Chapter 4

Sophia dramatically gasped. "Oh my! Summer, what are you doing? Those medicine are expensive!"

But when she raised her hand, the watch on her wrist caught my attention.

It was my and Maxwell's token of love.

It was also my parents' token of love.

I rushed forward to grab the watch. The room's air conditioning was on full blast, but I suddenly felt hot all over.

"Give it back!"

Maxwell pulled Sophia protectively behind him. "What are you making a fuss about now? It's just a watch. Sophia has helped the Maxwell family so much. Can't she wear it?"

I stared at him intently. "Is it just a watch?"

"I told you---that was my parents' token of love. My father had it specially designed. It's worth over a hundred million."

"When he gave it to me, he said I could only give it to my husband!"

"Maxwell, tell me---is this just a watch?"

I stared into his eyes, wanting to see even a trace, even the slightest bit of remorse. But I found none---only disgust and impatience.

Sophia suddenly laughed. "Hahaha, sorry... Summer, I really couldn't hold it in."

"You're a mortuary makeup artist, and your family could afford a watch worth over a hundred million? Sorry, hahaha, that's hilarious."

Maxwell's face flushed with anger. "How long are you going to keep this up? You're just a makeup artist who works on corpses at a mortuary. No matter what you say, you're still at the bottom of society!"

Ethan made a face at me too. "Mom's lying, shame on Mom!"

Overwhelming humiliation crashed down on me. To marry Maxwell, I'd transformed from a pampered heiress who'd never lifted a finger into their servant, enduring hardships I'd never experienced in my first twenty-five years.

But now I finally realized---continuing here had no meaning.

My devotion meant nothing to them.

Sophia laughed as she removed the watch and handed it to me. "Okay, Summer, no need to be so dramatic. I'll give it back to you."

But when I reached to take it, she suddenly let go. The watch fell into the drain.

"Oops, Summer, I'm so sorry."

"Tell you what, I'll give you fifty---no, a hundred dollars. You can buy a new one."

Maxwell sneered. "Why give her that much? She calls cheap knockoffs worth a hundred million. If you really give her a hundred bucks, she'll probably claim she bought one of the world's top ten luxury watches."

Perhaps because my anger had reached its peak, I actually calmed down instead.

I gripped the edge of the sink, staring at the drain for three seconds. The sound of water was soft, but it felt like something had completely shattered.

My hands trembled, but I didn't cry.

I finally understood---there was no point in continuing this entanglement.

But before I could speak, Maxwell checked his watch. "I don't have time for your drama tonight. I have an evening gala to attend with family. Sophia, Ethan, and I are leaving. You stay home and clean up."

With that, the three of them left.

I leaned against the sink, taking several deep breaths before barely steadying my emotions.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I hadn't called in ten years.

"Sebastian, I want to withdraw all investments from Maxwell Corporation immediately."

Sebastian was the Sinclair family's CFO, and also my childhood fiancé.

Sebastian and I grew up together. He'd witnessed every milestone of my life before age twenty-five---until I met Maxwell at twenty-five and lost my mind, breaking with my family to become his servant.

After I left, Sebastian didn't marry and have children as his parents arranged. Instead, he kept waiting for me.

Every year he wrote me a letter: "My life stopped the moment you left."

"Summer... you're finally willing to contact me..." The usually calm and composed man's voice was choked with emotion.

"Save the catching up for later." I cut him off coldly, my eyes sharp as knives.

"Within twenty-four hours, I want to hear that Maxwell Corporation has gone bankrupt."

Silence on the other end for a second, then Sebastian's low, pleased laughter came through.

"As you wish, my fiancée."

"I'll personally fly over with the finance team tomorrow. I guarantee that within twenty-four hours, everyone will regret this."

I hung up and looked at myself in the mirror---the woman who'd compromised herself for love for ten years.

It was all over.

Maxwell, it's time for you to return to the slums.