Chapter 4

Elara's POV

The day after I sold off my luxury items, Dominic, unexpectedly, came home in the afternoon.

Normally, he'd be at the office, or having afternoon tea with Chloe.

His sudden return today clearly meant something urgent had come up.

I was sitting on the living room carpet, tossing the last few photo albums into a cardboard box beside me.

They were photos from college, and a handful of anniversary pictures from our five years of marriage.

"Why are you digging all these out?" Dominic loosened his tie, glancing at the box without much interest, asking casually.

"Just tidying up." I closed the box and sealed it with tape. "I'm going abroad, so I thought I'd send these things to my old house for storage, instead of letting them gather dust here."

Dominic nodded. "Good idea. It's better to have fewer things around, more peace and quiet."

He probably thought I was carefully preserving these precious memories.

In reality, that cardboard box's final destination was the trash compactor downstairs.

"Oh, by the way, Elara." He suddenly turned and walked into the walk-in closet. "Where's that pink diamond bracelet I bought at the auction last year? A client's wife is having a birthday, and I wanted to borrow it as a sample for the designer to reference."

I sneered inwardly.

"Client's wife?" More like Chloe must be throwing a fit about yesterday's spilled wine and demanding compensation, right?

That pink diamond bracelet was a multi-million dollar piece; he certainly wasn't shy about using it to appease his mistress.

Too bad he was a step too late.

Sounds of rummaging came from the closet.

A few minutes later, Dominic emerged, frowning, a hint of frustration in his voice. "Why can't I find it? The jewelry box is empty."

I remained seated, taking a slow sip of tea, and calmly said, "Oh, that bracelet. Last time you said the necklace was sent for maintenance, and I thought the bracelet hadn't been worn in a long time, so I sent it along to the brand for care too."

Dominic froze.

He clearly hadn't expected me to do that.

He knew better than anyone where that necklace was.

But he hadn't anticipated that I would use the same excuse to get rid of the bracelet.

"Sent it overseas?" His brows furrowed even deeper. "When did you send it?"

"Just two days ago." I looked at him with an innocent expression. "What's wrong? If you're really in a hurry, I can call and have them intercept and return it now? But it's already international shipping, so it might take a while."

Dominic's expression stiffened for a moment.

Intercepting it was impossible; once intercepted, his scheme to take the necklace would be exposed.

Besides, going to such lengths to retrieve a bracelet from overseas for a mistress simply wasn't his style.

"Never mind. It's not worth the trouble." He waved a hand, hiding the disappointment in his eyes. "Since it's gone for maintenance, that's fine. I'll have my assistant pick out another gift."

As he turned to leave, I suddenly called out to him.

"Dominic, I also packed up and sent away all the other bags and jewelry from the closet." I gestured towards the empty closet space, smiling sweetly and dutifully. "Since I'm going abroad, there's no one to wear these valuable items at home, and they're a hassle to maintain. Might as well store them together."

Dominic glanced back.

The once lavish display shelves were indeed half empty.

But he didn't suspect a thing; instead, he seemed relieved. "That's good. You arrange it."

He walked over and gave me a perfunctory kiss on the forehead. "Once you get your inheritance abroad, I'll buy you new ones."

After Dominic left, the house became utterly silent.

I looked at the sealed cardboard box, picked up a marker, and wrote TRASH across it in bold, black letters.

Then I called the housekeeping service. "Hi, could you send someone up? There's a pile of things in the living room that need to be taken away. Yes, no sorting necessary. Just remove it all."