The woman's apology was not for me; it was for her children. She was protecting them.

Would my mother have done the same for me if she were still here?

Thinking of my mother, I instinctively reached for the jade pendant around my neck. It was the only thing she had left me—a small reminder of her love.

However, there was nothing around my neck.

Panic surged through me. My body went numb as I realized the pendant must have fallen when I was shoved out of the Hall family villa earlier, my clothes in disarray.

If Yvette got her hands on it...

The thought sent me into a frenzy. Without hesitation, I turned back and sprinted toward the Hall family house.

When I arrived, the gates were locked.

Desperate, I crawled through the dog hole by the side of the house—a passage that held bittersweet memories. Whenever I was kicked out, Jameson used to secretly unlock the small metal gate to let me back in.

Over the years, weeds had grown over the hole, but the gate remained ajar, frozen in time from the last time I’d been thrown out.

I snuck into the house and went straight to the room. There it was—my jade pendant, dangling from Yvette’s hand as she toyed with it.

“Yvette, that’s my pendant! Give it back!”

She looked at me with disdain. “You say it’s yours, so it’s yours? I’d say it’s just some trash I picked up.”

“You can’t talk about it that way!” I angrily retorted.

“Oh, I’ll call it trash—and I’ll call you trash too. What can you do about it?” She sneered.

With that, she leaned out the window, holding the pendant precariously.

My heart leapt to my throat. My fists clenched so tightly that my knuckles cracked, but I forced myself to stay calm. I couldn’t risk her damaging it.

Lowering my voice, I pleaded, “Yvette, please. Give it back. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Her lips curled into a triumphant smirk, her eyes sparkling with malice.

“Alright,” she drawled, “kneel and kowtow to me three times. Apologize sincerely. Maybe then I’ll return your little trinket to the beggar it belongs to.”

I froze, my body stiff with humiliation.

At that moment, Jameson appeared at the door.

“Yvette, why are you still up this late?”

“Jameson,” she said sweetly, “Lauren is accusing me of stealing. She claims this pendant is hers.”

Jameson’s eyes immediately fixed on the jade in her hand.

“Lauren,” he said coldly, “it’s just a pendant. Why can’t you give it to Yvette? Consider it an apology gift.”

“Jameson, I didn’t steal it,” Yvette said with mock indignation, her voice dripping with false innocence. “I have one just like this. It’s very expensive, something ordinary people could never afford. If it really is hers, maybe it was a gift from some man.”

Her words twisted the truth effortlessly. Jameson’s gaze darkened as he looked at me.

I glanced between him and the pendant, which still dangled perilously out the window.

Clenching my teeth, I dropped to my knees with a thud, swallowing my pride as I begged Yvette.

“Please, give me back my pendant.”

Jameson’s eyes narrowed as he watched me kneel. He stepped forward, his expression a mix of anger and discomfort, and tried to pull me up.

But I was trembling, desperate, and clung to his leg in panic. “Jameson, please! Help me! Make her give it back! I’ll forgive you for breaking off our engagement. I’ll leave if that’s what you want. I’ll stay far, far away...”

The helplessness and despair of having my lifeline held hostage brought tears streaming down my face.

But my words only made him angrier.

“So, this pendant really is a gift from some man, isn’t it?”

I stared at him in disbelief. After everything we’d been through, after years of knowing each other, he trusted Yvette’s lies over me.

When I didn’t respond, his expression darkened further.

He shoved me aside with force and turned to Yvette, his voice gentle and doting. “If this pendant belongs to you, then you can do whatever she wants with it.”

Yvette smiled triumphantly. "James, you know how much I hate it when people claim my things as theirs. If that’s the case, I’d rather not have it at all."

Before her words had fully settled, the jade pendant was flung out the window.

“No! Stop!” I screamed, my voice hoarse with desperation, and lunged toward the window, ready to jump after it.

Jameson was quicker. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, pulling me back before I could throw myself out.

