"I don't care!" Hunter cut him off harshly. "I’ve already made up my mind. Eliza is the Emerson family’s daughter-in-law. Are you seriously choosing an outsider over your own son’s decision?"

In recent years, the jewelry line has become the heart of the Emerson Group.

In my past life, it was because of my sleepless nights, endless sketches, and countless sacrifices that the company rose to the top of Delaware’s jewelry industry.

My name had once been synonymous with its brilliance. I was the one who secured the position of chief designer with real results.

Hunter knew this better than anyone.

A while later, the butler came and silently led me to the study.

Weston sat behind a grand rosewood desk, the fatigue in his eyes impossible to miss.

He motioned for me to sit, his fingers absentmindedly tapping against the polished wood, the dull rhythm echoing in the tense air.

“Maya, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

I gently cut in before he could continue, my voice eerily calm. “There’s no need, Uncle Weston. I understand.”

He looked up at me in surprise. A flicker of guilt passed through his eyes and quickly took root, weighing down his already burdened expression.

All these years, he had placed his hopes in me, treating me no different than a daughter.

But now, faced with the current situation, Weston could do nothing.

He had already reached retirement age. Someone had to take the reins of the family.

He let out a long, weary sigh.

"You’ve always overseen the jewelry division. Replacing you out of the blue, it really isn’t appropriate."

"But you know Hunter. He’s even more stubborn than I am."

I gave a quiet nod. "Uncle Weston, I understand."

I reached into my bag and pulled out a neatly arranged folder and a diamond bracelet, placing them gently on the table.

"The folder holds all the current design documents and handover materials. Hunter knows the password."

Weston’s gaze locked on the bracelet. His fingers trembled faintly.

That bracelet was the Emerson family heirloom, a symbol of the future daughter-in-law, said to be priceless.

I had worn it since I was eighteen. It had never once left me.

Even in my past life, when I breathed my last, it was still on my wrist.

Looking at my composed expression, Weston wanted to speak, but the words never left his lips.

I rose to my feet and bowed slightly.

"Uncle Weston, thank you for all your kindness over the years. I am truly grateful."

The study door swung open without warning.

Hunter strode in, with Eliza trailing closely behind.

“Dad, are you done talking?”

He didn’t spare me a single glance, walking straight to Weston’s side.

Weston gave a weary nod and gently pushed the folder and jade bracelet forward.

"Maya has agreed to the handover."

Before Hunter could respond, Eliza reached out eagerly and grabbed the bracelet, her eyes sparkling with pride and triumph.

The sight made Weston’s brow crease slightly.

“Wait.”

I broke the silence. Hunter's expression darkened. "Maya, are you trying to take back your word?"

I shook my head and retrieved another document from the folder calmly.

"This is the jewelry project’s confidential core, agreements with top clients, and exclusive terms with key suppliers."

Hunter took the folder with a hint of suspicion, flipping through it quickly as the crease between his brows deepened with every page.

"If these details are mishandled," I said in a steady voice, "they could bring heavy losses to the Emerson Group in the future. But with Eliza’s abilities, I’m sure that won’t be a problem, right?"

A flicker of unease passed over Eliza’s face, but she quickly masked it with a confident smile.

"You’re overthinking it. I know exactly what I’m doing," she said lightly.

I said nothing more.

Eliza had only finished junior college. She knew nothing about design, let alone the intricacies of running a business.

The jewelry division thrived solely because I never stopped designing and continued to work diligently to maintain delicate client relationships and supplier connections.

There was no margin for error, not even a sliver.

"You can leave now," Hunter said coldly. "From this day on, the Emerson Group has nothing to do with you."

I had just turned to go when Eliza’s voice rang out behind me, sharp and arrogant.

"Wait!"

I paused mid-step but didn’t look back.

"Since Maya’s no longer chosen, she’s not part of the Emerson family, right?"

"According to tradition, she shouldn’t keep anything from the Emerson household either. She should leave with nothing.”

“Hunter, don’t you agree?"

The air in the study turned suffocatingly still.

I turned around slowly, letting my gaze cut past Eliza’s smug expression and fall directly on Hunter.

"Is this what you want?"

He stood frozen, his face shifting through a range of fleeting emotions.

His lashes trembled.

Then his eyes started to dodge mine.

And finally, he looked away.

Those few seconds of silence said more than words ever could.

Weston suddenly slammed the table and rose to his feet.

"Enough! Maya has been part of this family for twenty years. Even if she’s no longer our daughter-in-law, she’s still half a member of the Emerson family!"

"Dad!" Hunter finally opened his mouth. "Eliza’s right. Since we’ve made the decision, we should cut ties cleanly."

I looked at him, and then, unexpectedly, I smiled.

That calm, composed smile unsettled him.

"Uncle Weston, if this is truly Hunter’s decision, then I’ll respect it."

I glanced around the study, my eyes finally landing on Hunter.

He flinched and instinctively turned his face away, his fingers nervously twisting the hem of his sleeve.

"Uncle Weston, since things have already come to this, some accounts need to be settled too."

Though my voice was soft, the room fell into a heavy silence.

"I’ve been managing the family’s jewelry business since I was eighteen. It’s been five full years."

Eliza let out a mocking laugh, but it died instantly when Hunter shot her a warning glance.

"In the first year, the jewelry I designed won a national award, bringing in three hundred million in revenue and forty million in profit."

