Chapter 4

"Her? Heh…"

Chloe's tone paused. Elena's heart leapt into her throat.

She held her breath, pressing her hand against the cold wall, straining to hear the verdict.

"You all know Kian is a man of integrity. Since he owes her a debt, he naturally won't treat Elena unfairly."

"He's already found the best orthopedic surgeon in the world to operate on her hands. Once those hands are fixed, that debt will be settled."

"Knowing Kian as I do, he'll probably give Elena a sum of money and send her abroad—so she won't cling to him and keep causing trouble."

Causing… trouble?

Those two words pierced the softest part of Elena's heart like thousands of needles.

Elena bit down hard on her lip, listening as Chloe's friends burst into envious exclamations and congratulations. Her knuckles scraped against the wall. Bitterness and pain spread from her limbs to her organs.

So this was how Kian had always thought of her.

Elena suddenly remembered something.

When they'd first gotten married, Elena had been drowning in her own devotion. Her most immediate desire had been to cook his meals. Her hands were ruined—she couldn't grip a paintbrush, could barely manage a spatula. She'd struggled to prepare his favorite dishes and brought them to his office. He hadn't even glanced at them. He'd just thrown her a cold sentence:

"Elena, leave that kind of thing to Maggie. Don't do it again."

At the time, Elena had mistakenly thought he was trying to spare her, and she'd been secretly pleased.

Now Chloe's words had shattered that illusion—he simply hadn't wanted any more entanglement with her.

No wonder he'd suddenly taken such an interest in her treatment recently. He wanted to get rid of this burden as quickly as possible so he could marry the woman he truly loved.

Elena's nose stung as she stared at her scarred, ugly hands. Her vision blurred.

She took a deep breath, steadied her emotions slightly, and used these hands—once her pride, now broken—to unclasp the cheap necklace and toss it into a nearby trash can without a second thought.

The necklace was too light. It didn't even make a sound.

Just like her. Insignificant.

If Kian had cared about Elena even a little, he would've known that with her current condition, she couldn't have surgery.

She'd been diagnosed with a rare disease. Treatment was extremely difficult. The doctors said she probably had two years left.

Buzz.

Her phone vibrated, yanking Elena back from her thoughts.

Kian had sent a message, as brief as always: [It's starting.]

He meant the auction.

Elena instinctively typed out an explanation—something about just finishing her makeup, would be right back. Halfway through, she realized how pointless it was. She deleted everything and, for the first time, sent only one word: "Okay."

She turned off her screen. When she looked up, her eyes met Chloe's across the space.

Their little group had finished talking and turned the corner, running straight into Elena.

"Mrs. Lancaster, what—what are you doing here?"

The speaker's eyes went round. She glanced behind Elena—the hallway dead-ended there. Then, seeing Elena's expression, she immediately realized that Elena had heard every word they'd said.

Brief silence fell. They looked at Elena with guilt—the guilt of being caught talking behind someone's back—but more than that, with disdain. Disdain for her clinging to gratitude, for being unworthy of her position.

Chloe lifted her chin slightly, her gaze sweeping over Elena's bare neck. Her lips curved up. "Elena, even though you rarely attend events as Mrs. Lancaster and aren't used to dressing up, you shouldn't be this plain. Don't you have any decent jewelry?"

"Kian's just been too busy to buy you anything. Tomorrow at the office, I'll suggest he get you some jewelry."

Chloe's tone was natural, intimate when she mentioned Kian's name—which only made Elena's position as Mrs. Lancaster seem more ridiculous.

Elena felt humiliated beyond words. It was like the anniversary dinner all over again—stumbling onto the truth, helpless and suffocating. All she could do was force herself to hold onto a shred of dignity.

"The auction's about to start. I should go."

She tried as hard as she could to keep her voice from shaking.

Even without looking at Chloe's face, Elena could still feel the burning gaze on her back—proud and mocking, branding her skin.

Elena quickened her pace toward the ballroom.

Her phone buzzed twice. Elena was about to unlock it when a familiar voice called out ahead of her.

"Elena."

She looked up at the sound and didn't notice the small step beneath her feet. Her shoe slipped. Her body pitched forward.

Elena instinctively protected her belly. One thought filled her mind—she was about to humiliate herself spectacularly, right in front of Kian.

"Careful!"

The expected pain didn't come. Kian caught her in time. Elena's hands hit his chest. Piercing pain broke out in a cold sweat across her body.

The moment Elena steadied herself, Kian stepped back, frowning, his eyes fixed on her hands. "Are your hands okay?"

Elena forced the corners of her mouth up. "They're fine."

Of course. He only cared about her hands.

"Kian~"

Chloe's voice came from behind. Elena turned to see her approaching with elegant, light steps, stopping confidently at Kian's side.

"Sorry, I ran into some friends and lost track of time chatting."

"You should've just waited inside. I remember where the seats are."

Kian nodded. "Go on in."

Chloe's smile froze at the corners of her mouth. She glanced sideways at Elena, maintaining her smile. "Okay, I'll head in first."

She rolled her eyes slightly and added, "And thanks for the company thing."

Company?

Elena suddenly remembered—she'd heard Chloe mention Kian's company earlier.

"What did Chloe mean about the company?" Elena asked him.

Kian frowned slightly, as if uncomfortable with her question, but he answered anyway. "Chloe just joined my company."

Elena stared. He was keeping her right under his nose?

"It's a mutual choice between company and employee. Perfectly normal." He explained, which was unusual for him.

"By the way." Kian pulled out a small catalog and held it in front of Elena. "These are tonight's auction items. I think you'll really like this one. I'll bid on it for you—consider it compensation for not going to the hospital with you."

Elena looked once and all the blood in her body rushed to her head. She was too excited to speak. "This… is this?!"

"Your teacher's work. It happens to be in tonight's auction. Do you like it?"

Elena nodded vigorously.

Even when her teacher was alive, his paintings had been priceless. Her earlier grievances melted away. She finally understood why Kian had brought her to the auction. Her heart filled with emotion.

"Kian, this is too much…"

"As long as you like it."

Kian rested his hand on her thin shoulder. "Let's go inside."

Just as Elena had expected, when her teacher's painting appeared, bidders raised their paddles one after another. Each time the price went up, her fingertips dug deeper into her palm.

On one hand, she desperately wanted to keep one of her teacher's paintings. On the other, she didn't want Kian to spend too much.

After several rounds of bidding, Kian lost patience. He glanced at Ryan.

Ryan understood. He stood and raised his paddle, three fingers held high, his voice ringing out: "Name your price!"

The entire room erupted in gasps, then fell into hushed silence. Even breathing grew quiet.

Elena froze. Her heart, which had been lodged in her throat, suddenly dropped. Her nose stung. Her eyes quietly reddened.

She looked up at the tall, upright man beside her. He remained calm and indifferent, as if he'd done something trivial—but the commanding presence that silenced the entire room came from incomparable wealth and power.

A thousand words caught in her throat, finally becoming only a trembling whisper of gratitude. "…Thank you."

Kian glanced at her, his eyes utterly calm. He said only, "It's nothing."

A server brought the painting over. Elena immediately sat up straight, ready to receive it. Then a sweet voice came from her right.

"Kian, this painting is so beautiful. I really like it. Can you give it to me?"