Everyone’s glarings felt like tiny knives, which stabbed my heart.

I shoved Clayton aside and pulled the property deed out from the cabinet.

Just as I lifted it, Regina suddenly collapsed, her eyes fluttering shut.

“Mom … my chest hurts … ”

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Clayton pushed me away and swept Regina into his arms.

His eyes burned red as he glared at me.

“You’re fucking nuts! If anything happens to Regina, I’ll make you pay with your life!”

My lower back slammed against the table corner. Pain surged through me, sharp and breath-stealing. He forgot I was supposed to be carrying his child, too.

As Clayton and Gloria rushed out, the other guests slowly filtered out of the room.

In the cold, silent space they left behind, I crumpled to the floor, no longer able to hold back my tears. That night, the door creaked open. Clayton came in, his expression dark.

“Regina was released from the ER after a heart episode. You’ll go apologize to her tomorrow.”

I turned my back on him, coldly.

“No.”

His voice hardened with anger as he grabbed my arm, then yanked me to face him.

“If I had known you were this cruel, I had never have married you! No wonder your parents died in an accident. Even your child got hit by a car … ”

That sentence said everything.

Our so-called marriage had been a lie. The accident? Also a lie.

I stood suddenly, my voice low and sharp.

W“Was it really an accident?”

Clayton froze. For the first time, he saw real rage rise in my eyes. He instinctively shook his head.

“Hazel … what are you saying … ”

His smile twitched. Then his phone rang and he used a work excuse to slip away. Watching him run, I laughed to myself.

A moment later, my phone beeped. The same person from the agency had sent me a few photos.

“These are the candidates to be your husband. Please choose the one you like.”

My eyes landed on the man in the far-right photo. He had thick brows and dark, calm eyes, looking down at a book. That book was my mother’s masterpiece. Without hesitation, I picked him.

“This one charges $500,000, Miss.”

“Fine.”

I checked my balance. After purchasing Petra Island, not much remained. Thanks to his reminder, I transferred my estate to Sotheby's International Realty and cut off all expenses that weren’t mine.

Gloria’s beauty packages. Regina’s extracurricular classes. Clayton’s car loan. All linked to my credit card, yet never a word of thanks.

Maybe guilt held him back, because Clayton didn’t question me once over the next five days.

Silently, I reviewed the service list from the agency and checked off a handsome butler, a Michelin-starred chef and a high-end beautician.

That was enough. From now on, I would live for myself.

The day of my departure came closer with each breath. I began packing the estate room by room, tossing out anything that belonged to Gloria or Regina. When Clayton came home, he tripped over a box on the floor.

He bent down and pulled out a ring, frowning.

“Hazel, isn’t this our wedding ring? Why did you throw it away?”

Calmly, I said, “Because it didn’t fit.”

The ring had never been my size.

A flicker of confusion passed through his eyes. He took my hand and slid the ring onto my finger, coaxing, “It’s a shame to throw away a good ring. Don’t be upset. Gloria only has me as her brother. I have to take care of them.”

“Regina’s medical bills have been piling up lately, you know … ”

I gently moved my hand, causing the silver ring to slip off. It then landed with a soft clink. After that, it quickly spun on the floor, revealing the engraved words inside.

‘C&G’

In silence, I finally remembered that awful wedding.

No friends, no family, no wedding dress. Just a ten-dollar veil from a factory outlet and a ring that wasn’t even mine. In fact, Clayton never looked me in the eye during the vows.

Even in the few times we were intimate, he insisted the lights be off.

Every visit after marriage came with a reason, either for the children or for money.

“I’m short on cash lately. I’ll sell a few things and get by.”

Clayton believed it, picking up the fallen ring again.

This time, he placed it in the glove compartment.

“These are your things. You decide.”

Money didn’t seem to matter to him anymore. He stayed a moment longer, then hurried off. Meanwhile, I kept packing.

My parents’ belongings filled twenty suitcases. My own filled barely half. I thought for a moment, then threw most of it away, slipping just one photo into my chest pocket.

As I stepped outside, two bodyguards grabbed me and pulled me into a car.

“Miss Moran, Mr. Barnett wants to see you.”

At the hospital entrance, Clayton stood with a serious face.

“You can cancel my card, but why would you stop Regina’s extracurriculars? Her heart condition came back after she got kicked out.”

“Come apologize to her and promise to pay for her classes again.”

I stepped back, voice firm.

“No. I’ll spend my money on who I choose, not someone trying to take my place.”

Clayton’s brows furrowed. He grabbed my arm, trying to pull me into the hospital. In the struggle, the family photo I had protected for years slipped from my pocket.

I lunged to pick it up, but a pair of polished leather shoes stomped on it first. They were the shoes I had picked out for Clayton after weeks of searching, custom-made by a master shoemaker. The moment the photo was crushed into the muddy ground, something inside me snapped.

In my mind, the young and ambitious Clayton, the older Clayton, the businessman, the gentle husband, all of them, shattered at once.

Then, I heard his cold, disappointed voice.

“Hazel, you’ve lost children and family before. How can you not understand Gloria’s love for her daughter?”

“If that’s how you feel, then kneel here and remember what loss feels like.”

He left two bodyguards behind to force me to kneel. I didn’t look at him. With shaking hands, I picked up the rain-soaked photo. The sky poured rain mixed with hail, slicing my skin and drawing blood.

In the hospital’s high-rise window, I saw the reflection of Clayton and Gloria kissing tenderly. As I lost consciousness, I used my last ounce of strength to block all contact with Clayton, erasing whatever feelings I had left.

In the hospital room, Gloria played on her phone. When she saw Clayton, she quickly hid it.

He hesitated, then asked, “Does Hazel know something? What if she runs away? What happens to Regina’s heart then?”

“I’ll take her on the Petra Island trip tomorrow, try to calm her down…”

Gloria’s eyes welled with tears, her voice soft with fake sorrow.

“Okay. If it’s for Regina, I’m willing to share you with another woman…”

Her ‘sacrifice’ stirred something in Clayton. His face darkened as he hardened his tone.

“Don’t cry. I’ll take you, too. I planned to have her apologize to you anyway.”

He took out his phone and typed a message.

[Hazel, meet me at the dock tomorrow at 8 a.m.]

***

Inside the speeding car, a butler in a tailored suit handed me a thermos.

“Miss Moran, please drink this herbal tea to warm up.”

I trembled under the towel. The heat helped melt the cold that had settled deep inside. The butler smiled kindly.

“Get some rest, Miss. You’ll be on your island when you wake.”

“Your credit card has been frozen. Both estates have been handed over to the real estate agent. Just wait for the sale.”

I nodded, took out my SIM card and flung it out the window.

It disappeared into the wind, just like my fake marriage.

Goodbye, Clayton. I hoped to never see you again.