Chapter 4

The shopkeeper thought, 'Lady Jewel's got it made. These jewels are so fancy. Even the official ladies would only splurge on one or two at a time, but Floyd is giving her whole boxes of them.'

I only picked out two that looked decent, not the fanciest ones. He was generous with me now, but I'd better not get greedy and risk making him lose patience.

A concubine was chattel to be bought and sold. Honestly, I was just something he bought.

If I got too greedy, he might get sick of me and sell me off again.

That was why I kept secretly drinking those herbs to keep from having kids.

I was scared that if I had a child and then got sold off, my kid would get shamed in Gregory Manor for having a mother as low as me. Better not to have any kids at all.

Floyd noticed I was spacing out and knew I was overthinking again. He sighed, thinking I was great in every way, except I was way too cautious.

He casually grabbed two more boxes of jewelry and placed them in my hands. "Here, take them all. Don't worry. If I ever send you off, you can keep every single one of these."

Hearing that, I nodded right away, so grateful I almost dropped to my knees for him.

He had no shortage of souls ready to kneel at his feet, so I pressed a soft kiss to his lips in gratitude. "Thank you, my lord."

The corner of Floyd's mouth lifted slightly. Just as he was feeling pleased, he suddenly got hit.

It was Myron. He punched Floyd Gregory squarely in the face and grabbed my shoulder, his eyes red with rage. "You fickle, loose woman! Sneaking around behind my back with some other man."

Floyd was my husband. What kind of "other man" was he?

I thought I must've misheard, but there was no time to think. I bit down hard on the hand grabbing my shoulder, using all my force until he cried out in pain and let go.

I hurried over to Floyd, who was still on the ground, with the shopkeeper trying to help him up. "Floyd, are you hurt? Should I call the doctor?"

As I spoke, I didn't even look at Myron. No matter how much I used to care about him or how long I had waited, right now, I knew I had to side with Floyd and leave Myron out in the cold.

I couldn't risk Floyd thinking I still had feelings for Myron. Floyd was the one who decided whether I lived or died now.

Floyd looked satisfied with my response. He didn't blame me at all. He shielded me behind him and said gently, "Your ex-husband is completely out of line.

"Go upstairs and wait for a while. Once I've dealt with him, we'll head back together."

I nodded and went upstairs, settling down by the railing.

By now, the shop assistants had Myron's hands locked behind his back, leaving him totally helpless.

It didn't matter how important he was outside. In the Treasure Coffer Hall, no one could outrank Floyd.

Myron tried to fight back, struggling a couple times but couldn't break free. He was about to throw his official weight around when Floyd cut him off.

Myron frowned, a sense of dread hitting him. "Ex-husband? Sprig is my wife. I never divorced her."

Floyd saw the crowd gathering but didn't bother to send them away. He had a shop assistant bring over a wooden armchair and sat down with a smile on his lips.

Floyd said, "It wasn't a divorce. It was a sale. Last autumn, when your family couldn't even put food on the table, Isabel sold her off to a slave trader in your name.

"If I hadn't bought her, she would've ended up in a brothel by now.

"And she's not Sprig anymore. I gave her a new name: Jewel. I truly love her.

"Did your mom never mention this to you?"

Myron turned as pale as a sheet. He looked at me disbelievingly, then at Floyd, trying to find signs of deceit or guilt on our faces.

But I didn't look at him. I lowered my head and took a sip of water. It tasted strangely bitter today.

Myron's voice trembled. "No way! I asked a friend from my hometown to send money home for me. I even wrote to Isabel that Mr. Wilkerson had recommended me to work for the Crown Prince.

"How could things have gotten so bad that my own mother had to sell my wife?"

He remembered Isabel's hesitant expression this morning when he suggested coming to the Treasure Coffer Hall to buy me a new bracelet.

He remembered that in all the letters from home, Isabel never mentioned me, so he figured I was doing fine.

He finally realized that Isabel had long since sold me off.

Floyd, worried Myron wouldn't buy it, pulled a deed of sale from his sleeve and waved it. "Ever since I heard you were coming back, I've kept this with me. So you can't deny it now.

"If you don't believe me, Mr. Harman, go ask that slave trader yourself."

Myron staggered, and when he saw Isabel come in looking all flustered, he knew it was true.

He turned to Isabel, utterly bewildered. "Mother, why did you hide this from me? How could you sell my wife behind my back?"

Isabel couldn't meet his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "I'm only doing this for your own good. The crown prince thinks highly of you, so you're destined for a senior court position one day.

"What noble lady from an illustrious family could you possibly fail to marry? I sent her away early, all for your sake."

So it wasn't about starving at all. Isabel was greedy for wealth and status and deliberately sold me off.

But she had no idea her actions would end up destroying Myron.

If people found out an official dumped his first wife for money, he wouldn't just be a joke. He'd get slammed by the officials for being cold and unjust.

A few years ago, some official sold off his wife for cash, and when the King heard about it, the guy got fired on the spot. If word of this reached the capital, Myron would be toast.

"Mother, how could you?" Myron choked out a sigh, and when he looked at me again, his eyes shimmered with unshed tears. In that moment, his heart was overflowing with regret, guilt, and longing.

Myron tried to shove past Floyd, making a move to rush upstairs toward me. "Sprig, this is all on me. I should've kept you safe."

Floyd could not abide Myron still nursing a fancy for me. He had taken a beating before simply because he had been caught off guard, and now he charged forward with all haste.

Floyd grabbed Myron by the scruff of his neck, hauled him down the stairs, and sent him crashing to the floor. "You think you can still call her Sprig? She belongs to me now!"