Chapter 5

Lora's POV

Twenty minutes later, Xander came rushing into the room, forehead damp with sweat.

He pulled me into his arms hard, his voice carrying both blame and relief.

"Something this serious, and you didn't call me? Are you hurt? Where? Where's the doctor?"

His panic was real. I could feel it.

But I couldn't feel anything in return anymore.

"I did call. You were in line getting Shea a drink."

Xander went still.

His eyes reddened. His voice came out rough. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Lora. I didn't know."

I didn't say anything else. I leaned back against the pillow and closed my eyes.

For the next several days, Xander didn't leave the room.

The other patients and the nurses kept saying what a wonderful man he was. How lucky I was.

I smiled and said nothing.

A tabloid photographer caught it. It made the headlines.

"Hargrove CEO Stays by Wife's Bedside After Crash, The Love Story That's Breaking the Internet."

Two weeks later, I was discharged. Xander came to take me home.

In the car, the unfamiliar perfume hit me the moment I got in.

Shea's things were everywhere, a blanket, a throw pillow, some stickers, her perfume.

I found a corner to settle into and didn't say a word.

When we walked through the front door, I almost thought I had the wrong house.

The place was a mess. Shea's things were all over it.

Shea herself was on the couch in Xander's shirt, legs crossed, eating fruit. The juice dripped onto my hand-woven rug, the one I loved most.

When she saw us come in, she rolled her eyes without bothering to hide it.

Xander acted like he hadn't noticed. He smiled.

"This is Shea. She's young, always getting into trouble. Easier to keep her close."

I didn't bother to respond.

It didn't matter. I was leaving soon. After that, whoever lived here was none of my concern.

I said nothing and went upstairs.

Xander had been juggling Shea and the hospital visits on top of a neglected workload, so he gave a quick word of apology and headed out.

I pushed open my bedroom door and stopped.

The room had been torn apart. The wardrobe was completely emptied, every drawer pulled open, like the place had been ransacked.

I didn't need to guess.

My heart seized. I pushed everything else aside and started searching.

My grandmother's necklace. I needed to find it.

It had been passed down through generations, her grandmother's before it was hers. The only thing she had left me.

The jewelry box was still in the drawer.

It was empty.

The necklace was gone.

"Looking for this?"

Shea's voice came from behind me.

I turned. She was leaning in the doorway, holding the necklace between two fingers, letting it swing lazily back and forth.

"Give it back."

I went for it. She sidestepped me easily.

Shea smiled, something mean in it.

"I figured, something this cheap, and you've been keeping it in a box like it's precious. It must really matter to you."

My voice shook.

"Shea, I've never done anything to you. Please give it back."

The smile dropped. What replaced it was cold.

"You took him from me. And you have the nerve to say you never did anything? Don't play dumb. I can see it. You're in love with him."

I was barely holding together, my eyes fixed on the necklace.

"I don't love him anymore. Give that back to me, and I'll leave Xander. I swear."

Shea didn't believe a word of it.

"You think I'm stupid? A girl like you, you climbed your way up to him, and you expect me to think you'd just walk away?"

"You want it? Fine. Keep me happy today, and I'll think about giving it back."