The 30-day mandatory waiting period passed quickly. Jeanette had already booked her flight abroad, and she was just waiting for the final day to arrive.

That morning, she began packing everything into boxes, preparing to ship her belongings ahead of time. As she stepped out the door with one of the boxes in her arms, she ran straight into Kimberly and Isadora, who had just barged into the house.

The box flew open, spilling its contents across the floor. Jeanette rushed to gather them, but it was too late.

Both women had already noticed.

"Why are you packing up so much stuff?" Isadora asked sharply.

Jeanette gave a random excuse. "They're just things I don't need anymore. I'm donating them to the orphanage."

Isadora scoffed. "You're seriously donating that junk to the orphanage? Poor kids."

Jeanette ignored the jab and shut the box, preparing to leave.

"Hold up," Kimberly said, reaching in and pulling out a bracelet. "This looks interesting. I'll take it."

Jeanette's eyes darted to the bracelet in Kimberly's hand. Her expression changed instantly as she snatched it back. "No, I put that in there by mistake. This one's not for donation. I'm keeping it."

This was the last thing her mother, Katherine Stewart, had left her before she died, and Jeanette had always carefully kept it, never expecting Kimberly to find it today.

"What do you mean no? It's just a bracelet. You should be grateful that Kimmy likes it, so hurry up and give it to her. The way you act is embarrassing!" Isadora scolded her with disgust.

"I said no. It's mine. Why should I give it to her?" Jeanette's voice rose, her face flushed with anger.

Isadora froze in shock. She could not believe that Jeanette had just yelled at her.

Who the hell did she think she was?

Isadora reached out, ready to snatch it back, when the front door burst open. Skyler stepped in, his expression already irritated.

"I could hear the yelling from the driveway. What's going on in here?"

His eyes scanned the room and landed on Jeanette. Before she could speak, Kimberly had already started crying softly.

"Skye, it's my fault. Ms. Schafer had a box of stuff she was donating to the orphanage, and I just asked if she'd sell me the bracelet. She didn't want to."

"Exactly! I've never seen anyone so petty. We're even offering to pay for it!" Isadora added fuel to the fire.

When Skyler heard this, he immediately frowned at Jeanette. "It's just a bracelet you don't want anymore. If Kimmy wants it, just give it to her. I'll buy you a new one."

The entitled tone in his voice stung Jeanette. She bit her lip, breathing heavily to keep her tears from falling.

She held the bracelet out in front of Skyler. "Skyler, look carefully. This bracelet is something my mom left me. Don't you know what it means to me?"

When Katherine had just died, Jeanette wore this bracelet every day, not even taking it off to sleep. Later, during one of Skyler's rehabilitation sessions, she bumped the bracelet and took it off, carefully storing it away.

She thought that since she and Skyler had spent so much time together, he would have at least recognized this bracelet. Yet, he looked at it for a long time, and his expression did not change at all.

Instead, his tone became even sharper. "Jeanette, you're getting more and more outrageous. It's just a bracelet, and you're making up lies about it being a keepsake? Do you think I'll believe that? I think you're deliberately making things difficult for Kimmy."

He added, "The more she wants something, the more you refuse to let her have it. You'd rather donate it than give it to her. Jeanette, I never thought you were such a petty woman. I'm so disappointed in you!"

With that, Skyler pulled Kimberly and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Jeanette wavered, then collapsed onto the floor, her strength drained. No matter what Kimberly said, Skyler would believe her without question.

But Jeanette? Even when she spoke the truth, he refused to listen.

Clutching the bracelet to her chest, she broke down in tears.

Due to the earlier incident, Jeanette no longer felt safe sending the bracelet by mail, so she placed it in her carry-on bag, planning to take it with her directly when she left.

That day, she received a call from Dorothea, inviting her to dinner at home.

Dorothea sounded sincere, saying this might be the last family meal they would ever share. Jeanette was moved by her words and agreed to go.

When she arrived at the Weisberg Manor, Skyler had already brought Kimberly to sit in Jeanette's usual spot. She avoided their gaze and quietly took a seat at the far end of the table.

During dinner, Skyler attentively cared for Kimberly, while Jeanette sat in silence, chewing without tasting anything.

Dorothea watched it unfold with a trace of discomfort, though she said nothing to stop her beloved son.

After dinner, Jeanette said goodbye to Dorothea. Just as she walked out of the house, she heard laughter from Skyler, Isadora, and Kimberly in the garden.

"Skye, you know what? This bracelet is actually pretty interesting. It's hard enough to crack walnuts with. I wonder what material it's made of."

"Who cares what it's made of? It's not like it's worth anything. Jeanette's dirt-poor. What valuable thing could she possibly own?" Isadora laughed along.

These few words made Jeanette's blood boil, and she angrily walked over to find Kimberly wearing that bracelet.

The bracelet already had many scratches and marks. It was scratched and scuffed now, clearly used exactly the way Kimberly had joked.

Jeanette's face flushed deep red, her breath ragged as fury surged through her. She growled, "Skyler, did you seriously steal my bracelet and give it to Kimberly?"

