Chapter 3

"Viviette, I was there when my brother bought that necklace for you."

Bianca, Dustin's sister and my supposed best friend, had arrived as well.

She continued, "I even asked Dustin to get me one just like it, but he said it was a one-of-a-kind piece. You haven't forgotten that, have you?"

My mother-in-law scoffed. "She's an ungrateful brat. She won't remember anything."

I remembered everything. They were the ones who had developed selective amnesia.

Years ago, Bianca told me her family was struggling. She said her mother couldn't sleep because she was so worried about her son's future.

She told me I didn't seem like a superficial woman and begged me to give her brother a chance.

On our wedding day, my mother-in-law cried tears of joy. She said finding a daughter-in-law as sensible as me was a blessing from her ancestors.

When did it all change?

In the beginning, Dustin was just a poor kid. I only asked for a symbolic six thousand dollars as a wedding gift.

We had no house and no car.

I didn't care about money back then. I cared about character and potential.

As for the financial issues, I could have solved them with a snap of my fingers.

My family restricts our access to wealth until we produce an heir. But even with those restrictions, the resources I moved in the shadows were enough to make Dustin's business skyrocket.

They clearly never wondered why a man with no background or connections suddenly had such a smooth ride in the business world.

As Dustin's wealth grew, Bianca started acting like a high-society queen, constantly criticizing me.

My mother-in-law began finding fault with everything I did.

Dustin's temper grew shorter. I thought this was just what marriage was―a process of constant adjustment.

I see now how wrong I was.

Seeing my silence, my mother-in-law barked again. "What are you waiting for?"

"Take it off and give it to Susannah!"

Susannah sat there with a smug grin, her eyes dripping with malice.

Her gaze said it all: It didn't matter that I had been his wife for six years. The moment she returned, I was expected to step aside.

I didn't want these miserable people to ruin my day or stress me out.

Conceiving was difficult for me. I needed to stay calm for the baby.

I silently unclasped the necklace and placed it on the table.

Susannah picked it up. "It looks decent, I guess."

"But it's been worn by trash. It feels dirty."

With those words, she slammed the necklace onto the hardwood floor.

My precious heirloom shattered.

Bianca rushed over. "Susannah, don't worry. Dustin will take you shopping for whatever you want."

"Exactly," my mother-in-law added. "Whatever you like, Dustin will buy it."

My necklace was destroyed, and all they cared about was what Susannah wanted.

I had given these people years of my life, and they treated me like garbage. I knelt down to carefully pick up the broken pieces, but a foot suddenly stomped down on my hand.

Susannah looked down at me from her height. "Even the things I don't want aren't for a loser like you to touch."

Dustin kicked the broken fragments away. "Just get the hell out of here. Stop embarrassing yourself."

My heart constricted. I remembered the moment I first fell for him.

A group of thugs had been harassing me, shouting filth and trying to put their hands on me.

Dustin happened to walk by. He fought six men alone and ended up in the hospital.

While I was nursing him back to health, he told me, "Anyone who insults you will have to answer to me."

Now, Susannah was humiliating me, and he was telling me to get lost.

I suppressed my rage, stood up, and headed for the door. Susannah took off the shoe she had used to step on me and hurled it at my back.

"I don't want this shoe anymore. It touched trash."

The shoe hit me hard in the spine. The pain was sharp and stinging.

I looked down, gently touching my stomach. I just needed to leave first.

"Wait," Susannah called out again. "There's one more thing you're leaving behind."