Chapter 6

The harsh fluorescent lights of the supermarket beat down on Sophie, and they made her face look completely bloodless.

She clutched the necklace around her throat as if she were guarding a priceless treasure.

"I am not giving this to you," Sophie said, and her voice rose to a sharp, defensive shrill. She glared at me and added, "James gave this to me. You have no right to even touch it."

"I don't have the right?" I asked, and I let out a cold, mocking laugh.

I took a step closer. "Because I'm the one who bought that necklace."

My voice stayed calm and steady. "Because inside that pendant, there are initials engraved. ED and JC."

I gestured toward her neck. "Why don't you take it off right now and let everyone see?"

With each sentence I spoke, Sophie's face turned a shade paler. The crowd around us grew larger, and the murmurs got louder.

A woman near the frozen foods spoke up. "Oh my God, is this the wife confronting the mistress?"

Someone else chimed in. "Look at that kid. He looks just like Dr. Cooper."

An older man shook his head. "That homewrecker has some nerve. She steals the woman's husband and then parades around wearing her necklace."

The comments hit Sophie like needles, and she swayed on her feet.

Helen's expression turned ugly. She never imagined she'd run into me here, in a place like this, and certainly not with her grandson in tow.

Helen whipped around to face the onlookers. "What are you all staring at? Mind your own business!"

She practically screamed the words, and her voice carried the shrill edge of someone losing control.

She turned to face me, and her voice dropped low with a threatening edge.

Helen leaned in closer. "Emily, I'm warning you. Don't push your luck. What happened back then—yes, the Coopers wronged you. But James made his own choice."

She narrowed her eyes. "So now you're back with a kid, making a scene. You want money, is that it? Name your price, and then get out of our lives."

I stared at her smug, entitled expression, and disgust coiled in my stomach. To people like them, everything had a price tag. Every problem could be solved with a check.

I shook my head slowly. "Money? I don't want a cent. I just want what's mine."

My gaze stayed locked on the necklace. It wasn't just a piece of jewelry. It represented my lost youth, the love I'd gambled everything on, and the last remaining piece of what James and I once had. I couldn't let another woman wear it.

Helen watched the tension escalate, and she finally made her decision. "Sophie, give it to her."

She glared at me with pure venom in her eyes. Helen's voice turned cold. "It's just a necklace. The Coopers can buy a dozen more. Give it to her."

Sophie's hands trembled as she reluctantly unclasped the necklace from her neck. Her eyes reddened, and her face was a mask of wounded pride and resentment.

She handed me the necklace and leaned in as she brushed past my shoulder. Her voice was a low murmur that only the two of us could hear.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Helen hissed, her eyes narrowing. "So what if you get it back. James loves me, and I am the woman he is going to marry. You are nothing but a memory he threw away a long time ago."

I took the necklace from her hand and squeezed it tight in my fist.

The cold metal bit into my palm and made my skin sting, but I did not let go.

I looked her straight in the eye and spoke every word with cold precision.

"Is that right?" I asked her with a thin smile. "Then let us wait and see what happens. I wonder if your doting fiancé will still be so eager to walk down the aisle once he finds out he has a four-year-old son."

I did not wait for her to respond, and I grabbed Ethan's hand to lead him away.

Helen's voice turned shrill behind me as we reached the exit.

"Emily, stop right there!" she screamed, her voice echoing through the aisles. "You are not going anywhere until you explain exactly what you mean about that child!"

I did not slow my pace, and I walked straight through the sliding doors of the grocery store without looking back.

I got Ethan settled into his room once we were finally home, and then I sat down on the sofa by myself.

I opened my hand to look at the necklace I had worked so hard to recover.

The pendant was still bright, and the chain was as delicate as ever, but the metal felt dead and cold against my skin.

I found a small tool, then carefully pried open the hidden compartment at the back of the pendant.

A tiny memory card sat tucked inside the silver casing.

I slid the card into my laptop and waited for the files to load.

Photos filled the screen, and I recognized each one immediately.

They were our wedding photos from the beach.

James wore a white suit in those pictures, his smile bright and carefree, and he held me close while kissing my forehead, his eyes filled with nothing but devotion.

We were truly happy back then. I believed we would stay that happy forever, but life had other plans and shattered everything I thought we had.

I slowly scrolled through the photos, and tears started falling before I even realized it.

I thought I'd gone completely numb by now, but seeing these memories still made my heart ache.

My phone started buzzing insistently. James was calling. I declined it, but he called right back. I declined again. This went on for a dozen attempts before he finally gave up.

The doorbell rang soon after with urgent, persistent chimes. I knew it was him. I wiped my tears and walked to the door, peering through the peephole to confirm what I already knew.

James stood outside without his white coat, wearing only a wrinkled dress shirt. His hair was disheveled, and panic was written all over his face. He kept pressing the doorbell over and over, refusing to stop.

"Emily!" he called out. "Open the door!"

His voice sounded strained through the wood. "I know you're in there. Please, just open up.

"Let me explain," he pleaded desperately.

I leaned against the door and listened to his hoarse shouting, completely unmoved. What was there to explain? The facts were right in front of us. He was getting married, and the bride wasn't me. That was all I needed to know.

The doorbell stopped ringing, and I heard him pounding on the door with his fists.

James shouted, "Emily, you need to explain yourself. My mom said you showed up with the kid and caused a scene. What the hell are you trying to do?"

His voice turned accusatory. "Are you trying to ruin me? Is that what you want?"

His anger and blame cut through the door, sharp and clear.