Chapter 7

Amelia's POV

After returning from the Sterling family gala, I fell seriously ill.

The high fever plunged me into nightmares night after night, filled with Ethan's cold, disgusted gaze and my own mother's sharp, decisive slap.

The first thing I did after the fever broke was drive back to the hillside mansion.

I had left something there.

It was an old wooden box containing a pocket watch my foster mother had left me before she passed away.

It was the only keepsake proving my identity, and for over twenty years, it had been my sole source of comfort during countless unbearable nights.

Pushing open the mansion door, I saw that the interior furnishings had completely changed.

The minimalist, dark-toned furniture I had carefully chosen was all replaced with a pink, French country style.

My presence had been completely erased from here. Even the air was filled with an unfamiliar, sweet scent.

I walked straight to the master bedroom on the second floor.

Pushing open the door, I saw Lily sitting at the dressing table, toying with that very pocket watch.

"Who allowed you to touch my things?" I strode over, my eyes as cold and sharp as daggers.

Lily jumped in fright. Seeing me, a flicker of panic crossed her eyes, but she quickly composed herself.

"Amelia, you've already moved out. Naturally, everything here belongs to Ethan. I thought this pocket watch was quite distinctive, so I took it out to look at it."

"Give it back to me!" I reached out, my voice chillingly cold.

Just then, steady footsteps echoed from outside the door.

Ethan walked in. Seeing me, his brows immediately furrowed, his voice filled with impatience. "What are you doing here? Didn't you leave the keys?"

"I came for my mother's keepsake." I pointed at the pocket watch in Lily's hand, my gaze fixed on it.

Ethan glanced at the worn-out watch, irritably pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It's just an old watch. If Lily likes it, let her keep it. Name your price, and I'll compensate you double."

An old watch? Compensate?

My heart felt like it was being fed into a meat grinder, the pain so intense that even my breaths tasted of blood.

"Ethan, that's the only keepsake my foster mother left me! It's something I've worn since childhood!"

My voice finally cracked, imbued with an undeniable sorrow and despair. "In your eyes, everything can be measured by money, everything can be given to her, is that right?!"

Ethan's tone softened slightly.

"Lily has been frightened recently. She feels the pocket watch brings her peace. You have so many top-tier jewels; why bother fighting her over this?"

"Ethan, since Amelia is so reluctant to part with this watch, I'll just give it back to her."

Lily put on a wronged expression, stood up, and extended the pocket watch towards me.

However, just as my fingers were about to touch the watch, Lily's fingers suddenly loosened.

A sharp clink rang out. A crisp shattering sound echoed in the quiet bedroom.

The pocket watch, which had been with me for over twenty years, hit the marble floor. Its glass face shattered completely.

The atmosphere instantly turned tense.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! It slipped!"

Lily cried out, then turned and hid in Ethan's arms.

I stood frozen, staring down at the watch on the floor.

It was my only connection to the past, my only source of solace during those difficult years. Now, the watch was broken...

Just like my feelings for Ethan, it was shattered into a million pieces.

I slowly knelt, reaching out a trembling hand, picking up the watch fragments one by one.

The sharp glass edges cut my fingers, and blood dripped onto the white floor.

"Amelia..." Ethan looked at my bleeding hand, trying to reach for me.

"Don't touch me!" I fiercely swatted his hand away.

I looked up. My eyes, once full of love, now held nothing but cold emptiness.

"Ethan, in seven years, even if I raised a dog, I would have developed feelings for it." I tightly clutched the blood-stained watch fragments, slowly rising to my feet. "You're not just blind, you're heartless. What we had, it ends here."

I didn't spare him another glance, walking past him and out of this mansion that had buried all my youth and love.