Zachary turned slightly to glance at his phone. When he saw the message, a delighted look flashed across his face.

Selena, on the other hand, appeared calm as she stared at the message she received.

It was from Lucine.

The message read, "Selena, Zach's already spent quite a long while with you. Time for me to get him back."

Even through the screen, Selena could imagine the smug look on Lucine's face.

She didn't reply to the message and just turned off her phone screen.

When she raised her head again, her gaze met Zachary's. He gave her an apologetic look.

"Selena, there's unfortunately an emergency meeting at the company, so I have to head over there now. Once the meeting is over, I'll return immediately, okay?"

Though the words sounded like a question, his tone implied there wasn't any room for her to refuse.

Letting out a self-mocking laugh, she stared earnestly into Zachary's eyes and asked, "Do you have to go?"

Zachary hesitated for the briefest moment before nodding seriously. "Yes, I absolutely have to."

"Alright."

Upon hearing how easily she agreed, Zachary was rather surprised and a little uncertain.

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately grabbed his coat and left without another word.

Just like that, Selena was left alone in the room, which now felt empty.

She thought of the pink diamond necklace Zachary had just mentioned.

She really did like it and had been waiting for so long for it, so she decided she might as well buy it back now.

After getting herself ready, Selena left the house. She had only just stepped into the jewelry store when she spotted two familiar figures.

Lucine and Zachary.

In Lucine's hands was none other than the pink diamond necklace Selena had come here for.

Striding forward, Selena said to the store employee, "If I remember correctly, that necklace is the last of that series, and I happened to pre-order it half a year ago."

The employee's gaze darted between the three of them warily. Clearly, she was unsure what their relationship with each other was. It had only been half a year, yet the woman beside Zachary had changed.

Zachary hadn't expected Selena not to wait at home for him.

He stammered as he tried to explain, "I was here picking a gift for a client and coincidentally bumped into Lucy, so I—"

Selena ignored him and continued talking to the store employee. "Please wrap up that necklace for me."

A conflicted expression appeared on the employee's face. "Ms. Yane, this necklace was pre-ordered using Mr. Xenakis' name back then, so…"

Before Selena could respond, Lucine placed the necklace back on the viewing tray with red-rimmed eyes.

"This was originally supposed to be yours anyway, so I shouldn't have expected anything. It's my fault for not knowing my place. It's just that I never really had any nice things for the 20 years I was lost outside. That's why I couldn't tear my eyes away from this necklace. Sorry to put you in a difficult position, Zach."

As expected, the moment Zachary heard that, his heart broke for Lucine.

He turned to Selena, a displeased look in his eyes.

"Selena, as the older sister, isn't it only right for you to give in to your younger sister? You've always gotten whatever you wanted for all these years. Do you have to fight with her over a necklace? She's already had a tough life, so you should be more understanding."

With that said, he instructed the store employee, "Wrap it up for me, please."

After Zachary paid for the necklace, Lucine's eyes were practically glued to it.

She said to Zachary sweetly, "Thanks, Zach. Can you help me put it on?"

"Of course."

Zachary carefully brushed away Lucine's hair before helping her put on the million-dollar necklace.

While he was doing that, Lucine raised an eyebrow and shot Selena a disdainful smile.

Selena spun on her heel to leave, but then Lucine's voice rang out again, sounding aggrieved.

"Selena, where are you going? Are you angry with me?"

Zachary instantly frowned when he heard that.

Meanwhile, tears were already glistening in Lucine's eyes.

"Selena, please don't be upset. I'll give you the necklace. I don't want our relationship to sour because of this."

As she spoke, Lucine made as if to take off the necklace. However, she had only just touched the clasp when Zachary stopped her.

"This is my gift to you. You don't have to take it off."

He then shot an icy glare at Selena. "Lucine was lost out there for 20 years and is used to being timid, so stop throwing a tantrum. You're well aware she values family more than anything, yet you're still treating her like this. You—"

"Are you done?" Selena interrupted him. "If you are, I'm leaving. I don't have time to see you two acting all lovey-dovey."

A hint of panic instantly surfaced on Zachary's face. He hurriedly grabbed Selena's arm tightly.

"Selena, it's not like that between Lucy and me! How could you say that in public? Are you trying to falsely paint her as someone who interfered in her sister's relationship? How could she possibly withstand that accusation?"

Selena simply thought the anxious manner in which Zachary tried to explain himself was laughable.

"Did she not interfere?"

"Of course not!"

While answering, Zachary increased the force of his grip, causing Selena to gasp in pain. However, he didn't notice at all.

"You better not say such things again in public! This is the last time!"

With that, Zachary flung Selena's arm away before returning to Lucine's side, where he began gently comforting her.

He even picked out other expensive jewelry and thoughtfully put them on for her to try.

He would pay for anything that caught her fancy.

When Lucine smiled, Zachary did the same, his eyes filled with tenderness.

Selena let out a self-deprecating laugh at the sight. Just as she was about to leave, an announcement rang out in the mall, warning that the mall's roof was collapsing.

As the trio got ready to evacuate, the ceiling above them trembled as debris rained down on them.

In that critical moment when the ceiling was about to collapse on them, Lucine shoved Zachary out before yanking Selena to her side.

