Chapter 3

"I just wanted to see what it looked like and forgot to put it back. Let me help you find it," Sarah said.

"Who gave you permission to touch my things?" I snapped back at her.

My hands trembled as I nervously retrieved the emerald bracelet Sarah had chucked into the trash.

This was a family heirloom, one of my mom's keepsakes. If anything happened to it, I wouldn't know what to do.

I was stunned for a moment, and the second I touched it, I knew something wasn't right.

"This isn't..." I shot Sarah a sharp look. "Where's my bracelet? Did you hide it?"

Sarah instantly hid behind Ward, pretending to be scared, but the look she shot me was smug and taunting.

"I seriously have no idea what you mean. That's all that was in the safe," Sarah said.

I was so furious that my vision went black for a second.

I shouted, "This isn't my bracelet. Give it back."

Sarah shrieked, "Ward, don't let her hit me. I'm scared."

Ward instantly seized my wrist, sharp pain jolting through me, like he was about to break my bones.

"Kelsey, don't think I won't mess you up. Stop relying on your family to back you up so you can walk all over Sarah. I swear you'll regret it," Ward snapped.

Ward shoved me away so hard that I stumbled back, my waist slamming into the sharp corner of the table. The glass bracelet in my hand shattered into pieces.

"You broke it. Don't even think about blaming me," Ward said coldly.

Sarah, still hiding behind Ward, shot me a gloating look.

I held up the shattered bracelet for Ward to see.

"You'd have to be blind not to see this isn't my emerald bracelet." I shot at him.

Ward dodged my gaze and kept his mouth shut.

I always knew he'd side with Sarah, but seeing him protect her like this still made my heart hurt.

I hurled the broken pieces at Sarah. "This isn't over."

Seeing I was about to leave, Sarah quickly slammed the door shut.

"Shouldn't you leave Ward's stuff here?" Sarah said.

I looked at Ward, my eyes rimmed red with anger and pain.

Ward pursed his lips and turned his head away, making it clear he was letting Sarah do as she pleased.

"Are you going to take it off, or do I have to do it for you?" Sarah said, closing in on me.

As she spoke, she suddenly reached out and grabbed the red string around my neck.

"Back off!" I yelled.

I raised my hand to slap Sarah, but before I even had the chance, Ward grabbed my wrist in a tight grip.

With a loud smack, Sarah slapped me hard.

"You—" I stammered.

Ward stared at Sarah in shock, while she faked a look of fear.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to. She looked like she was about to hit me, so I just acted on impulse. I never meant to actually slap her," Sarah stammered.

Ward hesitated, pressed his lips together and finally looked at me, my face still turned away from the sting of Sarah's slap.

"You heard her. She didn't do it on purpose. If you'd stop scaring her all the time, she wouldn't have lashed out like that," Ward said.

My ears were ringing so badly that I couldn't even process what Ward was saying. My cheek was burning, the angry red imprint already swelling up under my skin.

Out of nowhere, Sarah jerked down hard on the red cord around my neck, making my throat ache with pain. I almost got yanked right off my feet.

Ward, only worried I'd hurt Sarah, gripped my arms so tight I could barely move. Helpless, I watched as Sarah tore the red cord off my neck by brute force.

Just snatching back the stuff the Baker family once gave me wasn't enough for her. Nowm her eyes were locked on the gemstone brooch pinned to my dress, even the diamond earrings hanging from my ears.

I cried out.

My heart felt like it was being ripped to shreds. I couldn't believe Ward was actually siding with Sarah to humiliate me like this.

It turned out that all the years we had together didn't mean squat to him compared to Sarah.

It felt like every bit of strength I had just drained away, leaving me completely empty inside.

Ward caught sight of the dead look in my eyes and jerked back, letting go of me. He moved his lips, clearly wanting to say something, but no words came out at all.

Sarah immediately zeroed in on the watch on my wrist, then on the designer bag hanging from my shoulder. She always had a hawk's eye for anything expensive.

She snatched up every single valuable I had, grabbing and swiping everything before I could even react.

In the end, she even yanked off my 20-thousand-dollar designer jacket. When she reached for my dress, Ward finally spoke up. "Sarah..."