I ended up collapsing on the curb. I had no idea how long I lay there before a stranger found me and took me to the hospital.
What had been a mild case of gastritis had turned into a full-blown stomach perforation.
When I woke up, I cried and demanded to know if he'd stopped loving me.
He knelt at my bedside and swore he would never abandon me again.
In his heart, I was always an afterthought.
But now, I truly didn't care anymore.
My only worry was Dad. When he learned I was dead, the grief and guilt would destroy him.
After that little interruption, the livestream chat urged Pauline to show them the master bedroom.
Allan hesitated, but he could never resist when she pouted and wheedled.
He pushed open the door, and a magnificent embroidered wedding gown came into view.
The chat exploded.
"Oh my God, is that hand-stitched embroidery?"
"The phoenix on that gown looks alive. It's like something a noblewoman would've worn to her wedding in the old days."
Greed flickered in Pauline's eyes.
She shoved the camera close, her fingers tracing the dense, delicate stitching.
I screamed.
"Don't touch it with your filthy hands!"