They Forced Me to Return the Heirloom Diamond—But My Wedding Ring Cost Only $9.99 Chapter 04
Margaret finally couldn’t hold back.
“Tessa, if you leave now, what will people think of the Hart family? The anniversary banquet is in three days. The guest list has already been sent out.”
I looked at her.
“So you called me here today to make me give up the ring, give up the master bedroom, give up my seat at the banquet — and then still sit there smiling for the Hart family?”
Margaret’s face twisted.
“Why do you have to be so unpleasant?”
“If I’m not being pleasant enough, you can have Miss Ross polish my words for me.”
Ivy looked up, her eyes red.
“Tessa, I know you’re upset with me. But I really didn’t mean to take your place. Your mother-in-law asked me to help, and I just couldn’t say no.”
She turned to Ethan, her voice dropping.
“Ethan, you know me. I’ve never wanted to hurt anyone.”
Ethan didn’t answer her.
He just stared at the bag in my hand.
“I’ll have someone bring your things. Don’t go back there.”
I asked, “Are you afraid I’ll take something that belongs to the Harts?”
His expression changed instantly.
“Tessa.”
This time there was finally a hint of urgency in his voice.
I looked down and slipped the bag strap off my wrist.
“Ethan, I’ve lived in the Hart house for two years. I didn’t bring much in, and there’s not much I can take out.”
I handed him the moving checklist.
“If you’re worried, have someone check everything item by item.”
Then I walked out.
The hallway was carpeted, so my footsteps were muffled.
But Ethan still followed.
Outside the old mansion, the sky was overcast. White camellias bloomed in the garden.
I walked down the steps. The driver had already opened the car door for me.
Ethan stood behind me.
“Why did you keep wearing that ring?”
I knew he meant the plain band.
I stopped.
The breeze blew. The empty space at the base of my ring finger felt cold.
“At first, I was afraid people would ask.”
I raised my hand and looked at my ring finger.
“Then I just got used to it.”
His voice dropped. “You could have told me.”
I turned to face him.
“Two years ago, I asked you about the ring.”
His lips pressed tight.
“I didn’t see it.”
“You saw it.”
I opened the chat log and put the “Busy” message in front of him.
“And you transferred me half a million dollars.”
Ethan stared at the screen. The veins on the back of his hand became visible.
I put my phone away.
“Mr. Hart, I stared at that transfer for a long time.”
I smiled.
“I figured you thought every problem could be solved with money.”
His face got even darker.
I didn’t look at him again. I got into the car.
Just before the door closed, he bent down and braced his hand on the door.
“Tessa.”
I looked up.
He stood outside the car. The wind moved the lapels of his suit slightly.
He was always too steady — so steady that no one dared to look at him when he was exposed.
But right now, there was a kind of panic in his eyes I’d never seen before.
“I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
I looked at him.
“And after you do?”
He froze.
I gently pulled the door closed from his hand.
“Ethan, the ring isn’t the hard part to investigate. What’s hard is where you’ve kept me for the past two years.”
As the car pulled away from the Hart family mansion, I saw Ethan still standing at the bottom of the steps in the rearview mirror.
He didn’t chase after me.
That actually made me feel relieved.
I didn’t want to act out a tug-of-war in front of the Hart house.
When I got back to the wedding house at Harbor View, the living room had already been tidied up.
Only one of the pair of couple’s slippers in the entryway remained.
In the walk-in closet, my clothes were hung neatly on a rolling rack in dust bags.
Half the vanity was empty.
The wedding photo that had been turned face-down on the nightstand had been set upright again by the maid.
Like someone had tried to cover their tracks at the last minute.
I walked over and picked up the frame.
In the photo, I smiled softly.
Ethan stood beside me, not looking at the camera, as if he was ready to leave at any second.
I looked at it for a while, then put the frame in a cardboard box.
The housekeeper stood at the door, unsure what to do.
“Mrs. Hart, Mr. Hart just called and told us not to touch your things.”
“They’ve already been touched.”
I closed the box.
The housekeeper lowered her head. “I’m sorry, ma’am. When the elder Mrs. Hart gave the order, we couldn’t exactly…”
“It’s fine.”
I took a small wooden box from the back of the walk-in closet.
Inside were a few things.
The velvet pouch from the night market. The wedding invitation. Unopened vow cards. And a photo I’d secretly saved of myself trying on my wedding dress.
Ethan hadn’t come that day.
The saleswoman asked me, “Wouldn’t Mr. Hart like to take a look?”
I said, “He’s busy.”
She smiled politely. “Mr. Hart is very dedicated to his work. You’re so understanding of him.”
I thought I was being pretty understanding back then too.
So understanding that I ended up without a wedding ring.
I put the wooden box in my carry-on bag.
Just as I was about to leave, I heard a car pull up outside.
The housekeeper was startled.
“Ma’am, Mr. Hart is back.”
I didn’t say anything. I picked up my suitcase and headed for the door.
When Ethan walked in, Liam followed behind him.
His face was even colder than it had been at the old mansion, and he was holding a tablet.
When he saw me with my suitcase, he stopped.
“You’re really leaving?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“My own apartment.”
Ethan frowned. “When did you get an apartment?”
“I bought it before the wedding.”
He was quiet for a moment.
He was probably realizing that he didn’t even know where I’d lived before we got married.
Liam stood nearby and said quietly, “Mr. Hart, the restoration specialist sent over some backstage photos.”
Ethan didn’t take the tablet.
He looked at me.
“You should see them too.”
I was going to say no.
But when Liam handed him the tablet, the screen froze on a backstage shot from the wedding.
The photo was blurry.
Ethan sat on a couch with his eyes closed, clearly very drunk.
Ivy stood bent over in front of him, holding a ring box.
Next photo: she opened the box.
Third photo: Ethan raised his hand, as if she was helping him.
The sequence stopped there.
Then another photo, taken after the ceremony.
Ivy stood in a corner, wearing the wedding ring on her left hand.
I looked at the photos. The old ache in my chest became dull.
Two years ago, I hadn’t seen these.
So I could still lie to myself — maybe it was just confusion, maybe Ethan was just busy, maybe the ring would come back to me eventually.
Now the photos were right in front of me.
Even lying to myself felt pointless.
Ethan’s voice came from beside me.
“Tessa, I blacked out that day.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
“I didn’t know she put on the ring.”
“I know that too.”
He looked at me, surprised by how calm I was.
I picked up my suitcase.
“Ethan, I’m not going to argue today about whether you knew or not.”
He stood in front of me, his fingers curling.
“Then what do you want?”
“I want to go home and sleep.”
I walked around him.
“I have work tomorrow.”
He finally reached out and grabbed the handle of my suitcase.
Not hard.
But it made me pause.
I looked down at his hand.
Ethan pulled back like he’d been burned and slowly let go.
“I’ll drive you.”
“No.”
“Tessa.”
His voice was low.
“It’s raining outside.”
I looked up. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, rain was falling heavily.
Before I could say anything, the doorbell rang.
