Chapter 5

I forced myself to my feet despite the pain and rushed toward the pool. The surface was still rippling where the necklace had disappeared. Without giving myself time to think, I climbed over the edge and plunged into the water.

The cold hit me instantly.

I opened my eyes and searched beneath the surface, diving deeper as my lungs began to burn. I had no idea how long I stayed underwater. It could have been minutes or longer, but none of that mattered. I only knew that I couldn't leave the necklace behind.

By the time my fingers finally found it, my body was already exhausted. The cuts on my skin stung fiercely as the water seeped into them, but I refused to let go. I clenched my teeth and kept searching until my hand closed firmly around the chain.

When I finally dragged myself out of the pool, I was shaking so badly that I could barely stand. I pulled myself onto the edge and collapsed onto the ground, struggling to catch my breath while the necklace remained tightly clenched in my hand.

As water dripped from my fingers, memories came rushing back.

I remembered the day I had pawned the necklace to help Jace. I remembered the way he had held my hand afterward and promised that he would take care of me for the rest of his life. He had sworn that I was the only woman he would ever love.

What a cruel joke.

A bitter laugh escaped me, but tears immediately followed. I couldn't even tell whether I was laughing or crying anymore. My chest hurt so badly that every breath came out unevenly.

When I finally returned home, I became sick.

A high fever consumed me, leaving my entire body heavy and weak. Even the simple act of getting up to pour myself a glass of water felt impossible. I could only lie in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as I drifted in and out of consciousness.

Then the bedroom door opened.

Jace was home.

Before I could even ask what he wanted, he grabbed my arm and pulled me out of bed.

“Get up. You're coming with me.”

His voice was cold and impatient.

For a brief moment, I wondered if he had finally noticed how sick I was. Perhaps he had realized that I needed medical attention and was taking me to the hospital.

So I didn't resist.

I followed him.

But somewhere along the drive, I realized we weren't going in the direction of any hospital.

“Jace,” I said weakly, gripping the edge of the seat for support. “This isn't the road to the hospital. Where are you taking me?”

He gave a humorless laugh.

“Hospital? You really have some nerve. You haven't even dealt with the trouble you caused, and you're already thinking about yourself?”

His words made no sense to me.

My fever had left my mind sluggish and clouded, and I couldn't understand what he was talking about until the car finally stopped.

We were on a bridge.

It was dark, the wind was strong, and far below us, cars passed beneath the bridge with their headlights flashing through the night.

Then I saw her.

Allicent was standing near the edge.

My heart dropped.

Jace pulled me out of the car and forced me forward. The wind whipped against my face as Allicent noticed us and immediately stepped backward, fear appearing on her face.

“Don't come any closer!” she cried.

“Allicent, calm down,” Jace said quickly, sounding tense for the first time. “Don't do anything reckless. I brought Elena here so she can apologize. She'll clear everything up publicly, and then this whole situation will be over. Nobody is going to hurt you.”

Apologize?

I stared at him in disbelief.

“No,” I said firmly. “I'm not apologizing. I haven't done anything wrong. Why should I take the blame for something you two did?”

They were the ones who had betrayed me. They were the ones who had humiliated me. Yet somehow, I was the one standing here being forced to beg for forgiveness.

Allicent lowered her head, her shoulders trembling as she quietly said, “You don't have to apologize to me. I'm not worth protecting anyway. Everyone is laughing at me now, and maybe it would be easier if I just ended everything.”

Jace's expression changed immediately.

“Don't say things like that!”

He turned toward me, anger flashing across his face.

“What is wrong with you, Elena? All she wants is an apology. Is it really so difficult for you to give her one?”

My chest tightened.

“Jace,” I whispered, my voice trembling despite my efforts to remain calm. “We've been together for ten years. Doesn't any of that mean anything to you?”

I wasn't only speaking for myself. I was speaking for the woman I had once been—the woman who had loved him until her very last breath and never understood why he had destroyed her.

For a moment, Jace hesitated.

But whatever uncertainty had appeared in his eyes quickly disappeared.

His face hardened again.

“So are you going to apologize or not?”

That was all the answer I needed.

I lowered my eyes as a tear slipped down my cheek.

“Fine. I'll do it. I'm sorry, Allicent. I'll make a public statement and clear everything up.”

My hands trembled as I pulled out my phone and wrote the statement he wanted. I took responsibility for the scandal, cleared Allicent's name, and made myself look like the one responsible for everything.

When I finished posting it, Jace didn't even bother checking.

He immediately went to Allicent.

“Did you hear that? It's over now. Come away from there and don't frighten me like that again.”

He reached for her and pulled her into his arms, holding her with a tenderness I hadn't seen directed at me in years.

I stood several feet away, watching them, and felt something inside me go completely empty.

Using the railing for support, I slowly forced myself upright.

Allicent eventually walked toward me, still holding Jace's hand. She reached out and took mine.

“Mrs. Cole,” she said sweetly. “Thank you.”

Her fingers tightened around mine.

Then she leaned closer, lowering her voice so Jace couldn't hear.

“Honestly, as another woman, don't you think you're embarrassing yourself?”

My head snapped toward her.

Anger surged through me, and I tried to pull my hand free.

Instead, she tightened her grip and suddenly yanked me toward her.

“Ah!”

Her scream came at the same time my foot slipped.

The ground seemed to disappear beneath me.

Jace rushed forward.

For one desperate second, I thought he would catch me.

He reached out.

But his hand closed around Allicent's.

Not mine.

Our eyes met.

And then I fell.

The wind tore past my ears as the lights below blurred into streaks. My mind went strangely quiet before memories began flashing through it—our first meeting, our wedding, every promise he had made, every lie I had believed.

In the end, he had chosen her.

My body slammed into something hard below.

A black SUV had been passing beneath the bridge.

The impact knocked the air from my lungs, and pain erupted through every part of my body before everything disappeared into darkness.

**

When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital room.

So I hadn't died.

Apparently, the bridge wasn't as high as it had looked. I had struck the roof of the SUV before falling onto the ground.

The doctors called me lucky.

If this was what surviving looked like, I wasn't sure I agreed.

Three ribs were broken, and every breath sent a sharp pain through my chest.

“Honey, you're awake.”

Jace rushed toward me when he noticed my eyes were open. He looked exhausted, with red-rimmed eyes as though he hadn't slept properly.

“For a moment, I thought**”

He stopped himself and exhaled slowly.

“Anyway, you're awake now. That's what matters. Allicent has been blaming herself ever since it happened. She could barely eat because she felt so guilty about seeing you like this.”

I stared at him quietly.

So that was where he had been.

Taking care of Allicent.

I slowly withdrew my hand when he tried to touch me.

“With you constantly by her side, I'm sure she'll be just fine,” I said quietly.

His expression immediately darkened.

“Do you really have to speak like that?”

I said nothing.

“Allicent works for me,” he continued, his tone becoming colder. “She's alone here and doesn't have anyone else to depend on. Naturally, I'm going to look after her. And don't forget, if you hadn't caused all of this in the first place, she wouldn't be in this situation.”

There it was again.

Somehow, everything was still my fault.

I closed my eyes.

I didn't have the energy to argue anymore, and there was no point anyway. Jace had already decided who he believed.

Then his phone began to ring.