Chapter 2

Chapter 2 I ignored her, picked up the cardboard box, and turned toward the door.

"Hold on," Kelsey barked from behind me. "I need to inspect your box to make sure you aren't stealing anything that belongs to this house."

She strutted over and immediately spotted the vintage jade bangle nestled among my clothes. Greed flashed across her eyes.

"Look at this. An emerald jade piece this flawless must be a Pierce family heirloom. As the future Mrs. Pierce, I can't let you walk away with our family treasure."

She reached out to grab it, but I blocked her hand immediately. "This isn't yours."

Landon had spoiled her rotten, and my resistance instantly ignited her temper. "Landon already told me your parents died years ago and left you with nothing. You've been living as a kept housewife since college, so how could you possibly afford something this valuable? Give it back!"

She lunged to snatch the box. In the violent struggle, the bangle slipped from her fingers, hit the marble floor, and shattered into several jagged pieces.

The rage I had suppressed for months erupted instantly. I raised my hand and slapped her across the face.

Kelsey clutched her cheek in utter shock before shoving me backward with all her might. "You miserable bitch! How dare you touch me!"

The force of her shove sent me crashing violently against the edge of the console table, a sickening crack echoing through my lower spine.

Hearing the commotion, Landon rushed out of the kitchen. Seeing Kelsey on the verge of tears, his face twisted in fury. "Helena, are you out of your mind? Kelsey is pregnant! How could you lay a hand on her?"

I lay on the floor, cold sweat drenching my forehead from the blinding pain. "She tried to steal my mother's bracelet... she broke it... Landon, my stomach hurts so badly..."

The rest of my words choked in my throat under Landon's icy, disgusted glare.

"Landon, my tummy aches," Kelsey sobbed, clinging to his arm. "I don't want to see her ever again. Make her leave!"

Landon looked down at me with cold detachment. "Helena, Kelsey is young and carrying my child. You should know better than to pick fights with her."

"As for the bracelet, I'll buy you a replacement later."

I let out a broken, raspy laugh. "Buy me a replacement? Landon, have you forgotten? That was the only thing my mother left me before she died."

A flicker of guilt crossed Landon's face.

Before he could speak, Kelsey wailed louder, clutching her stomach. "It hurts so much... is something wrong with our baby?"

Panic took over Landon's face as he scooped Kelsey into his arms. Before rushing out, he turned back to glare at me. "You better pray nothing happens to my child, or I swear I won't let you off easy."

I sat paralyzed on the cold floor for a long time before finding the strength to push myself up.

Leaning against the velvet couch, a sudden, familiar musk hit my nose―the lingering scent of their recent intimacy.

Nausea surged straight up from my stomach. I turned my head and dry-heaved violently onto the floor.

A shadow fell over me. The estate's butler stood before me with an uneasy expression. "Madam... Miss Ward, Mr. Pierce ordered that since the marriage is over, you are no longer permitted on the property."

"Please leave right away, or Miss Dawson will be furious when they return."

I didn't snap back to reality until I was standing on the bustling downtown sidewalk.

Pedestrians hurried past while I stood on the corner, clutching a single battered cardboard box. Inside was everything I owned after seven years of marriage to Landon Pierce.

It wasn't much at all.

Just like when I was twenty-two, marrying a penniless Landon with nothing but a suitcase of second-hand clothes and a heart full of blind courage.

A sharp, stabbing cramp ripped through my lower abdomen, making every step feel like walking on broken glass.

Suddenly, a warm, sticky fluid trickled down the inside of my thighs.

I looked down in horror. Crimson blood was already pooling around my sneakers on the pavement.

A kind stranger rushed over and called an ambulance.

After a chaotic rush into the emergency room, the nurse hooked me up to an IV drip. "It was a threatened miscarriage caused by severe trauma. Thankfully you made it in time, but you need absolute bed rest."

She looked around the empty room. "Where is your family?"

Lying on the sterile hospital bed, I offered a faint, hollow smile. "I don't have any family."