Chapter 9

Noelle searched the junkyard for an entire day. The moment she found the necklace, the tears she'd been holding back finally fell.

But the next second, she realized the pendant was empty. The hair and ashes she'd stored inside were gone.

Her head buzzed, and she ran for the hospital with the necklace clutched in her hand. Just as she reached the entrance, she ran into Winona, who had been discharged.

Winona covered her nose and stepped back with exaggerated disgust. "Which dumpster did this piece of garbage crawl out of?"

Noelle stared her down. "Where are the things that were in my pendant?"

Winona glanced at the necklace in Noelle's hand and suddenly laughed. "You mean that filthy stuff? I dumped them in the toilet and flushed them away ages ago."

"Winona Johnson!" Noelle shook with fury. Her ears buzzed, and her eyes blazed with hatred.

She lunged forward, grabbed Winona by the collar, and slapped her hard across the face with all her strength.

Winona staggered backward, clutching her cheek. She fell into Chester's arms.

Noelle looked up, meeting his icy, murderous gaze. "You still haven't learned your lesson, Noelle."

Her eyes were bloodshot, and her voice trembled as she said, "She flushed my grandma's ashes down the toilet—"

"That's enough!" Chester's disgust deepened. "I can't believe you're even cursing your own grandmother to hurt Winona. You make me sick."

The next second, he seized her wrist and shoved her hard.

The driver of a speeding cab blared the horn, unable to brake in time. He slammed into Noelle. She was sent flying before landing in the flowerbed.

Agonizing pain tore through her chest; thick blood spilled from the corner of her mouth. She instinctively looked toward Chester, only to see him shielding Winona with heartache in his eyes. He ushered her into the car Simon had brought around.

From beginning to end, he didn't spare Noelle a single glance. She blacked out.

…

Noelle lay in the hospital for two days. Through Winona's social media updates, she saw Chester escorting her to banquets and public events. With the wedding so close, he couldn't hold back anymore. He didn't even bother putting on an act.

Noelle made her own preparations for the wedding day.

The afternoon before the wedding, Chester came to pick her up from the hospital. He brought her favorite bellflowers. "I was too impulsive the other day, so this is my apology. But you need to stop targeting Winona, too. Tomorrow is our wedding. I've prepared a surprise for you."

Noelle looked at him quietly for a few seconds. Then, she suddenly smiled and took the bouquet from him. "Perfect. I've prepared a surprise for you, too."

Chester paused. A flicker of awkwardness flashed in his eyes before he smoothed it over.

On the drive back to the villa, the weather turned, and there was a torrential downpour. When thunder cracked, Chester grew restless and on edge.

He kept one hand on the wheel while dialing Winona over and over again with the other. The calls went unanswered.

He abruptly slammed on the brakes, pulled over, and grabbed an umbrella from the car. He handed it to Noelle. "I've got something to deal with. You should grab a cab back."

With that, he unfastened her seatbelt and leaned over to open her door.

Noelle didn't take the umbrella. She simply gave Chester an unreadable look before stepping out without a backward glance and shutting the door.

He hesitated and stared at the umbrella in his hand. An odd feeling flickered through him. He moved to open the door again to bring Noelle the umbrella, but Winona's call came at that moment.

She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "Chester, I'm scared… Hurry up and come to me…"

Chester blanched. His hand moved away from the door handle, and he immediately drove off.

Noelle stood there, only just realizing that she'd carried the bouquet Chester had given her out of the car. As she watched the taillights vanish into the rain, she set the flowers on a trash can and hailed a cab.

Back at the villa, she received a message from Chester. "I've got some urgent matters to deal with, so I won't be home tonight."

She didn't reply.

Maybe it was because she'd been in the rain, but she ran a low fever that night, drifting in and out of dreams. One moment, she saw Winona beating her up until she couldn't stand. Then, she pressed a foot to her face to humiliate her.

The next moment, she saw Chester soothing her, cooking for her, and watching movies with her. Lastly, she saw the first time they'd slept together and the countless times after.

Tears slid from the corners of her eyes. When she woke, her gaze was nothing but ice.

It was her and Chester's wedding day, which happened to fall a week after Marie's death. At first light, Noelle took her suitcase to the cemetery.

After leaving the gravesite, she grabbed a cab to the hospital to join the group departure. On her way there, she checked her WhatsApp to confirm every detail and contingency for the wedding with the team.

Then, she found a livestream channel she'd bookmarked and tapped in.

On camera, a glamorous influencer greeted the audience. "Hello, everyone! Today, by the bride's invitation, we're attending a wedding and broadcasting it live…"

Noelle stared at the phone screen, a cold, dark light glinting in her eyes.