Chapter 4
Vivian clung to him, her face ghostly pale, shaking all over, clearly terrified.
Just then, Vivian's assistant shot a worried look at her swollen ankle and couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "Why did you have to bend over backwards for Jane, who doesn't even appreciate it?
"Now look at the mess you're in."
Vivian nestled in Edward's arms, her voice soft and trembling. "I just wanted to apologize to Jane, but she kept ignoring me. So I had to follow her into the elevator. Who knew things would go wrong as soon as I stepped in..."
With that little performance, suddenly it looked like the whole thing was Jane's fault.
Edward's gaze went cold and hard, and then he didn't even hesitate to stop the maintenance guys from helping Jane up.
He said, "Since she wants to throw a tantrum, let her cool off in there and reflect on herself.
"If she's not ready to admit her mistakes, then she can just stay put."
Jane looked up in total disbelief, fingers clenching so hard that her nails bit into her palm.
The elevator suddenly lurched, dropping like a stone in the pitch-dark, again.
"Jane!" Edward called out, his voice tinged with panic.
The last thing Jane caught sight of was his wild, desperate look.
Jane mused sarcastically to herself. She found it hilarious since Edward was the one who decided on this so-called "punishment", yet he acted like he still cared.
When Jane woke up, she found herself lying in a hospital room.
Edward was there by her bedside, looking tired and a little distant. The dark shadows under his eyes showed he'd stayed all night, watching over her.
He said, "The elevator thing was an accident. But if you hadn't been so cold toward Vivian, she wouldn't have ended up twisting her ankle because of you.
"Jane, you're really out of line lately. You have to apologize to Vivian later, no excuses."
Jane glanced at the bandage on her left hand, a wry, mocking smile curling at her lips.
Vivian insisted on dragging her into her petty drama just to provoke her, and now she was the one who had to say sorry.
The victim had to bow down to the person who caused all this.
Jane couldn't be more disappointed in Edward.
Just then, the nurse knocked and walked in. "Mr. Sterling, Ms. Hartley—whom you watched over all night—is awake now. Would you like to go see her?"
Edward paused, his expression flickering for a moment as he instinctively glanced at Jane.
"Go ahead. I'm fine," Jane said.
Her face remained utterly impassive, betraying no emotion.
Edward nodded in relief and, not even stopping to grab his coat, hurried out of the room.
"Take care of yourself. If you need anything, just call me," he said.
Jane watched his eager back as he hurried away, and then her eyes suddenly stung with tears, but she managed a faint smile.
She remembered that time they were traveling in Seabrook. She'd scraped her knee, and Edward, worried about infection, had carried her on his back all night until they finally found a hospital.
In the end, Jane's knee was just a minor scrape, but Edward ended up in the hospital for days, hooked up to an IV because he was so exhausted and dehydrated.
Now she lay here with a broken bone, and all Edward seemed to care about was Vivian's twisted ankle.
So much had changed.
For the next three days, Jane didn't see Edward at all.
The nurses told her that he practically camped out in Vivian's room, never leaving her side day or night, always keeping a small cot by her bed just to watch over her.
The day she was discharged, Jane was mindlessly scrolling on her phone when she saw the company group chat had hundreds of unread messages.
The whole feed was buzzing—everyone was gossiping about Vivian being Mrs. Sterling for real.
[I heard Mr. Sterling already got married ages ago. Don't tell me Vivian is actually Mrs. Sterling?]
[Seriously, who else could handle Mr. Sterling not coming home for three days and nights just to look after some woman?
[You all missed it, but when I visited the hospital, Mr. Sterling was literally washing Vivian's clothes. That's right, Mr. Sterling himself.]
[No wonder Jane's award vanished. Who can go up against Mrs. Sterling?]
[Hope Mrs. Sterling gets well soon.]
Edward gave that last message a thumbs up.
Jane's grip on her phone tightened. She jabbed at the power button and shut the screen off.
The day after she returned home, Edward suddenly showed up, intent on taking Jane to an auction.
Edward said, "There's been a lot of drama lately. Why don't you and Vivian go out together, do some shopping, and let bygones be bygones?"
"I'm not going," Jane replied, not even bothering to look up.
But Edward was having none of it. He grabbed her arm and forced her into the car.
"Come on, just listen to me," Edward insisted. "You need to get out and clear your head. There are loads of things up for auction tonight. I'm sure there's something you'll want."
Once they got to the venue, Edward got a call for work and slipped outside, leaving Jane and Vivian standing there together.
It wasn't long before the first item was presented—a string of rustic-looking prayer beads with an old-school vibe. The starting bid was 150 grand.
Jane's expression changed in a flash. Without a second thought, she shot her hand up to raise her paddle. "300 grand."
She recognized it instantly. It was her father's memento. Under one of the beads, there was a tiny "S" carved in.
But Jane was caught off guard when Vivian, standing right next to her, casually raised her paddle with a playful grin. "600 grand."
Vivian flashed Jane a provocative smile, challenge written all over her face. "Looks like I've got my eye on these prayer beads, too. You're not actually going to compete with me for them, are you, Jane?"
Jane snorted and lifted her paddle again without hesitation. "900 grand."
Vivian was clearly startled for a moment, but quickly bit back her annoyance and upped the bid. "1.2 million."
Jane said, "1.5 million."
Vivian said, "1.65 million."
Back and forth they went, driving the price of the prayer beads up to an astronomical level.
Vivian's face grew darker with every bid, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Spending millions on a string of prayer beads? You really don't go easy when it's Eddie footing the bill, huh?"
Jane shot her a sideways glance, her reply cold and dismissive. "I'd love to."
Without needing Edward's help, Jane could easily reclaim her father's memento with her own money.
The auctioneer glanced at Vivian and gave her a courteous nod. "Ms. Hartley, would you like to raise your bid?"