Chapter 7
“All you want is money, right? Well, I’ve got money now. I can have more than that bastard!”
The irony was almost too much to bear.
“When you told me to get an abortion alone and then took that girl on a trip–what did those nine years mean to you?”
Harvey froze, unable to find his words.
Leigh opened her mouth to speak, but I slapped her hard across the face before she could.
“Is there anyone more shameless than you?” I said, my voice as cold as ice.
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Her face drained of color, tears streaming down her cheeks, and Harvey instinctively released my hand.
“Berenice, she’s like a sister to me…” he mumbled, his voice growing weaker with every word.
And I couldn’t bear to look at him any longer.
Thank goodness I heard Torin call my name from a distance.
I smiled, relief washing over me, and walked toward him.
“You know him?” he asked.
“You do too?” I replied, surprised.
“No, I just know he’s the Robsons‘ long–lost son. They brought him back a few days ago,”
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he explained.
The wedding was only a few days away, and I still had shopping to do.
Despite his packed schedule, Torin insisted on accompanying me.
We didn’t know each other well enough for me to give him any directions, so I reluctantly agreed.
As we passed a custom jewelry shop, a clerk eagerly pulled me inside. Her enthusiasm was impossible to resist, and the shop, warm and romantic, seemed to embrace me.
I walked past the glass displays until one ring caught my eye.
Before Torin could make a move to buy it, I stopped him.
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My mood suddenly soured, and I turned to leave.
But then a familiar voice froze me in my
tracks.
“Babe!”
The clerks around us began to cheer, and I turned to see Harvey holding the very ring I had just been looking at.
He looked nervous, almost unsure of himself.
“Do you remember this ring?” he asked.
How could I forget?
We’d been together for three years. In the first year, he had designed a ring for me–a
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simple sapphire with initials engraved inside. It wasn’t extravagant, but it had been enough to make my heart race.
But for one reason or another, it had never been made.
Now, here he was, walking toward me, reaching for my hand.
The clerks next to him were growing louder by the second.
ཐས་་ཚང་།
Everyone, except Torin, was chanting for us to “get back together.”
The noise suffocated me. I shoved him away, and the ring flew from his hand, landing perfectly in the trash can.
That silence was deafening.
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“Mr. Robson, show some self–respect,” I said, my voice icy.
Harvey flinched, his expression shattering.
“Babe, isn’t this what you wanted? We can get married right now. We can be together forever!”
But he was far too late.
If he had proposed before found
baby–I wouldve o
I
him in bed with Leigh, before I lost our third
cried tears of joy and accepted the ring I’d waited years for.
Harvey looked like he’d just woken from a nightmare.
“You don’t like this one anymore? That’s fine. I can design it again. You can have as many as you want.” He added, “I get it–you’re
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jealous of Leigh, but don’t worry, she’s…”
“Harvey,” I cut him off, my voice firm. “There’s nothing left for us anymore.”
I reached for Torin’s hand, and he took it without hesitation.
Harvey tried to stop me, but I brushed past him.
Behind us, the noise erupted again.
I didn’t look back, but I could hear him frantically digging through the trash for the ring.
What I didn’t expect was for Leigh to try to force her way into my house.
The servants stopped her at the door.
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Her face was pale, her once–fake fragility now genuine. She looked desperate.
“Berenice, please, don’t let Harvey leave me!” she begged.
I glanced at my phone. I had ten minutes before I had to leave for an appointment.
“He has nothing to do with me anymore,” I said, my tone final.
That seemed to break her.
Her composure shattered, and she started thrashing, her eyes wild with fury.
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