Chapter 4

Summer Lynn POV

The next day, Ethan took Cherry to the charity gala as expected.

When he returned, he even tossed me a gift box.

"Auction item from last night's gala. For you."

I sat on the sofa, my gaze falling on that gift box.

I didn't take it. I didn't open it either.

"Do you need me to open it for you?" Ethan's brow furrowed slightly. He walked over and opened the gift box clasp with one hand.

Inside lay a dazzling diamond necklace.

"I saw Cherry really liked the main piece from this collection, so I bought it for her. This starry one is the secondary piece. It happens to suit you."

My fingertips curled slightly under my sleeves.

What he gave Cherry was the main necklace worth tens of millions. What he gave me, his wife, was just a secondary gift piece.

If this were before, I would have asked him through red eyes, "Ethan, in your heart, will I always only get the things she doesn't want?"

I would have been too upset to sleep, while he would only think I was making a fuss and habitually use money to wipe away my tears.

But tonight, I just felt like my heart had been injected with anesthesia. Even the pain had become dull.

I looked at the necklace reflecting cold light and pulled at the corners of my dry lips slightly.

"Thank you." My voice was as light as a feather landing on the ground. "The necklace is beautiful. I really like it."

Ethan's movements paused.

I didn't look at the necklace anymore. My gaze returned to the book in my hands.

"Summer, stop making a scene." His voice deepened, carrying suppressed displeasure. "I'm very tired today. I don't have time to humor you."

"I'm not making a scene." I turned a page in my book, my tone as calm as stagnant water.

Ethan stared at me for a while, then let out a cold laugh, turned around, and strode toward the second-floor study.

Bang!

The study door slammed shut.

I didn't try to keep him.

I looked at the glittering necklace on the table. What flashed through my mind was a scene from ten years ago.

That year I was only sixteen, hiding in a corner of the Harrington family villa, watching that handsome young man.

I'd secretly loved him for a full ten years. When his fiancée ran away from the wedding, I was willing to wear an ill-fitting wedding dress and shield him from all the embarrassment.

On our wedding day, I naively thought that as long as I was obedient enough and understanding enough, someday I could make him love me.

Even though he put a ring that didn't fit my finger onto my hand, even though he wouldn't spare me a glance, I still felt that at least I was standing beside him.

But that fire not only took away my hearing. It also completely burned away my love for him.

For Cherry's sake, he didn't even care about my life.

Once a person wakes up, they understand everything.

For the next two weeks, I silently erased all traces of myself.

I listed designer bags and clothes on secondhand websites at low prices, keeping only a few of the most ordinary clothes.

In the huge master bedroom, the traces of my presence grew fainter and fainter.

That afternoon, the villa's doorbell suddenly rang.

Cherry walked in.

I walked out of the storage room holding a wooden paint box covered in thick dust.

I looked up and saw Cherry.

Around Cherry's neck, she was conspicuously wearing that dazzling main diamond necklace.

That huge central diamond rested perfectly on her delicate collarbone, so bright it hurt the eyes.

"Summer, you're home."

Cherry walked into the living room, deliberately tucking her hair behind her ear to fully expose the necklace to my view.

"A few days ago at the auction, Ethan insisted on buying me this jewelry set. I said it was too expensive and I couldn't accept it, but he wouldn't listen. He even put it on me himself."

Cherry smiled happily. "He said this necklace had a secondary gift piece that he brought home for you. Did you see it?"

My fingers holding the paint box tightened slightly.

I listened to Cherry's boastful words and looked at that necklace, but my eyes didn't show even a ripple of emotion.

I pointed at the box. "If you like it, take that along with you."