Frantic, I shoved him aside and bolted downstairs, the sound of the pendant hitting water echoing in my mind.

Without hesitation, I dove headfirst into the freezing swimming pool.

The cold winter night offered no light; everything was shrouded in darkness. I plunged into the icy water, fumbling blindly as I searched.

Finally, my fingers grazed something sharp. Hope surged through me as I grabbed it. By the faint light, I saw it—it was my jade pendant.

But it was broken.

In the dead of winter, the freezing water clung to my skin, mocking my misery.

Clutching the shattered pendant to my chest, I collapsed into sobs, unable to contain the overwhelming despair.

Jameson arrived moments later, pulling me out of the water in a panic.

My entire body was trembling, my lips purple with cold, but my eyes burned with hatred.

I pushed him away, carefully placed the broken pendant aside, then stormed toward Yvette and slapped her hard across the face.

Her lip split, blood trickling down the corner of her mouth. But it wasn’t enough—I raised my hand to hit her again.

Before I could, Jameson rushed forward and shoved me aside, stopping me in mid-swing.

My hand slammed into the shards of the jade pendant, reopening a wound that had just begun to heal. Blood streamed down my palm, staining it crimson. But I felt nothing.

Consumed by rage, I lunged at Yvette once more, determined to hurt her.

Slap!

A sharp sound rang in the air as pain erupted across my cheek. Jameson had struck me.

His hand trembled after the slap.

"Lauren, calm down!"

I stared at him, disbelief and anguish filling my eyes.

Without hesitation, I raised my hand and slapped him back with all my strength.

Furious, he grabbed my wrist tightly, his gaze burning with anger. "Lauren, you can take out your frustrations on me, but you can't hurt Yvette!"

“Even stubbornness has its limits. I’ll replace your pendant, but now, apologize to Yvette.”

I felt like I was on the verge of madness, unable to bear the humiliation and betrayal any longer.

As Jameson gripped the back of my neck, trying to force me to apologize, I bit down on his arm with all the strength I had left.

Blood seeped through the fabric of his white shirt, spreading into a crimson stain.

I refused to let go until Yvette pushed me away in a panic.

I fell back into the pool. The icy water embraced me once more, seeping into my bones.

Above me, I could hear the distant strains of cheerful music, "Happy New Year," and fireworks exploding in the sky.

But it all seemed so far away, mocking my pathetic state.

Clutching the broken pieces of the pendant in my hand, I laughed. Then, without warning, I began to cry.

All I wanted was to go home.

Mom... All I ever wanted was a home.

Later, I dragged my exhausted body back to my small rented apartment and collapsed into a restless sleep.

In my dreams, Jameson smiled at me.

He held me close and took me to an amusement park I’d never visited as a child. He showed me the beauty of our country, from majestic mountains to serene rivers. At every temple we visited, he wrote the same wish as mine. "Jameson will love Lauren for eternity."

The dream shifted to yesterday.

He held my hand, kneeling before Grandpa Carlos, making a solemn vow.

He promised to marry me, to cherish me for a lifetime. He slipped a proposal ring onto my finger, his face radiant with joy.

In the middle of the night, I woke up unexpectedly, my body burning with fever. I wiped the cold tears from the corners of my eyes with a shaky hand and dragged my exhausted body to see the last person in this city I couldn’t bear to leave behind.

Grandpa was still in a coma. I held his rough, calloused hand and couldn’t hold back my tears anymore.

"Grandpa, you’re such a bad old man, choosing a family member for me and picking the worst one."

"So wake up soon, Grandpa, and keep being my family."

The next day, I called my professor. "Professor, I’ve decided to go to New York as an exchange student."

"Good. Come back tomorrow, and we’ll finalize the process."

I quickly packed my luggage and paid the penalty for breaking the lease on my apartment. Then, I boarded a plane headed to my university.

Before leaving, I sent a final message to Jameson.

[Jameson, I don’t want the jade pendant anymore. I don’t want you either.]