Chapter 4

The next day, Dominic brought Selena back to the estate.

She arrived with a mountain of lighting rigs and camera equipment, directing the servants on where to set everything up.

"Victoria, thank you for letting me stay. I've been feeling under the weather lately... I really need someone to look after me." She smiled warmly at me.

I didn't respond.

Dominic stood beside her, speaking on her behalf as always. "She had a high fever last night. I couldn't just leave her."

He stepped closer and took my hand, lowering his voice. "I promise she won't stay long."

"I had a panic attack last night." I looked him in the eye, my voice flat.

"What?" Dominic's brow furrowed instantly. "Why didn't you call me?"

Because you were spoon-feeding her porridge.

I didn't bother answering.

Dominic trailed after me. "Victoria... I didn't know. Please don't be angry?"

I wasn't angry. I had just nearly died.

Selena caught up and tugged at Dominic's hand. "Come on, you two, why are you fighting again? Dominic... didn't you say you'd show me around the estate? Let's go?"

Dominic glanced at me. When I remained silent, he led Selena away.

The days that followed felt like a slow, methodical flaying.

At the dinner table, she sat at Dominic's elbow, serving him food as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Dominic never refused. He even instructed the chef personally, rattling off Selena's preferences and dietary restrictions in detail.

And always the parting note: "She has a weak stomach. Be careful with her meals."

I sat at the far end of the long table, silently cutting my steak.

I wasn't angry.

I simply wanted to see how far Dominic's favoritism would go.

Until that afternoon, when I went back to my room to retrieve a document.

The door to the master bedroom was ajar. From inside came a faint rustling.

I pushed the door open. The air turned to ice.

Selena stood at my vanity. Every drawer had been pulled open.

In her hands was a necklace—she was holding it up to the mirror, draping it against her collarbone.

My pupils contracted.

That was the only thing my late mother had left me.

And now it hung around Selena's neck.

"Not bad, actually." She met my gaze in the mirror when she saw me. "Don't you think, Victoria?"

Provocation.

"Put it down." My voice came out through clenched teeth. "Now."

Selena spun around as if startled, her eyes instantly rimming red. "I—I just thought it was so beautiful... I didn't think you'd be upset."

"You went through my bedroom without permission." I advanced step by step, my gaze pinned to the necklace in her hands. "That's crossing a line. To put it bluntly, it's theft."

She bit her lower lip. "I was just curious... I really didn't mean any harm."

Curious?

Disrupting my wedding was curiosity too.

I extended my hand. "Give it back."

She shrank away.

Just then, footsteps sounded behind me.

Dominic stood in the doorway.

He looked between us, his brow furrowed. "What now?"

I let out a cold laugh. "She helped herself to my necklace without asking. Dominic, surely you haven't forgotten whose necklace that is?"

His gaze fell on the necklace.

In that absurd moment, I dared to hope—even if he no longer loved me, at least he should understand what this necklace meant to me.

But the first words out of his mouth were: "Victoria, don't be so petty."

Enough.

"You know whose necklace that is."

"I do." His tone was flat. "She was only trying it on."

Selena immediately offered it back, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Here... I really didn't mean it. I'm sorry, Victoria."

I reached for it. The moment my fingertips brushed the clasp, Dominic suddenly raised his hand and caught my wrist.

"Enough." His voice dropped, each word distinct. "If she likes it, let her wear it for a while."

I froze. "Do you have any idea what you're saying?"

His gaze hardened. "It's just a necklace. Do you have to do this?"

"Just a necklace?" My voice began to tremble. Fury burned through reason. "This was my mother's!"

In the tug-of-war that followed, Selena suddenly yanked the necklace backward. "Stop fighting over it—oh no—"

Clink.

A small, unmistakable snap.

The necklace fell onto the thick carpet. The chain broke in two. The pendant rolled half a turn and came to rest at my feet.

I stood motionless for two seconds. Then, slowly, I bent down and picked it up.

Selena clapped a hand over her mouth. "I—I didn't mean to... I really..."

Dominic's expression shifted too.

"Vic—" he started, concern flickering across his face—then pivoted mid-breath to comfort the weeping Selena. "It's alright. I can get a jewelry restorer. Stop crying."

I lifted my gaze to him. In that instant, all the years we shared struck me as absurd.

I had walked through gunfire with him. I had clawed our way out of bloodshed with him. I had helped him build order, settle accounts, steady this crumbling family.

I once believed those years of entrusting our lives to each other had earned me at least a basic measure of respect.

Now my mother's keepsake lay shattered before me, and still he shielded her first.

I closed the broken necklace in my palm and slowly rose.

I no longer had the strength to speak to him.

Behind me, Dominic called my name in a low voice. "Victoria..."

I ignored him and walked toward the door.

The necklace was broken. Perhaps it was my mother's way of telling me it was time to leave.