The feeling was too surreal. Yet, the heavy weight resting on her finger told her it was all true. Her heart hammered against her ribs, and she felt as if she were suffocating, caught between irrepressible joy and an abstract, creeping panic.
It felt like being dragged into the deep sea; once the bubbles burst, she would drown.
"Why are you giving me this?" Zoe Lancaster finally found her voice after a long pause. Her throat was tight, and her eyes stung with incipient tears. "It doesn’t seem necessary."
Did they really need such formalities between them?
Simon Hawthorne stared down at her. Standing against the light, her expression was cast in shadow, leaving only the rapid flutter of her eyelashes visible. He released her hand and narrowed his eyes slightly. "You don’t like it?"
Zoe remained silent.
A flawless square-cut diamond—it was the dream of so many girls. A wedding ring this luxurious was almost excessively dreamy.
But... looking at the ring on her slender finger, it felt more like an invisible snare trapping her tightly. The line between love and indifference was drawn as clearly as a border between warring nations. He could give it to her so easily because, to him, it was nothing more than a passing whim of "compensation." For her, however, it would only drag her deeper into this cage.
There were only a little over eight months left until their agreed divorce date. The meaning behind this ring would expire in just over eight months. Why should she feed herself another dose of sweet poison? She couldn’t grasp onto or bear the weight of this "hope."
Her nose tingled, and her lips trembled slightly. Fortunately, the backlighting kept her face obscured. Under his silent, chilling gaze, Zoe slowly slid the ring off and placed it back into his palm.
"No, I don’t like it. You should know what a wedding ring means. It holds absolutely no significance for either of us. Just as you said in the beginning, our relationship is based far more on utility than affection. Let’s keep things simple for both of us, so we don’t complicate things when the time comes."
Simon did not love her, and sooner or later, they would become strangers. She was terrified that experiencing his kindness would only make her more greedy and delusional. She took a step back from him.
Simon lifted his gaze to look at her, his bottomless eyes sinking into glacial coldness. The diamond ring in his palm felt as if it had sprouted countless tiny blades, churning his emotions. "Complicate things?"
"Aside from my company, have you lacked for anything in this marriage? How dare you talk to me about keeping things simple?" The man’s tone was flat, yet every word concealed a hurtful, hidden thorn.
Zoe’s spine stiffened for a moment. She couldn’t refute it.
It seemed she really was the beneficiary. He believed their relationship was purely transactional, and that she had already gained enough. After all, when she was cornered at that drinking party before their marriage, she was the one who reached out to him for protection. She had indeed used his power and his money. But he never factored in her earnest heart, which only ever wanted him.
In the end, it all came down to greed. To him, there was probably no difference.
BANG!
A firework suddenly shot up outside the window, exploding into a shower of brilliant colors.
Zoe didn’t want to continue this conversation; she only felt suffocated. She had barely taken two steps when a hand gripped the back of her neck. With a deft pull, she was spun around and hauled into a burning-hot embrace. The man crashed his lips onto hers without another word. Driven by a desire to punish, he kissed her until she was breathless.
Her slender waist was nearly snapped in half by his constricting arm. She let out a muffled whimper of disbelief as she lost all control over her own lips and tongue, kissed until they went numb. "...Mmph!"
The man seemed to possess an innate talent for this. Despite Zoe’s resistance, she couldn’t withstand his demanding provocations, and her legs gradually went weak.
"Simon...!"
Simon released her. His long eyes looked as if they had been dipped in ice water, terrifyingly cold. "If you want to talk about keeping things simple, then I suppose I should clearly exercise the rights I am owed. Like... your body."
Zoe’s heart trembled violently. She thought she saw a flash of anger in his eyes, mingled with a complex, ruthless edge.
Her arms couldn’t budge him an inch. Then, Simon’s teeth grazed the tender flesh of her neck. The memory of what had happened at the birthday banquet flooded her mind, filling her with shock and fear. "Simon, stop joking around!"
Simon ignored her. His fingertips had already reached the pearl button at her chest; one gentle flick would undo it. She felt as though she were nothing more than a delicious dish served up for him. This overwhelming stimulation left Zoe powerless to defend herself.
Just as he was about to pop the button open...
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
"Mr. Hawthorne, Mrs. Hawthorne, the elder Mrs. Hawthorne has asked you to come down for the family portrait."
Simon paused, a deep furrow forming between his brows. A trace of gloom flickered in his eyes.
Feeling a profound sense of relief, Zoe pushed him away forcefully and hurriedly straightened her clothes. "Okay! We’ll be right down!"
She cast a glance at the man, whose mood was visibly displeased, though she didn’t dare let her eyes wander. After all, just moments ago, she had very distinctly felt it. "Let’s go down. You should... cool off." Cool off his temper, and let his "little brother" cool off as well.
Zoe slipped away lightning-fast, as if the room were filled with wild predators.
Simon watched her leave with a dark, brooding expression. His gaze shifted to the rejected ring resting in his palm, and after a long moment, his lips curled into a cold sneer. She certainly knew how to keep things clear. Was she really looking forward to the day their agreement expired that much? So terrified of getting too deeply entangled with him! She was truly "committed" to their contract!
A short while later.
After coming downstairs, Zoe deliberately slowed her pace, letting the cold breeze blow against her burning cheeks. Her heart was heavy with anxiety. So, had Simon given her that ring just for her body, like offering a little sweet treat? She pressed her lips together, the color draining from her face inch by inch, and continued until she reached the main hall.
Before she could even step inside, a shrill, piercing scream rang out from nearby, followed by an earth-shattering howl. It was Cecilia Sloan’s son, Sean Hawthorne. It was accompanied by the panicked barking of a dog.
Zoe’s expression changed, and she quickly sprinted toward the noise. She saw Sean sitting by the edge of the pond. His palm seemed to have been bitten and was still bleeding. Beside him, Heartbreaker was scrambling pathetically out of the icy pond water. Blood dripped from the dog’s long ears, and a fresh, bloody gash had been snipped into one of them!
Her blood boiled as she rushed over to scoop Heartbreaker into her arms.
Sean’s crying had alarmed everyone in the main hall, and they all hurried over. Cecilia let out a sharp cry, "Son! What happened to your hand?!"
Throwing a tantrum, Sean howled and pointed at the dog in Zoe’s arms. "Mommy, kill that dog! It bit me! Smash it to death!"
Despite his young age, Sean was wildly unreasonable, domineering, and knew exactly how to twist the blame, relentlessly demanding that Heartbreaker be beaten to death.
Mrs. Hawthorne, June Hawthorne, and Ken Lowell all rushed over. Seeing the young boy’s bitten hand, June Hawthorne’s face darkened slightly.
Heartbroken, Cecilia pulled Sean into her arms. Now that she had her backers, she glared viciously at Zoe before bursting into dramatic, pitiful sobs:
"How old is Sean?! How can he withstand a bite like that! What if this dog is carrying a virus? The Hawthorne Residence has always had a rule against keeping these beasts! For hurting the young master, dying ten thousand times wouldn’t be enough!"