I leaned closer to her, drawing a dagger from my thigh. “You also want to cut open my belly to vent her anger?”
“Too bad, there’s nothing in my belly. I’m afraid you will be disappointed.”
As I spoke, the dagger sank halfway into the incision, and the girl fell silent instantly. Zavier’s bodyguards surged forward, but the fire in his eyes froze them in place.
The tip of the knife twisted, and the girl whimpered softly in her sleep. For a moment, Zavier’s eyes met mine. Then he suddenly laughed, raising his hand.
“Get out! I didn’t invite you here!”
“Tiffany, you really are something else.”
“Likewise. You taught me well.”
To mold me into someone like him, he had destroyed ten of my boyfriends. To force me to marry him, he had held my hand while plunging a knife into my boyfriend’s heart. He had said, “As long as you become like me, only I am worthy of being with you.”
He dragged me from high places into the dust, the white rose stained crimson, never to be cleaned. And now, he claimed to like clean ones? What a joke.
“So… I accepted the gift, and brother isn’t pleased? Then again, brother always enjoyed breaking hands and feet. By your style, she should never have the chance to conceive again. I was still too kind. Next time, I’ll make sure to do better.”
Zavier’s eyes lingered on me, sharp and unreadable, before he finally carried her away.
“Tiffany, mark my words, this matter will not end so easily.”
The fallout came sooner than I had expected. That night, the doctor who had guided me through ten rounds of IVF sent a message. Zavier had halted all remaining treatments and taken him to the villa to care for Evie.
Even my psychiatric medications were removed, with the claim that the weakened Evie needed them more than I did.
After the bodyguards departed, I sat staring vacantly at the ceramic ornaments in the display cabinet. Each piece was a gift I had made with my own hands, back when I had been hopelessly in love with Zavier.
Denver, furious on my behalf, packed everything into cardboard boxes.
“Sir has gone too far this time. How can he betray you for an outsider? If it weren’t for your support, he’d have been buried in some pile of dirt long ago!”
I shook my head, a laugh slipping from my lips.
“Just a toy. If he wants to make a scene, let him. When he’s done, I’ll go collect his corpse. Throw these away, and bring me Zavier’s antique collection.”