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.