Chapter 3

They worked on my mother for four hours.

When the doctor came out, his mask was still on.

"She's stable for now."

"But she needs the advanced treatment protocol. Without it, we can only do so much."

I nodded. My throat was too dry to speak.

The apartment sale closed that same evening.

Fire-sale price. The buyer barely hesitated.

The moment the funds hit my account, I called the hospital's financial counselor to authorize the treatment.

She glanced up at me from her desk.

"Just you, then? No other family?"

I said mm.

"Your husband?"

I didn't answer.

In that moment, I felt a sudden, sharp humiliation.

I was married. Yet I was like a person with no one in the world.

That night, I went back to the house to get my documents.

The moment I pushed open the door, I heard a woman's laughter in the living room.

Nora Chase was sitting on the sofa.

In front of her was a celebration cake.

Ethan was cutting her a slice.

When she saw me, Nora jumped to her feet immediately.

"Amber! You're back."

She said it sweetly.

But around her neck hung a diamond pendant.

I recognized that pendant.

Last month, on my birthday, I'd lingered at the jewelry counter for a moment too long.

Ethan had said:

"The markup on those things is ridiculous. That's not your style."

Now it was on Nora's neck.

Ethan frowned at me.

"Why are you back?"

I looked at him.

"This is my home."

Nora's expression froze for a second.

Ethan set the cake knife down.

"Nora's pitch went well today. I brought her back to grab some files."

"And to celebrate, while we're at it."

While we're at it.

My mother lay in the hospital with tubes in her body. I'd sold my apartment to scrape together the money.

And he was here, in our home, celebrating with another woman.

Nora ducked her head, voice soft.

"Amber, please don't misunderstand."

"Mr. Sinclair was just worried I'd be nervous for my first fundraise, so he encouraged me."

She touched the pendant at her throat.

"This was a team reward. It's not what you think."

I walked over and looked at the writing on the cake box.

It read:

[To Nora — First victory down, limitless future ahead.]

The handwriting was Ethan's.

He'd once told me even a birthday cake was an unnecessary expense. Said that kind of sentimentality was pointless.

I didn't cry. I didn't yell.

I just went to the bedroom, opened the drawer, and collected my documents.

Ethan followed me in.

"Who exactly are you putting on this face for?"

I gathered my passport, my Social Security card, and my important papers into my bag.

"Move."

He blocked the doorway.

"Amber, you're becoming completely unreasonable."

"Nora is so much younger than you. She's out here in this city with no one. As her superior, is it so wrong for me to look after her?"

I looked up at him.

"My mother is alone in the ICU too."

"Have you looked after her?"

He was caught short.

His expression quickly turned cold again.

"Your mother's situation is different from hers."

"How is it different?"

"Nora still has a future."

After those words left his mouth, the room went silent.

Ethan seemed to realize it himself.

But he didn't apologize.

He just turned his face away and said quietly:

"What I mean is—investment has to factor in return."

I looked at him.

My chest felt as though something had been carved out of it with a blade.

My mother had no future.

So she wasn't worth it.

I had no future either.

So I didn't deserve it.

I picked up my bag and walked past him.

In the living room, Nora was eating cake with a fork.

Seeing me, she seemed to gather her courage and said softly:

"Amber, honestly? A woman really should be more independent."

"You can't rely on a man for everything."

I stopped.

Ethan stood behind me. He said nothing to stop her.

I looked at Nora, and I actually laughed.

"Did he teach you that line?"

Her face flushed.

I nodded.

"Then remember it well."

"The day he decides you have no return on investment either, you'll hear that exact same speech."

Nora's smile froze.

Ethan's voice cut in, cold:

"Amber. That's enough."

I didn't look back.

On my way downstairs, a sharp, dragging pain pulled through my lower abdomen.

I braced myself against the elevator wall and stayed there a long time.

My palms were drenched in sweat.

My phone rang.

It was the hospital.

"Ms. Thorne, your mother's condition has deteriorated again. Please come back immediately."

My vision went black. I nearly collapsed right there in the elevator.