Chapter 3

My body jerked.

Camille was the one they'd grown up with, and Nash's first love.

Because Kieran's mother had once said Camille looked like her, Kieran had always given Camille whatever she asked for.

I had cherished Kieran as a brother, always looking for ways to be good to him, and still one word from Camille beat everything I did.

I closed my eyes and gave a bitter smile.

Now I finally saw it. Neither Nash nor Kieran had ever cared about me.

In the past I would have apologized to win him back.

I just turned my head away. "Fine. Won't happen again."

Kieran froze for a second. "Nash isn't here. Who are you playing the pitiful victim for?"

He left in a rage.

Because of how bad the injury was, I stayed in the hospital for a full week.

When my mother found out she just wired the hospital fees and left with Alaric on a trip. She never came.

The day I was discharged, I was still alone.

I waited for a time when no one was home and started to pack.

There wasn't much to take. The things I used to treasure were mostly things Kieran had given me.

I didn't need them anymore.

The only thing I had to take was the bracelet my grandmother left me.

I'd been raised by her. After she died I went to live with my mother.

Before she died, she'd slipped the bracelet onto my wrist herself and told me she wanted me safe.

But when I opened the box, the bracelet was gone.

I searched the whole room. It wasn't there.

When I checked the security footage, it was Kieran who'd taken it.

He wouldn't answer my calls.

When I finally tracked him down, he and Nash were in a private lounge at Silvercrest Club, throwing a birthday party for Camille.

Someone at the table was teasing Nash. "Nash, since you broke up with your brainy girlfriend, why don't you pass her to me?"

Nash glanced at him and didn't answer.

It was Kieran who flicked his cigarette away and said, voice flat, "Don't bring her up on a day like this. She'll kill the mood."

I clenched my fists.

The room went silent the moment I opened the door.

I met Kieran's cold eyes and went straight to the point. "Give me my bracelet back."

Before he could speak, Camille raised her wrist.

"You mean this? This is a gift from Kieran…"

One look and I recognized it. My grandmother's bracelet.

"That bracelet is mine. It matters to me. Please give it back."

Kieran only sneered, his voice like splintered ice. "So what if it's yours? You live in my house. Everything there is mine. If I want it, I take it."

My nails dug into my palms, and I didn't feel any of it.

"Take anything else, but not that. It was my grandmother's…"

Just then Nash cut me off.

"It's just a bracelet. I'll buy you a new one. Camille likes this one. Call it your birthday gift to her."

A few careless words from him, and the bracelet's fate was decided.

A hint of smugness crossed Camille's eyes.

"Yeah, I do like it. Name a price. Whatever you want."

I shook my head stubbornly. "I don't want money. I want the bracelet."

Kieran's eyes turned cold. "Give you an inch and you take a mile. If you don't want the money, get out."

Camille grabbed his hand and soothed him softly. "Don't be angry, Kieran. I'll handle her."

She came close and leaned down, voice low next to my ear.

"Don't think you can fool Kieran while I'm away, or seduce Nash into being your boyfriend and replace me. In their hearts I'll always come first."

"You want the bracelet? Fine. Kneel and beg me properly, and I'll consider it."

My breath hitched. I didn't answer.

It was the only thing my grandmother had left me. When I thought of her gentle face, my chest felt like it was being crushed.

Slowly I lowered myself to my knees, in front of everyone.

"Please. Give it back to me."

Kieran and Nash just sat on the sofa and watched, not lifting a finger.

"You really have no pride. You think kneeling and acting pitiful works? Nice try guilt-tripping me."

Camille tilted her head. Her eyes held a cruelty that made my skin crawl.

"Sure. Here you go."

As she said it, she let go.

"Oops. Slipped."

She did it on purpose.

Staring at the pieces on the floor, my chest was heaving. Eyes red, I slapped her.

The next second someone shoved me hard and I went down on the shards.

Nash pulled her into his arms and blew gently on the red mark on her face.

Kieran's face was black with rage. "Wren Hayes! You'd hit her in front of me? Apologize to Camille now!"

His words cut me open.

When I didn't speak, he kept going. "You think that cheap bracelet from a dead woman is worth anything? How long do you want to keep making a scene?"

Shaking all over, I slapped him.

"Kieran! It isn't cheap. It's the most important thing I have, and you had no right to give it away!"

"She smashed it on purpose. I'm not apologizing."

Kieran stomped on the pieces, furious. "And here I was starting to feel a little sorry for you. You really push your luck. You care about the bracelet that much?"

"Hold her down. Make her bow over it. She doesn't leave until she's done ninety-nine."