Chapter 3

Chloe was trembling with rage, hysterically cursing.

"Bitch! How dare you still foolishly dream of a wedding? I'm telling you, you'll never marry Julian! I'm going to kick you out of the Thorne household!"

Watching Chloe verge on a breakdown, I remained perfectly calm. I even slowly adjusted my cuff, casually responding.

"Oh."

"But Julian and I are having our wedding at the end of the month and making it official early next month."

"You take your time eating. I'm off to look at wedding dresses."

With that, I walked towards the main door without looking back.

Behind me, Chloe was so furious she went into full 'table-clearing' mode, letting out a shriek before sweeping all the dishes off the dining table. The sound of shattering porcelain echoed through the room.

See? Even enemies can't stand the silent treatment.

After leaving, I immediately cashed the check and saw the balance in my bank account. Staring at that reassuring string of numbers, I finally let out a genuine, relaxed smile.

I then made a detour to a middle-class neighborhood on the west side of town, where I owned a small apartment.

It was mine alone, a home I could never be kicked out of.

Having money, truly wonderful.

After resting for most of the day, when I returned to the mansion, I immediately sensed something was off.

The living room lights were on. Julian, who should have been at the office, was now sitting on the living room sofa, holding a tearful Chloe and softly comforting her.

The sound of me opening the door startled them.

Julian's gaze shifted to me, his lips moved as if to speak, but the words seemed caught in his throat.

It wasn't until Chloe tugged at his sleeve, her sobs growing louder, that Julian made up his mind.

"Aurora, our wedding... let's call it off."

I stood still, processing his words for two seconds.

I didn't react with any dramatic gestures, but I felt a sharper ache in my chest, and my nose began to sting.

My whole body felt cold, like that time when I was twelve and the old drunkard, fueled by liquor, beat me half to death and then held my head underwater in the well.

It's okay.

Aurora Stone, you've always been good at enduring.

I sniffed twice, then nodded.

"Alright."

Seeing my calm demeanor, Chloe proactively lifted her head from Julian's embrace and looked at me.

Her red, tear-filled eyes were full of triumph.

I knew what she was flaunting.

Just a few tears, and she could make Julian cancel the wedding. His idealized first love certainly held a lot of sway.

I wasn't a fool; I wasn't going to genuinely fight her.

She was the moon in the sky, and I was the dirt at his feet.

I glanced at Julian, realizing that reaching this point was already pretty good.

Loving him any further would be disrespectful.

Then, without another word, I turned and headed up the stairs.

"Wait!"

I paused, but didn't turn around.

"Thorne Jewelers just received a new shipment of gold. I'll have my assistant send you two gold bars."

I was ecstatic.

I instantly felt how ridiculously dramatic my previous inner monologue had been.

Love or not, just give me the money.

I immediately turned around, flashing Julian his most familiar sweet smile.

"Thank you, Julian!"

"I'll head back to my room then. You should get some rest too."

Sure enough, my footsteps hadn't gone far before Chloe, upset by my "gold bar compensation," started complaining.

She buried her face in Julian's chest again, and her whimpering cries resurfaced.

Julian looked a bit helpless at her reaction, lowering his head to comfort her. I vaguely heard a few muffled syllables, something like, "Don't cry," "It's not worth it," "Just wait."

Without looking up, he said to me,

"You don't have to wait for me tonight."

"Chloe isn't doing well; I need to stay with her."

I simply mumbled an acknowledgment, my footsteps never faltering, disappearing directly around the corner.

No time for sadness, my mind was entirely focused on those two gold bars.

How long were they? How heavy? How many grams?

How much money could they sell for?

After showering, I immediately grabbed my phone, eager to search for the real-time price of gold per gram.

But just as I tapped the screen a couple of times, texts from an unknown number started pouring in.

It was Chloe.

[Aurora Stone, do you have no shame? Julian canceled the wedding, and you still have the nerve to cling on and not leave?]

[Bitch! A complete and utter bitch! You should just take those two gold bars and scram! Everything in the Thorne household belongs to me in the future. You wh"re, you're stealing my money!]

[I won't tolerate you anymore. Just wait, I'll make sure you're completely out of the Thorne mansion immediately!]

I read them with a blank face, then scrolled up.

The first time I didn't leave, I got five million.

The second time I didn't leave, I got two gold bars.

Shameless is shameless, what's a little dignity worth anyway?

But then, a sharp shriek and the sound of hurried footsteps rang out. A maid screamed frantically.

"Oh no, something terrible has happened!"

"Ms. Thorne... she cut her wrists!"