Chapter Three

Emma's POV

"Chloe, did the jewelry box I had delivered arrive today?"

I had just walked into the kitchen and found Chloe preparing dinner.

She turned around with a smile.

"Yes. I put it away just as you asked."

But I couldn't shake my uneasiness over dinner, so I went back to my room to check on it.

The necklace was a keepsake from my late mother. A few days earlier, I'd noticed that its clasp had become loose, so I'd taken it to be repaired.

When I entered my room, however, I found Chloe standing in front of the mirror.

My necklace hung around her neck, and she was holding up her phone, trying different angles as she took pictures.

I stopped in my tracks.

She clearly hadn't expected me to return so suddenly. The smile froze on her face.

She hurriedly lowered her phone and reached for the necklace.

"This is my bedroom," I said.

"I… I just wanted to see what it would look like on me."

The more flustered she became, the more awkwardly she fumbled with the clasp.

"I saw how beautiful it was in the box, and I couldn't resist trying it on. Please don't be angry. I'll take it off right now."

"Stop."

I walked over and reached out to stop her.

"Keep your hands still. Don't damage it."

But just as she turned around, her foot suddenly slipped.

She stumbled sideways, instinctively grabbing at the necklace.

A faint snapping sound broke the silence.

The necklace fell to the floor. The chain broke, and the pendant struck the ground, leaving a scratch across its surface.

Chloe landed on the floor, her ankle scraping against the metal trim of the bed. Blood immediately began to seep from the wound.

She stared at the necklace, her face turning pale.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

I ignored her and slowly crouched down to gather the broken chain from the floor.

Ever since my mother passed away, that necklace had been the thing I treasured most.

"Why did you come into my room?" I asked.

Chloe's eyes turned red, and her voice trembled.

"I just thought it was beautiful. I really didn't mean to break it."

Footsteps sounded in the hallway.

When Carter pushed open the door, he found Chloe sitting on the floor with blood running from her ankle while I held the broken necklace in my hand.

"What happened?"

He hurried over to Chloe and crouched down to examine her injury.

"Is it bad?"

"I'm fine, Mr. Grayson," Chloe sniffled. "This was all my fault. I shouldn't have touched Emma's things without permission."

Carter looked up at me.

I opened my palm to show him the necklace.

"She came into our bedroom without permission and took something my mother left me. Now it's broken."

Carter glanced at the damaged chain, his brows drawing together slightly.

"Things can be repaired. She didn't do it on purpose. Why are you being so hard on her?"

For a moment, I could hardly believe what I'd heard.

This wasn't some piece of jewelry I'd picked up on a whim. It was something my mother had left behind.

I hadn't asked Chloe to pay for the damage. I hadn't laid a finger on her, either.

All I'd wanted was for Carter to understand that the necklace meant far more to me than its monetary value.

Yet he couldn't even be bothered to hear me out.

"Her ankle is injured. I'll take her to get it treated."

Carter helped Chloe to her feet and led her toward the door.

Watching him walk away, I suddenly remembered all the times something had gone wrong between Chloe and me.

He always took her side without hesitation, as though the moment she felt even the slightest discomfort, I must have been the one at fault.

"Carter."

He stopped, but he didn't turn around.

"If you walk out of this room with her today, don't ever pretend this never happened."

Silence settled over the room for several seconds.

In the end, he still left with Chloe.

Early the next morning, I deliberately took the day off from work.

Carter was getting ready to leave when I called him over. Then I turned to Chloe, who was standing beside him with his briefcase in her hand.

"Chloe, your semester is about to start."

I took an envelope from the drawer and placed it on the table.

"There's enough money in here to cover your tuition and living expenses for a while. You can finish your education, but your employment here ends today."

All the color drained from Chloe's face.

"What do you mean?"

"We no longer need you working in our home."

"I'm sorry about yesterday!"

She rushed toward me, tears appearing in her eyes almost instantly.

"I shouldn't have touched your necklace. I know I was wrong. Please don't make me leave. I barely have any classes most days. I can still help around the house without it affecting my studies…"

As she spoke, she even made a show of lowering herself as if she were about to kneel.

Carter reached out to stop her.

"Emma, since when did you become so heartless?"

"She has no one else here. Where do you expect her to go?"

"I've already given her enough money to support herself."

"So what?" Carter's voice grew colder. "You think you can just throw some money at her and send her packing?"

Apparently, in his eyes, I was the unreasonable one.

I'd given Chloe a place to live, a job, and all the help she needed to get back on her feet.

Now that I wanted to end our employment arrangement, I was being treated as though I'd committed some unforgivable crime.

"Carter, have you forgotten who the lady of this house is?"

His expression changed instantly.

Even I was startled by how firmly the words had left my mouth.

In all our years of marriage, I'd never spoken to him so forcefully.

Silence filled the living room.

After a long moment, Carter finally suppressed his anger and turned to Chloe.

"Focus on finishing your education first. We'll figure everything else out later."

Noah glanced at the sleeping Avery before asking quietly, "So that's when you divorced him?"

I looked out the window.

"It happened the day I found out I was pregnant."