Did he really think I would submit to her? That I would smile and make space for the woman carrying his heir?
Never.
I had packed weeks ago—after a video found its way onto my phone. A recording of him and her. I had already mourned this marriage long before tonight.
Zachary’s lips curved into a mocking smile as he advanced, pointing at me once, casually, as if dismissing an inconvenience.
“Go ahead,” he said. “Storm out. Make a scene. You’ll be back within days, begging like you always do.”
Behind me, quiet laughter rippled through the room.
Soldiers. Associates. Family friends. People who once lowered their heads when I entered now whispered openly, savoring my fall from grace.
Unfortunate for them—I wasn’t staying to be humiliated.
The car my cousin arranged was already waiting downstairs.
Zachary thought I’d crawl back?
I didn’t even pause as I retrieved my suitcase from the bedroom.
But just as I reached the door, his voice sliced through the air.
“Leave the Moonstone bracelet,” he ordered. “Give it to her.”
My chest tightened painfully.
That bracelet had been my grandmother’s—passed down through blood and loyalty, the last thing tethering me to myself through weeks of betrayal. And now he wanted to strip even that from me?
“No,” I whispered, tears breaking free. “Not that. Anything but that.”
He scoffed, pulling her closer to his chest. “Stop being difficult. She needs it.”
I could have screamed. I could have thrown it across the room.
Instead, my legs trembled as I walked toward her.
Slowly, deliberately, I unclasped the bracelet and fastened it around her wrist.
“May your child live long and safely,” I said quietly.
The instant the clasp snapped shut, a thin line of red bloomed across her skin.
She gasped, collapsing to her knees, clutching her wrist. “What did you do?” she sobbed. “Did you hurt me on purpose?”
“I didn’t—” My breath caught as I stared at her arm in horror.
Zachary moved instantly.
He lifted her into his arms as if she were made of porcelain, his eyes blazing as they locked onto mine.
“What did you do?” he demanded. “Are you so consumed with jealousy that you’d harm the woman carrying my heir?”
“I swear, I don’t know,” I said, hands frozen in the air.
“Get a doctor,” he barked. Then his gaze turned cold. “You—clean it up. Every piece. Now.”
I looked down at the shattered bracelet scattered across the marble.