Chapter 3

I stood there, taking a couple seconds to process.

No big reaction. Just a sharper pain in my chest and a stinging in my nose.

My whole body felt that same cold as when I was twelve, when that old drunk took his anger out on me—beat me half to death, then held my head under the well water.

It's okay, Sandra. You've always been good at toughing it out.

I sniffled twice and nodded:

"Alright."

Zara, seeing how calm I was, lifted her head from Holt's chest to look at me.

Her red, tear-streaked eyes were full of victory.

I knew exactly what she was flaunting.

A few tears and Holt cancels the wedding. His first love really does have that kind of power.

I'm not stupid. I wasn't about to compete with her.

She's the moon in the sky; I'm just dirt on the ground.

I glanced at Holt, thinking that honestly, getting this far was pretty good.

Anything more would be greedy.

I said nothing and headed upstairs.

"Wait!"

I stopped, but didn't turn around.

"Sterling Jewelry just got a new shipment of gold. I'll have my assistant send over two gold bars."

I lit up immediately.

All those sappy thoughts from a minute ago felt ridiculous now.

Love? Keep it. Just give me the money.

I spun around, giving Holt my signature sweet smile:

"Thank you! I'll head up then. You two should get some rest too."

Sure enough, before I was even out of earshot, Zara was already complaining about the "gold bar compensation."

She buried her face in Holt's chest again, sobbing dramatically.

Holt looked helplessness with her reaction, bending down to comfort her. I could hear bits and pieces—probably things like "don't cry," "it's not worth it," "just be patient."

Without looking up, he called to me:

"You don't have to wait up for me tonight."

"Zara's not doing well. I need to stay with her."

I gave a quick acknowledgment, not slowing down as I rounded the corner.

I really didn't have time to be upset. My mind was totally focused on those two gold bars.

How big? How heavy? How many grams? What's the resale value?

After my shower, I grabbed my phone right away, eager to check the current gold price per gram.

But just as I tapped the screen a couple times, texts from an unknown number started flooding in.

It was Zara, of course.

[Sandra, have you no self-respect? Holt already called off the wedding, and you still have the nerve to stay here?]

[Bitch! You're a gold-digging bitch! Take those two gold bars and get lost. Everything in the Sterling family will be mine. You're stealing what's mine!]

[I won't put up with you anymore. Just wait. I'll make sure you're thrown out of the Sterling house for good!]

I read them blankly, then scrolled back up.

First time I didn't leave, I got half a million.

The second time I didn't leave, I got two gold bars.

So what if I'm shameless? What's dignity worth anyway?

But right after that, there was a bloodcurdling scream and chaotic footsteps. The maid yelled in a panic:

"Emergency! Someone call 911!"

"Zara... she cut her wrists!"