Zechary spun around, only to see a large chunk of debris crushing Lucine's leg. Blood trickled from the wound incessantly.

"Lucine, are you okay? How could you be so foolish? I should've been the one protecting you! Why did you push me away?"

Lucine put on a strained smile.

"I wasn't thinking. All I knew was that I didn't want you to get hurt."

Zachary's expression was filled with heartache for her. He moved the debris on her before lifting her into his arms.

"I'll take you to the hospital right away!"

As the two disappeared into the distance, Zachary completely forgot about Selena.

At that moment, Selena was nearly completely buried beneath the debris, with just some of her upper body peeking out.

She wanted to shout for help, but found that she couldn't make a sound.

The surrounding area was in chaos, so she could only rely on herself as she slowly crawled her way out from under the rubble.

Her body was covered in wounds and dust, causing intense pain to shoot through her with every movement she made.

The sharp corners of the debris sliced her skin, and the sight of her blood mixing with the rubble was gruesome.

Selena had only just dragged herself out from the rubble when she received two messages, one from Lucine and another from Zachary.

The one from Lucine was, "Selena, I won again this time."

Meanwhile, the one from Zachary read, "The mall collapsed, so I'm sending Lucine to the hospital. You should head home first."

He had overlooked her so completely that he didn't even realize she had been buried under the rubble, too.

Selena made her way to the hospital alone. When the nurse saw her injuries, she exclaimed, "Why are you so badly injured? Where's your family? Did you come alone?"

Selena nodded lightly in response. She had been afraid of pain since young, yet at that moment, not a single tear was shed.

Her tears had long since run dry.

After her injuries were tended to, Selena walked past a hospital room on her way out. When she heard familiar voices coming from inside, she couldn't help but glance inside.

Lucine was seated on the hospital bed, with Martha, Liam, and Zachary surrounding her.

Martha was busily peeling an apple, while the usually stern-faced Liam had tears in his eyes. As for Zachary, he was tightly gripping Lucine's hand, concern starkly written across his face.

A harmonious atmosphere surrounded them, and the heartwarming sight made Selena feel like an outsider.

Just as she was about to leave, the nurse making her rounds spoke up, catching the attention of the occupants of the room.

"Who are you? Are you here to visit a patient?"

Everyone in the room turned to look in the direction of the door. Upon spotting Selena, Zachary instantly let go of Lucine's hand.

Lucine's brow furrowed in response, a displeased look crossing her face, but it was gone in an instant. When she noticed the wounds on Selena, her eyes gleamed slyly.

"Selena, why didn't you come in since you're already here? Don't worry, I don't blame you."

The moment those words left her lips, not just everyone in the room, but even Selena was frozen to the spot in surprise.

Zachary frowned slightly and asked, "Lucy, what do you mean by that?"

Lucine pretended to shoot Selena a wary glance before hurriedly waving her hands. "I-It's nothing."

Liam immediately said sternly, "I'm here, so you don't need to be scared."

Pursing her lips, Lucine hesitated briefly before answering, "I took a liking to a necklace at the mall today, and Zach gifted it to me, which upset Selena. Soon after that, the mall's roof collapsed. I shoved Zach away and was originally able to escape, but Selena dragged me back…"

She trailed off at the end, but there was no need to continue speaking. The aftermath of that was evident.

Liam slammed his hand down on the table, the sheer force causing water to spill out of the glass on it.

"Selena Yane, is it that impossible for you to accept your younger sister? You're not the only daughter of the Yane family!"

Zachary jumped up from his seat and forcefully yanked Selena into the room.

The harsh movement tugged at Selena's injuries, and she bit her lip tightly at the pain.

"Selena, apologize to Lucy!"

Their gazes locked, and that was when Zachary noticed the utterly repulsed look in her eyes. It was something he had never seen in her before.

His heart skipped a beat, but he still ordered, "You've done something wrong, so it's only right that you apologize!"

Selena jerked her arm out of his grip, saying, "Why should I apologize for what I didn't do?"

Hearing that, Liam stepped forward and slapped Selena on the left cheek. The force of the blow was so powerful that Selena had to support herself with the end of the bed to remain standing.

"It seems I've been too lenient all these years and spoiled you too much that you've become this arrogant! If I had known you would turn out like this, I wouldn't have allowed you to be born back then! Why couldn't it have been you who went missing?"

Selena simply found the way Liam was treating her like his worst enemy utterly laughable.

Wiping the blood trickling from the corner of her lips, she retorted, "I wish I had been the one to go missing."

With that said, Selena left the room without looking back.

It was only then that Zachary noticed the wounds on Selena's body and the blood seeping through the bandages. The bright red was a particularly jarring sight.

He moved to chase after her, but was tugged back by Lucine grabbing his hand.

Her brow was tightly furrowed, and a pained grimace crossed her face as she said, "Zach, my leg hurts."

This one sentence successfully caused Zachary to stop in his tracks. Turning around, he continued to comfort Lucine. "Be good now. The doctor has already seen to your leg, so it'll stop hurting in a bit."

After that, he turned to gaze in the direction Selena had left, an indecipherable look in his eyes.