Chapter 6
As Julian came downstairs, he saw Ethan fetching an ice pack and gently pressing it to Emily's face.
Emily's eyes were red, and she looked small and helpless. She bit her lip and said, "I'm fine, Julian. You should go check on Zoe."
Julian came over and asked, "What happened?"
Emily didn't say anything, and Ethan said coldly, "Emily came to see her and accidentally broke something, and Zoe got angry and slapped her."
Julian raised an eyebrow and said angrily. "Zoe?"
Emily looked frightened and whispered, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I was curious and wanted to take a look, but Zoe rushed over and tried to snatch it from me. Is it that valuable?"
Julian reached out and gently touched her head. Seeing Emily's swollen cheek and timid eyes, he couldn't believe how unreasonable Zoe was being.
"No matter how valuable it is, she still can't hit you. I know you're not careless. Zoe must've tried to grab it and ended up breaking it herself. I'm going to make her apologize to you," Julian shouted.
With that, Julian stormed upstairs to Zoe's room, ignored the door, twisted the handle, and barged straight in.
Zoe was crouched by the door, sorting through her junk, when Julian burst in so suddenly that she didn't have time to react. The door slammed right into her spine, and she gasped in pain.
Julian's anger faltered for a moment. He almost reached out to check on her, but when he saw the red mark on Emily's face, he forced himself to stay resolute.
Zoe had been spoiled rotten by them all these years, so entitled and bossy. Someone needed to put her in her place.
"Zoe! Apologize to Emily now!" Julian barked.
Zoe slowly got to her feet, gritting her teeth against the pain as she looked at Julian.
The eyes that once shone with starlight and trust now seemed clouded over, like the light had gone out and left only shadows.
"Why should I apologize?" Zoe retorted.
Julian snapped, "Why? You slapped Emily, and her face was marked and still swollen. Zoe, how did you end up like this? Just for some object? Emily didn't do it on purpose. Where are your manners?
"What happened to the Zoe who used to tear up seeing Emily eat nothing but bread? Where's that shred of sympathy you used to have?"
Zoe looked at him like he'd said the most ridiculous thing ever. She stumbled back, clearing the way so Julian could see the shattered pieces of the Mermaid's Tear scattered all over the floor.
Julian's breath caught in his throat.
It was the Mermaid's Tear that had been broken.
He knew better than anyone how much Zoe treasured that necklace.
Ever since receiving it on her eighteenth birthday, she had carefully polished it each night with a soft velvet cloth and always kept it tucked at the very back of her jewelry display, terrified it might get scratched or damaged.
Julian took a deep breath and said, "Even if it was the Mermaid's Tear, you didn't have to hit her. If you'd told me, would I ever refuse you if you asked for help? It's not that valuable."
Zoe never expected him to say it was worthless.
Zoe let out a bitter smile.
It turned out that she was the only one who ever cared about it. To them, the Mermaid's Tear was another piece of jewelry. It was easily replaced, nothing special.
I was replaceable in their eyes, so why would a thing ever matter?
Zoe thought she was all out of tears, but they still came, rolling down her cheeks before she could stop them.
Seeing Zoe cry, Julian felt a sharp pang in his chest. His anger had burned out after all that, leaving only a trace of annoyance.
He parted his lips, wanting to say something, but when he caught that stubborn yet shattered look in Zoe's eyes, he clamped his mouth shut and looked away, all tense.
Zoe didn't look at him either. She scrubbed the tears off her face, took a shaky breath, and went back to picking up the broken pieces, not saying a word.
That was when Julian noticed the change in the room.
The dressing table, which used to be covered in jewelry boxes, was now mostly empty. A few storage bins and an open suitcase sat on the floor.
She wasn't tidying up, but packing. Was she leaving?
Is she running off because I said a few words to her?
A wave of unease hit Julian, but more than that, he felt challenged, taunted by her.
"What are you doing, Zoe? Packing your stuff? You're not a kid anymore. You mess up and I say a couple of things, and now you're threatening to run away? Seriously, is this your idea of handling things?" Julian said.
Zoe bit her lip.
Zoe said softly, "I'm not just sulking, I—"
She was about to mention the engagement, but Julian cut her off with a frown, "Is this all because of Emily?"
He kicked the suitcase aside and sneered, "Zoe, can you stop being so damn willful? Emily is not like you. She's got nobody, and her whole life has been a struggle.
"Do you realize how hard she's had it to get here? What's so wrong with us taking care of her a little more?"
Zoe repeated Julian's words, her voice thick with sarcasm.
How generous did he expect her to be? Generous enough to give up her place in the family and vanish?
Generous enough that no one would even notice if she had a heart attack?
Generous enough that when the Mermaid's Tear was smashed and she was shoved and hurt, she was supposed to endure it in silence?
She didn't say another word and zipped up her suitcase.
That silent protest infuriated Julian. In his eyes, Zoe was being unreasonable, using this as a way to show her dissatisfaction.
Julian ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, turned, and walked out of the room. A moment later, he came back, holding a delicate little box.
He strode over to Zoe and shoved the box into her hands. Then he said stiffly, "Take it. I bought this a few days ago. It's a diamond bracelet. It's as valuable as the Mermaid's Tear."
Zoe froze for a moment.
Was Julian still thinking about me?
But she had never liked diamonds and always thought they were old-fashioned and stuffy. This was probably something Emily would appreciate, not her.
She pushed the box back at him, her expression icy, a mocking smile on her lips. She sneered, "Why don't you give it to the person you wanted to? So you won't accuse me of not being generous enough again."
Then she firmly shoved Julian out and slammed the door shut with a bang.
Seven days remained. I wondered how much more disappointment I could endure before it was over.