He had always believed I married him for the money. Always lumped me in with greedy, shallow women.
After five years... I no longer cared to explain.
I staggered out of the bedroom—only to realize the entire house had been transformed.
The one photo of me and Oliver that I had cherished like my last lifeline... To Czarina, things like that could fill an entire mansion.
I covered my mouth as a suffocating panic surged through me. I didn't know when she recovered her sanity that day.
I didn't leave the room at all.
I lay on the bed, scrolling through destinations, choosing where I wanted to go once I left this place.
Only when night fell did I finally book my ticket.
I didn't hear the door open. But suddenly, an arm circled my waist, pulling me back into a familiar hard chest.
"Your hand is injured. Doesn't it hurt?"
So the jade shards had cut the back of my hand.
I hadn't felt anything.
Funny, wasn't it—all the years I cried myself hoarse, he never noticed my pain.
But now...
I stayed silent, pretending to sleep.
A cool touch brushed the back of my neck—his lips.
Suddenly, the door burst open with a violent bang.
Czarina stood at the doorway, hair wild, eyes manic in the flickering light.