Chapter 4

At eleven that night, Hunter still hadn't come home. I sat in the living room of our new house and went through the wedding schedule from beginning to end.

My name appeared only twice. It didn't look like a wedding for Hunter and me.

At 1:00 am, I heard the lock click.

Hunter walked in, carrying the smell of disinfectant with him. When he saw that I was still sitting there, he frowned. "You're still awake?"

I asked, "Where are the earrings?"

His hand paused as he loosened his tie. "Tiff still has to film a video tomorrow morning. Let her keep them for now."

I stood up and demanded, "Go get them back now."

His expression darkened, and the patience in his eyes slowly disappeared. "Natalie, the person I'm marrying tomorrow is you. What else do you want?"

"I want my things back," I replied.

Hunter suddenly let out a quiet, mocking laugh. His voice was soft, yet unbearably arrogant. "Tiffany only borrowed the earrings for a moment, and you can't even tolerate that? Natalie, don't be so greedy."

I stared at him blankly. So in his eyes, I was greedy for asking for my mother's keepsake back.

Just then, Gabriel called and said urgently, "Hunter, something bad happened. Tiff says the earrings are missing."

My body stiffened.

Half an hour later, we arrived backstage at the hotel. Tiffany sat in front of the makeup mirror, wrapped in Hunter's jacket. Her eyes were swollen and red from crying.

The makeup table was a complete mess. The only thing missing was the pair of pearl earrings my mother had left me.

I asked the makeup artist, "What about the security footage?"

The makeup artist lowered her head. "The cameras malfunctioned this afternoon."

What a coincidence.

I looked at Tiffany and said, "Give them back."

Tears immediately rolled down her cheeks. "Natalie, I really didn't take them."

Steadily, I proposed, "Then let's call the police."

The moment my words fell, Tiffany's face turned pale. She threw herself toward the wall and screamed, "It's all my fault! I never should've touched your things! I might as well die!"

Hunter grabbed her at once. Gabriel also rushed over to support her. The two of them stood on either side, shielding her between them.

Hunter turned back to look at me, his eyes ice-cold. "Apologize."

I thought I had misheard him. "What did you say?"

"Apologize to her," he said, each word clear and deliberate. "She's already falling apart. How much further are you going to push her?"

I looked at him in disbelief. "Hunter, she lost my mother's keepsake."

"She already said she didn't do it on purpose."

"Just because she said she didn't do it on purpose, you're taking her word for it?"

"Do you have any evidence that she did it on purpose, then?"

I couldn't answer him.

Gabriel also tried to persuade me softly. "Natalie, just back down already. You've already won. Why make things difficult for Tiffany?"

I looked at all of them and suddenly felt exhausted.

Tiffany had so obviously won. Yet, everyone insisted that she was the pitiful one.

So, I nodded. I didn't want to put up a fight anymore.

"Fine."

The backstage area fell silent for a moment. Hunter frowned, as though he hadn't expected me to agree so quickly. Gabriel froze as well.

I turned toward Tiffany. She was still hiding behind Hunter with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said.

Gabriel looked at me, and his lips moved slightly. "Natalie…"

I didn't spare any of them another glance. I took off my engagement ring and gently placed it on the makeup table. "The wedding can go on as planned tomorrow. Don't let me ruin everyone's mood."

With that, I turned and walked toward the exit.

Hunter seemed about to say something.

But Tiffany suddenly clutched her neck, her voice trembling as she whined, "Hunter… it hurts so much…"

Hunter instinctively turned back, and Gabriel immediately looked at her as well.

In that brief moment, I walked out of the backstage area. By the time they looked back again, the door had already closed.

And I never looked back.

That night, I returned to my new house and canceled every single wedding reservation, one by one.

The wedding planner answered my call in the middle of the night, panic evident in her voice. She asked, "Does Mr. Sinclair know?"

"He doesn't need to."

Before dawn, I would leave this place with my suitcase.

…

On the morning of the wedding, Hunter personally went to the jewelry store at ten o'clock. He picked out the pear-shaped diamond ring at first glance.

Looking down at the ring, he commented, "She's liked this shape ever since she was 18."

Gabriel was holding a black umbrella with a long handle. My name was engraved on the handle.

He chuckled and said, "I've got something too. She still remembered that rainy day when we were 18."

Hunter glanced at him. "So you knew about that?"

The smile on Gabriel's face faded slightly. "Yeah."

After a pause, he said, "She apologized too quickly last night."

Hunter let out a dismissive snort. "She was just tired. After making a fuss all night, she had to find herself a way out."

Gabriel nodded in agreement. "I guess you're right."

He smiled and added, "Natalie has a soft heart. You've got the ring, I've got the umbrella. Once she sees these, she definitely won't be able to stay mad."

When the two of them arrived at the hotel, the manager was directing the workers to dismantle the welcome sign.

Hunter stopped in his tracks. "Who told you to take it down?"

The manager was surprised to see him. "Mr. Sinclair, wasn't the wedding called off?"