Ryder spoke first, "Nova wanted to meet some of my friends, so I invited everyone over while we were here. You don't mind, do you?"

Someone who clearly couldn't wait to watch the drama quickly pulled out a chair.

"Oh, Lyra's here! Come on, we've been waiting for you."

I didn't sit. Instead, I placed the box with the hairpin on the table. "This is yours. Where's mine?"

Ryder froze for a moment before clicking his tongue. "Ah, damn. I forgot."

"Then please mail it to me as soon as possible. I have somewhere else to be."

I had just turned to leave when Nova stepped in front of me.

"Lyra, don't go yet. If you leave now, everyone will think I'm the other woman." She frowned slightly, putting on an innocent expression.

I smiled. "Aren't you?"

The private room fell silent.

Nova's face stiffened, her expression turning sour.

Ryder shot me an irritated look. "Sit down, Lyra. I'll call the driver and have him bring it over."

While we waited for the driver, the atmosphere gradually warmed up again.

Ryder had been right. Nova was bold and flamboyant, speaking with effortless confidence. Before long, she had become the center of attention.

Someone asked eagerly, "Nova, I heard you worked as a grid girl abroad. Tell us what that was like."

Her excitement immediately grew.

By the time I lowered my head to sip my tea, she had already moved from explaining race rules to talking about driving techniques, sounding completely at ease with the entire racing world.

"You know what I love most about racetracks?" she said. "The adrenaline rush. And you get to meet so many incredible drivers."

Her gaze drifted meaningfully toward Ryder, who had already turned his head toward her, his eyes full of warmth.

She sighed in mock regret. "The only downside is how hard it is to get a racing license. I've tried several times and still haven't passed."

Most of the people at the table had never had any connection to racing before, so the more she spoke, the more impressed they became.

"Wow, Nova, that's already amazing. None of the girls we know have anything to do with racing."

"Yeah, Ryder really does have good taste. Finding someone who's both gorgeous and that cool."

Ryder instinctively glanced at me.

I kept my head down, quietly drinking my tea without saying a word.

Nova followed his gaze and looked at me. "Lyra, do you know anything about racing?"

The moment she asked, someone burst out laughing.

"Her? No way she'd understand something that exciting. Miss Hawthorne barely even leaves the house. If she stepped onto a racetrack, she'd probably faint on the spot."

"That's not entirely fair. I see her going to Ryder's house all the time. Taking care of people takes skill too, right?"

Nova widened her eyes in mock surprise and covered her mouth. "Oh? Really? Then I guess my question was rude. But that's okay. Everyone has their own value."

She turned toward Ryder again, her tone suddenly soft and playful. "When we get married someday, you'll have to hire someone like Lyra to take care of your parents. I definitely can't do that."

Laughter exploded around the table.

I clenched my fists before slowly loosening them again. As long as I got my item back, I wouldn't stay here a second longer.

Nova pulled a ticket from her bag and asked someone beside her to pass it to me.

"Lyra, this is a ticket for next month's race. I happened to have an extra. Ryder and I will both be competing. If you have time, you should come watch."

I looked at the ticket and smiled. Wasn't this the exact race I had signed up for not long ago?

I didn't bother wasting words on them. I drained the tea in my cup and looked up at Ryder. "Call your driver again. Ask where the item is."

Ryder made the call.

A moment later, his brows drew together.

"Lyra… you might not be able to get it back right now."

"Why?" I shot to my feet, confusion written all over my face.

Ryder rubbed his temple, clearly not planning to lie. "I remember putting it in the box. But somehow it just disappeared."

What did he mean by "disappeared"?

That was the only thing Mum had left me. Even if I had to tear the ground apart, I would find it.

Nova, however, paid no attention to the conversation between Ryder and me. She had stood up and was reaching for the bottle of red wine in the center of the table.

When she bent forward, the pendant around her neck slipped into view.

It was my ruby pendant.

"Wait!" I immediately stopped her and pointed at her neck. "That pendant you're wearing right now belongs to me."

The entire room went silent.

Everyone stared at the two of us.

Nova turned to Ryder, completely calm. "Ryder, Lyra says it's hers. But how can she prove it?"

Ryder had no answer. He had never truly cared enough about me to examine the engagement token carefully.

Nevertheless, I remembered it perfectly.

"The pendant has two dragons wrapped around a ruby. The goldwork twists their bodies together around the stone. And there's a tiny yellow mark on one side—a small flaw."

I had worn that pendant constantly until I turned twenty. Every detail of it was burned into my memory.

Nova lifted the pendant and examined it from front to back. Then she turned and smiled at Ryder.

"Even if it is Lyra's… I kind of like it now. Do I have to give it back?"

"You do. Right now." I would not compromise on this.

Ryder stood up. He patted Nova's shoulder in comfort before turning to me with a frown. "Come on. There's no need to make such a big deal out of this. It's just a pendant. Name your price, and I'll transfer the money right now."

What nonsense was he even saying?

My voice rose, desperation spilling out. "That was the only thing Mum left me. It's her keepsake. Do you understand?"

The room fell even quieter.

Dead silence.

"A keepsake? Why didn't you say so earlier? I don't want something that unlucky!" Nova suddenly yanked the pendant off her neck.

As if it were trash, she slammed it onto the table.

Crack!

With a single strike, the ruby split cleanly down the middle into two pieces.

In that instant, something inside me collapsed like a tidal wave, swallowing every shred of reason I had left.

I rushed forward, grabbed Nova by the hair, and slammed her head down against the table. With my other hand, I shattered a wine glass and pointed the jagged edge toward her panicked face.

"Ah! Are you crazy?!" Nova screamed. The entire room descended into chaos.

Ryder grabbed my wrist, stopping my next move.

The broken glass sliced into my hand. Blood seeped through my fingers, dripping down and staining his hand as well.

"Lyra, calm down! It's already broken, and you're bleeding!"

I forced down the murderous rage rising inside me and shoved him away.

My hands trembling, I gathered the broken pieces of the pendant from the table, trying to fit them back together.

Tragically, no matter how hard I tried, they would never be whole again.

My tears fell instantly. I hadn't cried when the engagement was broken, or when people mocked me.

But this time… I couldn't hold it back.

Ryder cautiously touched my shoulder, his voice uncertain. "Stop. It's already broken. Be careful. You'll hurt yourself again."

"Get lost!" I shouted at him and slapped him across the face.

In his stunned gaze, I carefully collected the pieces of the pendant and put them away. Then I turned and walked out without looking back.

Every feeling I had ever had for Ryder was finally ripped out at the root. From this moment on, there was nothing left for me to hold back.