"In the second year, I earned an international award. Revenue soared to eight hundred million, and net profit reached one hundred twenty million."

"In the third year, I led Emerson Jewelry into the markets of Finland and Sweden..."

I listed the accomplishments one by one, each figure sharper than the last. With every word, Weston’s expression darkened further.

"In total, over five years, I generated more than two billion in net profit for the family."

Hunter bit lightly on his lower lip. He understood exactly what those numbers meant.

In my past life, these very projects had built the foundation that vaulted the Emersons into the top tier of Delaware’s elite.

"You raised me for twenty years, and I earned two billion for the family." My voice remained steady, devoid of emotion. "We’re even."

"The Emerson family owe me nothing, and I owe them nothing."

"I walk away with nothing, starting today, our ties end here."

Eliza suddenly let out a cold sneer. “What a noble speech, but is this what you call leaving with nothing?”

She strode up and yanked sharply at my dress. “This haute couture gown, it’s worth over a hundred thousand, isn’t it?”

Then she tugged up my sleeve, exposing the watch on my wrist. “Damn, a Richard Mille… women’s model starts at a million at least.”

Next, she reached into my bag and pulled out a key. “And this, your limited-edition supercar. Costs over ten million, right?”

“All of these luxuries, weren’t they paid with Emerson family money?”

I didn’t resist her rough, humiliating gestures. I simply stood still, my eyes locked on Hunter.

His fingers had curled so tightly into his palm that the skin had turned white, yet he said nothing.

“Hunter,” I asked quietly, “do the years we spent together really mean nothing to you?”

His eyelashes trembled slightly. His lips parted, but in the end, he said nothing.

I had thought that being reborn meant I had already let go.

But I never expected that at this moment, my heart still felt as if something had been carved out, so raw, so hollow, it stole the air from my lungs.

I swallowed the ache and forced myself to move, fingers calmly unclasping the watch on my wrist.

The sharp click of the metal buckle echoed harshly in the study's dead silence.

“Maya!” Weston suddenly rose to his feet. “You don’t have to do this!”

“Uncle Weston.”

I cut him off gently and kept going.

“Rules are rules.”

My handbag. The watch. One by one, I removed my heels, folding each piece neatly and placing them on the floor with steady hands.

At last, I peeled off my stockings, bare feet meeting the icy marble below.

Eliza stood smirking, her eyes brimming with smug triumph.

Hunter’s face, on the other hand, had gone noticeably pale.

When my fingers reached for the buttons of my dress, he finally turned away, unable to watch.

“Enough!”

Weston’s voice trembled with fury and heartache.

“Maya, stop this!”

I calmly folded the dress and placed it on top of the handbag.

“From this moment on, I am just me.”

“My name is Maya Monroe. I am no longer the Emerson family’s child bride.”

When I stepped out the back door of the Emerson house, I wore nothing but my underwear.

At some point, a large crowd of reporters had gathered. The moment they saw me, they surged forward like a tidal wave.

“Miss Monroe, how does it feel to be kicked out by the Emerson family?”

“Is it true they didn’t even let you keep your underwear?”

The blinding flashes made me squint.

“Step aside,” I said quietly, my voice hoarse and unfamiliar to my ears.

Laughter erupted.

A male reporter at the front even angled his camera deliberately toward my body.

His face rang a bell, likely one of the regulars at Eliza’s birthday parties.

Clutching my chest, I forced myself through the crowd.

Someone shoved me hard. I stumbled and fell heavily to the ground.

My side slammed into a sharp rock, and blood spilled out in an instant.

I pressed my hand tightly over the wound, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop.

Gritting my teeth against the burning pain, I forced myself back on my feet and kept running.

The reporters, like sharks drawn to blood, chased after me mercilessly.

It wasn’t until I darted into a narrow alley that I finally lost them.

Just as I emerged from the alley’s shadow, a sleek black Maybach pulled up and blocked my path.

The window lowered slowly, revealing a strikingly handsome face.

“Miss Monroe, I’m Nico Sullivan from the Sullivan Group.”

He stepped out and gently draped his coat over my shoulders.

“My grandfather would like to meet you. May we?”

I stood frozen.

Nico Sullivan was the renowned young heir of the capital’s most powerful family.

The Sullivan family was a true aristocracy, deeply rooted and untouchable.

In my previous life, I had spent ten long years trying to earn even a distant connection with them.

And now, they had come to me.

I straightened my back and gave a steady nod.

“It would be my honor.”

..…

The next morning, inside the Emerson Villa, Hunter sat frozen, staring blankly at the phone screen in his hand.

Top trending headline: “Emerson family’s child bride Maya stripped of title, thrown out, and forced to walk the streets half-naked!”

“Where are our morals? Such disgrace!”

“If not for Young Master Emerson’s leftover pity, she wouldn’t have even left with her underwear!”

“Yesterday, she was the chief designer of Emerson Jewelry. Today, she’s beneath a beggar. What a fall from grace.”

“What’s the fuss? That’s how rich families treat their playthings!”

His finger tapped the video without thinking.

The image of her, bare, stumbling, drenched in shame, made his heart lurch.

When the camera swept across Maya’s bloodied side, lingering on the old scar across her abdomen, his entire body stiffened.

“Hunter, what are you watching?”

Eliza’s voice purred behind him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

But the moment her eyes landed on the screen, she let out a shrill laugh.