Chapter 4

Iris Hart POV

On the day I was discharged from the hospital, I unexpectedly received an invitation from my advisor. An opportunity to attend an academic summit. I became part of the setup crew for the venue.

As soon as I walked in, I saw River all dressed up, along with Sebastian.

"Iris?" When he saw me, his smile stiffened. He quickly lowered his voice. "When did you get discharged? Why didn't you tell me so I could pick you up?"

I pushed his hand away. "It's fine. Go do what you need to do."

A shriek came from nearby. River screamed and stood up. Her arms were covered in red welts. "I think I'm having an allergic reaction."

I turned to look. Sebastian, ignoring everyone's stares, scooped River up in his arms and rushed out.

The venue fell silent. People whispered to each other, some even casting pitying glances my way. My cheeks burned with shame as I quickly left.

I'd barely gotten home when Sebastian showed up at my door. He glared at me, his face full of anger. "With so many people at the venue, how is it that she was the only one who had an allergic reaction to that chair?!"

"What are you implying?" My brow furrowed.

"You're one of the people in charge of setup. This has to be connected to you!"

My heart trembled. I couldn't believe it. "You're accusing me?!"

Fifteen years together, and he was actually accusing me over something completely fabricated.

River, who'd been hiding behind him, stepped forward timidly. "Just forget it. I'm sure Iris didn't mean it."

"River, you're too kind. That's why you think everyone else is kind too!" His anger intensified.

I laughed coldly. So in his eyes, I was malicious?

He grabbed my wrist tightly and dragged me all the way to the venue to confront me. When he finally let go, my wrist was already covered in bruises.

"The summit still has one more day! I want you to replace every single chair tonight with something River isn't allergic to."

"I refuse." I stared at him, enunciating each word.

He nodded as if driven to the edge. "If you don't replace them, believe me, I'll throw this ring away right now."

The moment I saw him hold up the ring, my expression changed. That was the ring my grandmother had left me as a wedding blessing. And he was using it to threaten me!

My heart turned to ash.

Under their watchful eyes, I pathetically hauled out a thousand chairs and replaced them with a new batch from storage. After I finished arranging them, he finally let me go.

"I have one more condition. Give me back the ring," he said.

"No problem. It's just a ring. But if there's a next time, we're calling off the marriage license."

I clutched the ring, my palm aching.

There won't be a next time. We've already canceled it.

Sebastian, I will never love you again.

I'll be leaving soon.