Chapter 2
Clarice's POV
The next morning, his phone rang. The screen lit up: Paloma. He answered it before the first ring even finished.
"Darius, can you help me?"
His voice instantly tensed. "The ring is missing? Don't worry, I'll handle it."
He hung up and turned to me, his demeanor cool and rational.
"Clarice, let Paloma borrow the diamond ring I custom-designed for you. Our four-year anniversary is next month. I’ll make you a better one."
"That is my wedding ring!" I cried, my voice trembling. "You want me to lend my wedding ring to the woman you slept with last night?"
"It’s just a piece of metal, Clarice. The marriage is about us," Darius said, fastening his cufflinks, his brows knit in irritation. "Do you want the entire Thorne family to laugh at her on her wedding day? She is your sister!"
Within hours, the ring was delivered from Calder City to Paloma. The efficiency felt like a well-rehearsed play.
"Darius, no matter how much time passes, you still give me everything," Paloma whimpered, tears pooling in her eyes. She turned to me, squeezing out a few fake tears. "Clarice, I'm so sorry. I've waited so long for this wedding, and I was terrified of anything going wrong. You're so generous, you get it, right?"
I stared at her hand. That ring, which had always been slightly loose on my finger, fit her perfectly. It slipped over her knuckle as if it had been forged for her.
"Clarice, hold this for a second, I need to touch up my makeup," Paloma said carelessly, slipping the ring off and tossing it into my palm.
My eyes fell on the inner band of the ring.
Engraved clearly inside were six letters: PALOMA.
In an instant, the blood drained from my face, and my fingers went numb.
"Honestly, you two look so much alike. Especially your eyes," Jonah, the groomsman, joked in the background. The words felt like a knife piercing my eardrums.
Four years. Every time we were intimate in bed, Darius would place his large hand over the lower half of my face, forcing me to keep my eyes wide open. I had thought it was just his dark, possessive nature. I had thought it was a twisted form of passion.
But he didn't want to look at me at all. He was using my gray-green eyes to look at the phantom of the woman he couldn't have! The realization cut deep into my chest.
A wave of nausea hit me. Before I could process it, Paloma suddenly gasped, clutching her chest, and collapsed gracefully onto the floor.
Darius’s face turned white. He lunged forward, grabbing my wrist with brutal force. "What are you standing there for? Help her!"
"I don't feel well. Let go of me," I said coldly, trying to shake his grip.
"What is wrong with you?" Darius snarled, his eyes flashing red as he tightened his grip. "It’s just a ring! How long are you going to throw this tantrum?"
"I said, let go!" I screamed, pulling away with everything I had.
"You are completely unreasonable!" Darius spat, releasing my arm with a violent shove, discarding me like trash.
The sudden loss of resistance sent me stumbling backward. My lower back slammed hard against the sharp edge of a marble counter. A piercing pain shot up my spine. My vision went black, and my legs buckled as I collapsed to the cold floor.
When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed, the scent of antiseptic thick in the air. Dr. Vance stood over me with a clipboard, a professional smile on his face.
"Congratulations, Mrs. Harlow. You are eight weeks pregnant."
When Darius heard the news, his eyes shone with genuine ecstasy. He kissed my forehead gently, playing the role of the devoted husband. "Clarice, we're having a baby. I will give them the entire world."
But this fragile illusion of peace didn't even last twenty-four hours.
On the night after Paloma’s wedding reception, a heavily intoxicated Darius kicked open the hotel room door. The door slammed against the wall with a deafening bang. He crawled onto the bed, pinning me down under his massive weight, his breath reeking of cheap alcohol.
His strength was terrifying. He began tearing at my silk nightgown, the sound of ripping fabric cutting through the silence.
"Paloma..." he mumbled, his eyes closed. "You heartless woman... why did you dump me just because I was poor?"
Ice flooded my veins. I pushed against his chest. "Darius, look at me! I'm Clarice! I’m pregnant, and the doctor said the pregnancy is unstable! Stop!"
