Christian moved quickly and yanked Jessica out of the way. The heavy metal stand slammed into my head instead. Heat spread across my forehead at once, and the smell of blood filled my nose.

I hit the ground and shoved the light stand off me with both hands. Pain flared through my body.

I had not even caught my breath when Jessica's voice echoed, already thick with tears. "Julie, why did you push the light stand? If Chris hadn't reacted in time, it would have hit me in the face. If I got disfigured, we would have to postpone the engagement party."

Christian's expression hardened with cold understanding. He turned to me, his face chilly. "Juliana. No wonder you looked so calm watching Jessie and me take photos for our engagement party. You had already planned how to ruin them."

He stared down at me, his voice hard. "You think if you stop our shoot, you'll get another chance with me? Keep dreaming."

He did not wait for a response. He turned and walked away with Jessica in his arms.

Through my blurred vision, I saw Jessica curve her red lips into a small, vicious smile.

The housekeeper arranged a car and sent me to the hospital.

After the doctor cleaned and bandaged the wound, I did not go home. I took the injury report straight to the police station and filed a report.

I did not expect it to be dismissed so quickly.

I was still on my way back when I received a call.

"Ms. Winslow, your case was just withdrawn. This is considered a family matter, so it isn't something we can interfere with much. You should discuss it with your family and handle it privately."

The officer kept it vague, but I understood at once. Someone had buried my report.

There were not many people in Sothoris with that kind of power, and even fewer who would use it to protect Jessica.

The answer was obvious. It was Christian.

My hand clenched around the phone until the edge bit into my palm.

The moment I pushed open the door to the Winslow house, Christian's icy voice cut across the room. "Jessie and I already let the light stand incident go. How do you still have the nerve to pretend you're the victim and call the police?"

Jessica shrank into his arms, her face full of grievance. "Exactly, Julie. You deliberately ruined our shoot, and I didn't even make a fuss because you're my sister. But I never thought you would file a police report."

I looked at them, and a surge of anger slammed through my chest so hard my voice shook. "I'm pretending to be the victim? I deliberately ruined your shoot? Do you dare pull up the security footage and say that again?"

Christian looked completely fed up. "I don't need security footage. I just need you to remember this. Don't try any tricks to sabotage my engagement to Jessie. Juliana, the moment you walked away from me five years ago, you lost any right to regret it."

The whole thing was so absurd I almost laughed. I looked straight at him and spoke one word at a time. "I have never regretted leaving you."

I held his gaze. "And let me say this again. I didn't come back for you. I already have a husband and a child."

His face darkened at once.

I did not stay to watch. I turned and went back to my room.

I was afraid Virgil and Anna would see the cut on my forehead and worry, so I stopped our nightly video calls and switched to voice messages.

Virgil noticed something was off. He asked twice, but I gave vague answers both times and let it drop.

Once the wound had begun to heal, my father finally told me what he knew. "At tomorrow's auction, there will be a pendant your mother used to love."

I froze. My heart pounded against my ribs.

After my mother died at sea, most of her belongings had been thrown out by Jessica's mother or sold off piece by piece. In 12 years, this was the first real lead I had found on anything that had belonged to her.

I looked up at my father, but there was little gratitude in my eyes. "I understand."

…

The auction was held at one of the largest hotels downtown.

I arrived half an hour early on purpose. I had just found my seat when Christian and Jessica walked in. They wore matching colors. Their bodies leaned toward each other without thought. They looked every bit like a perfect couple.

When Jessica saw me, her eyes lit up at once. She caught Christian by the arm and hurried over, her voice bright with surprise. "Julie, you actually came to the auction? Did Dad tell you we'd be here, so you followed us? You never used to come to events like this."

I let out a cold laugh.

Back then, I never came to places like this. I had been abandoned in the old district and left to fend for myself, and survival alone took everything I had.

Jessica knew the truth. She was pretending otherwise on purpose, twisting my reasons into something ugly.

Right on cue, Christian let out a faint, mocking scoff. He clearly thought I had come here for him again.

I had no interest in explaining myself anymore. I turned my attention to the auction stage.

Jessica continued chatting beside me as if nothing unpleasant had happened between us over the past two days.

"Julie, what are you planning to bid on tonight? Chris wants to buy me some jewelry for my wedding gifts." Her voice sounded sweet and playful, but the underlying bragging was impossible to miss.

Fortunately, the auctioneer announced the start of the sale and cut off the one-sided conversation.

The first item was a bracelet. I had no interest in it, but I looked at it a moment longer than usual.

The next instant, Christian lifted his paddle.

"200,000." His tone remained flat, but the number overwhelmed every other bid in the room.

The bracelet went to him. He had his assistant pass it to Jessica, and she smiled so widely her eyes nearly disappeared. "Chris, you're the best."

After that, the pattern became obvious. Anything I looked at for more than a moment, Christian bid on. Each time a lot closed, Jessica shot me a smug glance.

It did not take long for the people around us to notice. I could feel their eyes on me as they waited for the spectacle, their voices dropping to whispers.

"Is Mr. Fairmont backing up his fiancée? He keeps crushing Juliana on purpose."

"Backing her up? He's getting revenge. Back then, Juliana weighed over 200 pounds, and Mr. Fairmont was the only one who didn't mind. He was practically ready to propose, and then she disappeared overseas without a word. Now she hears he's getting married and suddenly comes running back. She has no shame at all."

"So she came back to steal the groom? Then what does that make her? A mistress? Disgusting."

Their words pricked at my ears like needles. I bit the inside of my lip and forced myself to stay calm.

My mother's pendant was the only thing that mattered.

