Chapter 2

Three days after I got out of prison, I got a call from Nikolas.

His voice was desperate, almost yelling. "Cordelia, get to Central Hospital right now! Wilhelmina's in critical condition."

Before I could say a word, he hung up.

I stared at my phone screen, expressionless.

It was always like this.

Every time Wilhelmina got into trouble, Nikolas would lose all his composure and go crazy, like a lunatic.

I didn't want to go. Not even a little. Whether Wilhelmina lived or died, it meant nothing to me.

But half an hour later, Nikolas's car pulled up outside the villa. He burst in, grabbed my wrist, his grip so tight it felt like he was trying to crush my bones.

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" His eyes were bloodshot, wild, like an enraged beast.

"It was on silent," I said, struggling, but I couldn't break free.

He dragged me toward the door, and I was stumbling after him. "Nikolas, let go! I'm not going!"

"No! You have to come!" Nikolas roared. "Wilhelmina jumped off a building. She's bleeding out and needs a transfusion. She's RH-negative, and so are you!"

My heart tightened in my chest.

RH-negative blood, again.

Back then, he used this same reason to convince me Wilhelmina was so precious, so fragile.

And it was always the excuse that made me surrender, again and again.

He shoved me roughly into the car, and we sped off to the hospital.

Outside the operating room, Wilhelmina's parents were crying hysterically.

When Wilhelmina's mother, Paloma, saw me, she went wild, lunging at me, grabbing my clothes, hitting and cursing, "It's all your fault! You bitch! You ruined my daughter. The moment you got out of prison, she got hurt. You're a jinx!"

Nikolas pushed her away, stepping in front of me to shield me. "Mrs. Scott, please, calm down! Right now, saving Wilhelmina is our top priority."

Then he turned to me, his eyes pleading, but there was no room for argument.

"Cordelia, just this once, I'm asking you. Please," he said.

I looked at him, then let out a laugh.

"Fine," I said. "I'll give her my blood."

He visibly relaxed.

"But I have one condition," I spelled it out for him, making sure he heard every word.

He frowned. "What is it?"

"I want my wedding ring," I said.

My wedding ring, the ruby ring I once cherished more than anything, had been taken off by him the very next day after our wedding, locked away in the safe in his study. He said he didn't want Wilhelmina to see it. It would upset her.

He hadn't expected me to bring that up.

His expression turned extremely dark, and he shot back, "No!"

"Why not?" I stepped closer, locking eyes with him. "Nikolas, that ring is mine."

"I..." He faltered, eyes darting away. "We'll talk about the ring later."

"There is no later," my voice was cold as ice. "Right now, bring me the ring, and I'll give her the blood. Or you can stand there and watch her bleed out."

"Cordelia! Do you really have to be like this?" Nikolas finally lost it, growling under his breath. "You can't stand her that much?"

My smile grew even brighter. "That's right. I can't stand her at all. And you taught me this, Nikolas. You said if we want something, we should do whatever it takes to snatch it."

We faced off, the air between us frozen solid.

Just then, the operating room doors swung open, and a nurse rushed out, shouting, "We're running out of blood. The patient can't hold on much longer. Family, please, you need to act now!"

Paloma collapsed to the floor, crying out in anguish.

Nikolas's defenses finally crumbled.

He glared at me, eyes so intense it felt like he wanted to burn holes right through me. Finally, he spat through clenched teeth, "Just you wait!"

With that, he spun around and bolted for the elevator.

I knew he'd caved.

Trading Wilhelmina's life for a ring, he had no choice but to make the deal.

Nikolas didn't waste any time.

Less than an hour later, he was back, holding a velvet box.

He came up to me, his gaze conflicted, and reluctantly opened the box.

The pigeon-blood ruby ring rested on the black velvet, still dazzling, like a drop of blood, frozen in time, straight from the heart.

I once thought I'd be wearing that ring forever.

I reached out, but instead of taking the ring, I let my gaze drift to his left hand. There was nothing on his ring finger.

"And yours?" I asked.

Nikolas was caught off guard. "What?"

"Where's your ring?" I said. "Our wedding rings were a pair."

Back then, for that wedding he never even wanted, I poured all my savings into having a top international designer craft these rings. Mine had a ruby, his was a simple band with my initials engraved inside.

He only wore it on our wedding day.

Nikolas's expression grew even darker, but at that moment, he had no choice. He pulled out the plain band from his pocket and dropped it into the box, the sound ringing out sharp and cold.

"Are you satisfied now?" Nikolas's voice was tight with barely suppressed rage.

I picked up the box, closed it, then turned to the nurse. "Let's go. Draw my blood."