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."

Pain shook through my entire body, but I still laughed. "Christian, do you really think the world revolves around you?"

Christian's expression darkened at once. He shot me a cold look, then turned and walked out.

By the time the maids helped me back onto the bed, I could barely stand. Blood had seeped from the wounds on my back and soaked through my clothes.

As I drifted in and out of sleep, I felt someone spreading cold ointment over my injuries. It stung.

Half-conscious, I thought it was Virgil. The words slipped out before I could stop them.

"Babe... it hurts..."

The hand applying the ointment stilled.

I forced my eyes open and saw Christian standing beside the bed, a tube of medicine still in his hand. He stared at me, his expression dark.

"Looks like you're not hurt that badly after all. Even now, you're still acting." His voice was cold enough to freeze. He tossed the ointment at me and turned to leave.

I let out a weak laugh and sank back into sleep.

Because of the whip wounds, I had no choice but to remain at the Winslow residence. I stayed in my room, yet I could still hear the Winslows and Fairmonts downstairs, discussing wedding arrangements day after day.

Lately, they seemed to be choosing a venue for the engagement party.

I heard Jessica ask, surprise in her voice, "Even if my sister always picks on me, is this really okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Christian replied gently. "Think of it as getting even for you."

I assumed "getting even" meant he would keep making things difficult for me.

I was wrong.

I had never imagined he would lay a hand on my mother's grave.

My mother had gone into the sea and never returned. There had been no body to bury.

When I was still with Christian, he had told me he felt sorry for me. He had personally set up a memorial grave for my mother on the back hill behind the Fairmont family's suburban estate. He had even had a headstone made.

It was the only place I had left to visit her.

The moment my injuries healed enough for me to leave the Winslow residence, I went straight up the mountain.

I had wanted to bring my mother's keepsake with me. Now all I had was a bouquet of flowers.

But when I arrived, I saw several workers prying at my mother's headstone with crowbars.

Jessica stood nearby with a set of design drawings in her hand, directing them as if she owned the place. "Once this is cleared out, level the ground and sow grass seed over it."

My vision went red. I dropped the flowers and rushed over, shoving the workers aside."Stop! That's my mother's grave. Who gave you permission to tear it down?"

Jessica looked at me without a trace of urgency. "Obviously Chris did. He said the view here was nice, perfect for the engagement venue, and told me I could change whatever I wanted. Julie, your mother's grave is taking up space."

Then she signaled for the workers to drag me away.

I wrapped both arms around my mother's headstone and refused to let go.

The standoff lasted less than a minute before Christian arrived. He took one look at the scene and frowned. "What's going on?"

Jessica hurried over, looped her arm through his, and spoke in a wounded tone. "Chris, my sister keeps interrupting our wedding plans. I'm really worried she'll cause trouble at the engagement party in two days."

Christian's brows drew together, but his eyes showed he believed he understood everything. He shot me a cold glance, then said to the bodyguards behind him, "Lock her in the storage room at the estate. You lot, keep tearing it down."

Two bodyguards stepped forward, seized my arms, and dragged me downhill. I struggled and shouted for them to stop, but no one listened.

The storage room was pitch-black. I curled into a corner, bitterness filling my chest.

By then, my mother's memorial grave had probably already been destroyed.

Tears slid down my face. "I'm sorry, Mom. I couldn't protect your keepsake. And now I couldn't even protect your grave…"

I didn't know how much time had passed before I heard Christian on the second-floor balcony, speaking on the phone.