At last, the auctioneer lifted a brocade box. "Our next item is a Victorian-era pendant in excellent condition. Opening bid, 240,000 dollars."

The moment the box opened, I stopped breathing. The gemstones lay inside, warm and translucent under the lights.

It was my mother's. The pendant she used to wear.

I raised my paddle at once. "400,000."

Christian's voice followed immediately. "600,000"

I turned to look at him, but he was not looking at me. His gaze rested on Jessica, as if asking whether to continue.

She smiled and nodded. He raised his paddle again. "1,000,000."

I gripped my paddle so tightly my fingertips turned white. This was the only thing my mother had left behind. I could not let it go. "1,200,000."

"1,600,000." His voice remained light, but the force behind it left no room for doubt.

The auction hall stirred. Someone nearby whispered, "Is Mr. Fairmont trying to take the whole room tonight?"

I stared at him, my throat tightening. "Christian, that was my mother's. Could you just..."

"Your mother's keepsake?" He finally looked at me, a cold smile tugging at his mouth. "Juliana, if you want it, then win it. If you can't, then stop standing here acting pathetic."

He lifted a hand and addressed the auctioneer. "I'm setting a ceiling bid."

The room fell silent. Once someone called that, it meant no matter what anyone else offered, he would take the item.

The auctioneer paused, then broke into a smile. "Mr. Fairmont has placed a ceiling bid. The pendant goes to Mr. Fairmont."

Jessica's eyes lit up. She grabbed Christian's hand and leaned against him with a grin. "Chris, you're amazing. This pendant is so beautiful. I want to put it in our new home."

I stared at their joined hands. Cold spread through my body. It felt as if someone had hollowed out my chest.

After the auction ended, Christian went to settle the payment.

I stepped in front of Jessica. She held the brocade box in her arms and smiled, pleased with herself. "Do you need something, Julie?"

"Sell me the pendant." My voice shook. "Name your price. I'll pay double. No, triple."

Jessica arched a brow, then slowly opened the box to show me the pendant inside.

"You want it that badly?" Her smile widened. "Fine. Kneel and beg me. Then maybe I'll consider it."

People nearby turned to look, their faces lighting up with eager curiosity. I clenched my fists until my nails bit into my palms.

My mother's keepsake was right in front of me. I could not give up.

I bent my knees and knelt.

"Please." I looked up at Jessica. "Give me the pendant."

Her smile only brightened. She reached into the brocade box and took out the pendant. For a moment, it seemed she would hand it to me.

Then she released it. The pendant struck the floor and shattered with a sharp crack.

"Oh no, Julie. Why didn't you catch it?" She spread her hands and adopted an innocent expression. "I guess there's nothing we can do now."

I stared at the broken pendant. Pain punched through my chest so hard I could barely breathe.

"Jessica!" I surged to my feet and grabbed her by the collar.

A second earlier, her face had been full of provocation. Now it shifted instantly, turning fragile and frightened.

"Juliana, what are you doing?" Christian's furious voice cut through the air.

He rushed over and shoved me hard enough to knock me to the floor. Then he looked Jessica over from head to toe and asked, his voice tight with concern, "Are you hurt?"

Jessica nodded, then quickly shook her head. "Chris, don't blame my sister. She probably didn't get what she wanted and felt upset, so she tried to take the wedding gift you bought for me. This is my fault. I didn't hold onto the pendant tightly enough..."

Christian turned to me, rage blazing in his eyes. "Juliana, you're the one who kept saying you never regretted leaving me. Then what's this? Stealing the wedding gift I bought for Jessie? You should be ashamed of yourself. Apologize to her."

I pushed myself up from the floor. The skin on my knees was scraped raw. The sting burned, but I clenched my teeth and made no sound.

"I didn't steal anything. And I won't apologize."

Christian let out a cold laugh. "You'd better keep that attitude all the way through."

He took Jessica in his arms and left.

My hands shook as I crouched to gather the broken pieces of the gemstone. The sharp edges sliced my fingers. Blood smeared across the pale stone, but I barely felt it.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I couldn't protect the one thing you left behind." I knelt on the floor, tears spilling out before I could stop them. It felt as though something inside me had broken for good.

After I cried myself empty, I booked a hotel room and decided to move out of the Winslow residence.

That place was not my home. Home was wherever Virgil and Anna were, but they needed five more days before they could return to Imperius.

…

I went back to the Winslow residence to pack. I was halfway through when the guest room door flew open with a violent kick.

Christian stood in the doorway, his expression dark, a whip in his hand. The leather gleamed coldly under the light.

My heart sank.

"Juliana, what you did today made the Winslows a laughingstock," he said. "Your father decided that since you refuse to behave, someone needs to teach you a lesson. I'll do it for him. If you have any sense of shame, then stop entertaining thoughts you should never have had in the first place."

He lifted his hand. A moment later, bodyguards rushed in and pinned me down before I could fight them off.

I met Christian's eyes, saw the certainty there, and almost laughed.

I had explained myself over and over. No matter what I said, he still believed I had come back because of his engagement.

At that point, I did not know whether I had failed to make myself clear or he simply refused to believe the truth.

To me, he no longer mattered.

The whip cracked across my back. Hot, brutal pain exploded. A muffled sound escaped me, but I did not cry.

Then came another lash and another.

My back felt as if it had been set on fire. Even the bodyguards looked away.

Christian's breathing grew heavier, as if he were holding something back, but the force of his blows never lessened.

Only when my knees finally gave out and I collapsed to the floor did he stop.

He dropped the whip. It struck the ground with a sharp snap.

"Remember this lesson." He looked down at me. "Don't try to stand in the way of my marriage to Jessie again."