Chapter 3

Silvia's fair skin had taken a light burn, leaving a faint red mark.

Preston swept her up into his arms, his voice thick with tenderness and a catch in his throat. "Sweetheart, I'm taking you to the hospital right now."

The butler standing nearby saw the blood running down my temple and spoke up. "Mr. Carver... Miss Walter is hurt too..."

Preston looked down at me.

"What's a scratch like that?"

"She threw that candle at Silvia on purpose. If she got hurt, she had it coming."

He didn't even turn his head, carrying Silvia toward the door.

I called after him, loud. "Preston! Silvia dropped that candle herself."

Even then, I still held on to a thread of hope in him.

His steps paused. He turned back slowly and looked at me with contempt.

"Silvia, I saw it with my own eyes. Are you still going to lie about it?"

My fingertips rested on the scorched scraps of the gown my mother had designed. The smell of burning mixed with wet stains, and the air between me and Preston went still.

"What reason would I have to burn my own mother's keepsake?"

I threw the question back at him.

He stalled for a beat, as if he were searching for the hole in his own judgment.

Silvia let out a soft, pained hiss and tightened her arms around his neck.

"Preston, Dora's upset. Put me down, I'll get to the hospital on my own. You should go comfort her..."

"After all, your mother's keepsake got burned because of me."

The moment she finished, Preston, who had wavered, said to her firmly, "Forget her. She had it coming."

And then they were gone, vanishing down the end of the hall.

For the next two days, Preston kept me locked inside the villa he shared with Silvia.

I sewed Silvia's gown day and night, while the two of them carried on flirting in the room next to mine.

"Baby, come and catch me~"

The sound reached my ears, wave after wave.

It was torture.

At first it turned my stomach, and I couldn't even hold the needle steady. After a while I stopped hearing it at all.

When they finished, Preston would always push open my door, slide an arm around my waist, the clean scent of body wash still on his skin.

His warm breath brushed against my ear. "Dora, something's off with you."

I used to be sharp-tongued and fierce, but ever since he confessed his affair with Silvia, I had grown especially calm.

His hold on me tightened, his eyes fixed on mine. "I keep getting this feeling you're going to leave me."

The corner of my mouth curved up. I turned and cupped his face, all smiles.

"How could I? I love you so much. For you, I nearly fell out with my own father."

"If I let you go, wouldn't all these years of my heart's work be for nothing?"

Preston's kiss landed on my collarbone, and I shoved him off like I'd been shocked.

"My period started."

His eyes darkened. "It's fine. There's plenty of time. Get some rest."

Preston let go of me, the diamond ring on his middle finger glaring.

I stopped him. "You should take that ring off. You're getting married soon."

Preston gave a small laugh and closed the door.

His voice drifted back. "No need to be jealous. It's the limited-edition matching pair I gave you. I gave Silvia one too."

......