Chapter 3

I pushed away Declan, who was trying to grab me. “Get lost.”

Under everyone’s stunned gazes, I jumped into the storm drain without hesitation.

Instantly, the foul water rose to my waist, and the stench assaulted me.

Around me, gasps and jeers erupted, but I blocked them out.

Briar’s piercing laughter echoed from upstairs. “Hahaha, look at that crazy woman! Jumping into a cesspit for a broken bracelet! I’m dying!”

Declan frowned and yelled at me, “For a broken bracelet, are you really doing this?”

Broken bracelet?

It was the only keepsake my grandmother left me!

And his beloved Briar had tossed it away like garbage!

I frantically fumbled in the murky water, enduring the blazing sun overhead. I searched in the sewage for almost half an hour.

Finally, I felt the outline of the bracelet, but it had shattered into three pieces.

Clutching the broken bracelet, I slowly climbed out of the storm drain.

The crowd of onlookers quickly covered their noses and parted, clearing a path for me.

Declan’s voice, sharp with disdain and fury, came from the mansion steps.

That face, which once made my heart flutter, was now distorted and unfamiliar.

“Aubrey Hayes! If you dare to leave now, we’re over.”

I looked down at the shattered stone in my hand, my voice eerily calm.

“We’re already over.”

Briar walked over, her high heels clicking, and intimately linked her arm through Declan’s. She shook her wrist, showing off another gold bracelet.

“Brother Declan, why waste words on this lowlife? She’s not even worth mentioning. Should I throw this one down too? Make her perform another jump into the cesspit?”

Declan suddenly sneered.

“Aubrey, watching you work like an idiot to support me for two years has been the greatest joy of my life. Don’t think for a second I’d ever like a cheap woman like you. You don’t even wear makeup; you’re an embarrassment to be seen with.”

My entire body trembled, tears blurring my vision. My voice was icy cold.

“We’re done!”

But Declan’s face changed, his expression shifting from panic to grimness.

“Aubrey, who do you think you are? You lived off me for two years! You’re nothing without me! Now you just want to walk away?”

I let out a bitter laugh.

“Lived off you? Declan Ford, can you honestly say who was supporting whom for the past two years? Who was working three jobs a day for your ‘startup’?”

Briar kept her distance, covering her nose and frowning.

“Oh, those gifts Brother Declan bought you, those fancy restaurants he took you to—that was all money! Now you just want to walk away without a care!”

Those so-called “gifts” were all bought with my blood, sweat, and tears.

Declan’s “fancy restaurants” were always paid for by me.

I turned towards the gate, emphasizing again.

“We’re finished!”

Without another glance at them, I turned and walked away, resolute.

How could I have been so blind, to fall in love with such a monster?

Half an hour later, a black Maybach pulled up by the curb.