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.

Jeanette was taken to the hospital by the jewelry store staff, and it happened to be the same hospital where she used to work.

She had injured her leg and, like Skyler once had, was admitted to the orthopedics. That was how she bumped into her former mentor, Arthur Munoz.

After bandaging her wounds, Arthur asked with concern, "How do you feel? Does it still hurt? Where's your husband? You're hospitalized, and he's not here with you?"

Jeanette chuckled awkwardly. "It's fine, Dr. Munoz. I can take care of myself."

Arthur immediately understood. Marrying into wealth sounded glamorous, but only the person involved knew the real suffering. He patted Jeanette's shoulder and comforted her, "It's okay. Worst case, you can come back to the hospital. You're always welcome here."

Jeanette felt warmth in her heart. "Thank you, Dr. Munoz. I've been away from medicine too long, but once I get back up on track, I'll definitely return!"

Arthur was very pleased to hear this. "Oh, by the way, did you know that there's finally a treatment for the kind of illness your mother had?"

He let out a quiet sigh. "If only she had held on a few more years, maybe you wouldn't be all alone now."

Jeanette blinked, stunned. It took her a moment to register what he had just said. "Dr. Munoz, are you saying that back then, my mother's illness was untreatable?"

"Yes, didn't I tell you at the time? After the symptoms show, patients usually have no more than three months. Oh wait, I remember now… I didn't tell you directly. I told another lady who said she was your family member. She was afraid you couldn't handle it and wanted to break it to you gently."

Jeanette's mind went completely blank, and something snapped in Jeanette's mind. She had no other relatives, and the only woman who could have appeared at the hospital then was Dorothea.

She had known Katherine's illness was incurable, but still offered five million for Katherine's treatment in exchange for Jeanette staying by Skyler's side.

In other words, Katherine's death had been part of the plan all along, and Jeanette, touched by Dorothea's "generosity", had stayed and devoted the next three years of her life to Skyler.

To help her son recover, Dorothea had sacrificed Jeanette's best three years, making her pour out her heart and soul, only to end up like this.

Arthur looked startled as Jeanette suddenly broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Three years… Three years of my life, and it was all a joke! I was such a fool… such a stupid, stupid fool!"

She began hitting herself in despair, and Arthur, alarmed, had to sedate her to calm her down.

When Jeanette woke up, she was as calm as a puppet. She dragged her injured leg to complete the discharge procedures. As she turned around, she saw Skyler in the hospital corridor, carefully supporting Kimberly with a face full of tenderness.

Jeanette kept her gaze forward and walked past them without hesitation.

However, Skyler reached out and grabbed her by the shoulder. "How can you just walk past Kimmy like that? Jeanette, apologize to her!"

She turned to face him calmly, her voice steady. "I didn't push her. I won't apologize."

Kimberly immediately burst into tears. "Skye, please don't be mad at Ms. Schafer… Maybe she didn't mean to!"

Skyler's expression darkened as he shoved Jeanette against the wall. He gritted his teeth and warned her word by word, "Jeanette, if you don't apologize to Kimmy, don't even think about coming home! You're so damn ungrateful. I want to see how long you'll last out there with no place to go!"

Jeanette gave him a bitter smile. So, he knew she had nowhere to go.

Yet, did he realize he was the reason she had nothing left?

This time, she did not cry. Instead, she glared at him with eyes full of hatred.

Skyler was stunned by this expression. He had never seen Jeanette like this. Before he could react, she shoved him aside and limped away without a word.

Then, she dragged her battered body to the airport and left the city completely.

Before leaving, Jeanette mailed Skyler's copy of the divorce papers to him.

Looking at the shipping label with the name she had whispered to herself countless times over the years, she finally muttered, "Skyler Weisberg, never again."