Skyler frowned, annoyed. "Steal? Don't be dramatic. Kimmy just wanted to borrow it for a couple of days. She was going to give it back."

"Taking something without asking is stealing. That's a simple principle." Jeanette was almost losing her mind, her body trembling slightly as she reached out to grab Kimberly's arm, trying to remove the bracelet from her hand.

"Ouch! Ms. Schafer, you're hurting me!" Kimberly whimpered, instantly playing the victim.

Skyler's temper flared. He could not believe that Jeanette was talking to him like this and even daring to put her hands on Kimberly. He yanked Jeanette by the shoulder and shoved her aside.

Jeanette could not react in time and fell directly to the ground.

A flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a sudden downpour.

Kimberly leaned into Skyler's chest and murmured, "It's my fault, Skye. Don't fight over this. I'll just give it back to Ms. Schafer right now."

She slid the bracelet off and held it out.

Jeanette ignored the pain in her body, scrambled up from the ground, and reached out to take the bracelet from Kimberly's hand.

Just as their hands were about to touch, Kimberly's hand trembled, and the bracelet fell to the ground with a crash, shattering into pieces.

Jeanette's eyes widened in horror, while Kimberly let out a theatrical gasp.

"Oh no, Ms. Schafer! Why didn't you catch it? Now it's broken. What are we going to do?"

"Let it go. It's her own fault," Skyler grumbled, still angry. Then, he pulled Kimberly and Isadora back into the house.

The rain fell steadily, and Jeanette looked at the shattered bracelet. Overwhelmed by pain in her heart, she sank to her knees, clutching her chest, and sobbed uncontrollably.

The bracelet was gone; the last thing her mother had left her was shattered.

And with it, the last piece of her connection to this world.

Jeanette had given three years of her life. Yet, in the end, she was left with nothing.

After his shower, Skyler found himself walking to the window. Under the dim garden lights, a small figure was kneeling on the ground, searching bit by bit for pieces of the broken bracelet.

Something seemed to have pierced his chest, and for a moment, he felt suffocated.

Seeing Jeanette so obsessed with this bracelet, he wondered if it was really something Katherine had left behind.

Skyler tossed his towel aside and was about to go downstairs when Kimberly and Isadora came up to meet him.

"Skye, you're not going down to check on that woman, are you? She's just putting on a show for attention right now. Don't let her fool you!"

Kimberly looked down nervously. "Skye, Ms. Schafer told me herself it was something she didn't want. I only borrowed it because I thought it was okay. It's my fault she got upset."

Skyler suddenly felt clarity wash over him.

Right, she had said that she did not want those things. However, she changed her mind when she heard Kimmy wanted them. If that was not targeting Kimmy, what was it?

It finally made sense why she was making a scene in the garden now. If he went out there, she would just get bolder.

With that thought, Skyler dismissed the idea of going to Jeanette.

…

When dawn broke, Jeanette had finally found all the fragments in the garden. After being rained on all night, she felt dizzy and lightheaded. Even so, she did not dare rest. She was leaving soon and had to repair the bracelet, or she would never have peace of mind.

Jeanette ran to many places and finally found a craftsman who could repair the bracelet at the city's largest jewelry auction house.

Tears welled in her eyes as she thanked him over and over again.

It took three full days before the repair was complete. The craftsman handed her the bracelet and said, "Something that's broken is broken. No matter how you fix it, there will always be cracks. I did my best."

Jeanette looked at the faint lines running across the bracelet, a pang of sadness filling her heart. Still, she was immensely grateful for the craftsman's help. "I understand, sir. You did everything you could. Thank you."

Jeanette carefully carried the box out of the workshop, but she ran into the person she least wanted to see while going downstairs.

"Ms. Schafer, what a coincidence! Are you here to buy jewelry too?" Kimberly asked with a smile.

Jeanette did not want to talk to her and turned to go downstairs. However, as she passed by, she was suddenly shoved hard.

Then, two screams echoed throughout the entire jewelry store.

By the time Skyler arrived, both women were lying on the floor. Jeanette's face was covered in bruises, and blood was streaming down her knees.

Meanwhile, Kimberly looked relatively unharmed, but she was crying uncontrollably. "Ms. Schafer, I know you hate me. I felt terrible about breaking your bracelet, so I came here specifically to buy you a gift to apologize. But how could you push me down the stairs? Were you trying to kill me?"

Jeanette's head buzzed. Before she could speak, Skyler was already glaring at her with hatred. "Jeanette, how can you be so vicious? If anything happens to Kimmy, I'll make you pay the price!"

Skyler's warning rang in her ears like thunder as he stepped over Jeanette with disgust, picked up Kimberly, and rushed straight to the hospital.

Jeanette looked at her wounded body. Strangely, she felt nothing anymore. She laughed through her tears, mocking herself in an attempt at comfort.

She thought, 'Maybe it's better this way. When the heart aches badly enough, perhaps the body's pain can no longer be felt.'

Maybe this battered, broken body of hers was not worth cherishing anymore.