Chapter 3

Sera's POV

White-hot agony shot from my wrist straight to my brain. Cold sweat poured down my face, and I collapsed onto the deck, unable to move.

For an illustrator, her right hand is her life.

But Ethan didn't even look at my way. He was gently cradling Chloe's face, his eyes filled with pure panic. "Chloe! Are you okay? Where does it hurt?"

Chloe's eyes were red, tears streaming down her face like a victim. She shrunk into Ethan's chest. "Ethan, I just wanted to see Sera's drawings. It slipped out of my hand and fell into the ocean. It was an accident, but she... she hit me..."

"Sera!" Ethan whipped his head around, his eyes wild with rage as he glared at me. "When did you become so vicious? It was just a stupid tablet! How dare you lay a hand on her!"

A stupid tablet?

Holding my shattered wrist, I let out a broken laugh.

That tablet didn't just have my livelihood; it had every single sketch I had drawn of him over the last five years. His profile while working late, his sleeping face, us eating ramen together...

I had poured all my love into those digital pages, and now he dismissed it as "a stupid tablet."

"Ethan, that was my life," I whispered, looking at him with hollow eyes.

Ethan flinched at my dead stare. But Chloe's quiet whimpering quickly brought his anger back.

"Julian! Take Sera back to the apartment! She is grounded until further notice. She is not to step foot outside!"

Ethan threw the words at me coldly, then scooped Chloe up in his arms and rushed toward the yacht's medical suite.

The wealthy guests around me didn't hide their mockery.

"Yikes, she really thought she was going to be the next Mrs. Thorne. The moment Chloe comes back, this charity case is nothing."

"Exactly. She doesn't even know her place, actually hitting Chloe."

I ignored them. I forced myself up, refusing Julian's hand as he tried to help me. Dragging my limp right hand, I walked off the yacht alone.

The ER at Mount Sinai Hospital at midnight was freezing and quiet.

The doctor stared at the X-ray, his brow furrowed. "Severe wrist fracture with major soft tissue damage. You need a cast immediately. No lifting heavy objects for at least three months, let alone drawing. If it doesn't heal perfectly, you might have permanent nerve damage."

I listened in silence, using my left hand to clumsily sign the paperwork. "I understand. Thank you, Doctor."

After getting the cast, I took a cab back to our empty luxury apartment.

I didn't turn on the lights. Under the moonlight, I used my left hand to throw away every couple's cup, matching slippers, and all the cheap gifts Ethan had ever given me into trash bags.

If I was leaving, I was leaving nothing behind.

The next afternoon, Ethan's assistant called.

"Miss Vance, Mr. Thorne wants you to come to the office immediately."

I changed into a long-sleeved coat to hide the cast on my wrist and took a cab to Apex Tech.

The moment I pushed open the penthouse office door, the suffocating tension hit me.

Ethan sat behind his massive desk, his face dark. Chloe sat on the leather sofa nearby, holding a cup of Starbucks, looking down her nose at me.

Seeing me enter, Ethan slammed a document onto the desk. "Sign it."

I walked over and looked down.

Intellectual Property Transfer Agreement.

It was for my most famous illustration series, "The Deep Sea and the Star". This IP was based on our love story, and a major film studio had just offered me a million-dollar contract for the rights.

The recipient was a new media company newly registered under Chloe's name.

It was so absurd I laughed out loud. "Ethan, have you lost your mind? This is my life's work. Why should I give it to her?"

"Because you put your hands on her yesterday!" Ethan stood up, leaning over his desk, glaring down at me. "Chloe just got back and needs a major IP to launch her agency. This transfer is your apology to her."

"My apology?" I stared at him. "She stole your code! She ruined you! She almost made you jump off a building! And now you want me to give her my life's work to pave her way? Ethan, do you even have a soul?"

"Shut up!" Ethan's face turned crimson, his ego bruised. "Chloe had a choice back then! She did it to save her sick brother! You know nothing!"

Looking at this man I had loved for five years, he felt like a complete stranger.

"And if I refuse?" I asked coldly.

Ethan narrowed his eyes, his voice dripping with venom. "Sera, don't push me. The major clients for your art studio are all partners of Apex Tech. With one word from me, I can blackball you from the industry permanently. Sign it, and we can keep this civil."

He was threatening my entire career. For another woman.

I closed my eyes, swallowing the metallic taste of blood in my throat.

I reached out my left hand and picked up the pen.

"What's wrong with your right hand?" Ethan finally noticed my awkward posture, his brow twitching slightly.

"None of your business." I didn't look up, using my left hand to scribble a messy signature at the bottom.

I dropped the pen and turned to leave.

"Sera!" Ethan called out.

I stopped, but didn't turn back.

"Ethan, we are done. Completely."