The Wife Who walked away Richer

's wife." The woman wearing my necklace smiled at me, warm and sweet. "I'm Victoria. I'm so sorry I didn't wake you for dinner." "It's fine," I managed, my voice coming out steadier

t her university. He followed her to the living room, listening intently. "Clear the table," Eleanor said to me, not even looking in my direction. I stared at her. "We have staff for that." "They're not here right now. And we have a guest." Her tone was sharp. "Or are you too good to help in your own home?" With Victoria watching from the living room, with Lucas right there, I swallowed my anger. I started gathering plates, my hands shaking slightly. I was scraping leftovers into the trash when Lucas appeared in the kitchen doorway. My back was to him, but I could feel his presence. "My mother is just excited," he said. Not an apology. Just a statement. I didn't turn around. "That necklace Victoria is wearing. Where did it come from?" "What necklace?" "The diamond one. I saw the box in your car this afternoon." There was a pause but when he spoke up again, his voice was cold, as if I was trying to prove difficult . "My assistant handles those purchases. I just sign off on them." My hands stilled on the plate I was rinsing. "So you didn't buy it for anyone specifically?" "I don't keep track of every item purchased." His tone was flat, almost bored. "If you want jewelry, just tell me what you want. I'll have something sent over." The words should have been reassuring. Instead, they felt hollow, perfunctory. Like he was placating a child. I turned to face him, drying my hands on a towel. He looked tired, his tie loosened, but there was no warmth in his eyes. He wasn't here to comfort me. He was here to smooth things over, to make sure I wouldn't cause problems. "Why do you like making issues out of little things? She is my sister, whom I haven't seen for two years," he said, his eyes slowly filling with irritation. "It's just a necklace, you of all people should understand better." At his tone, my anger slowly melted away. Truly, it was just a necklace and it is only reasonable that he would gift his sister since they've not seen for long. Maybe I was reading too much into things. Maybe his assistant really had just bought it randomly, and Victoria happened to receive it. Maybe I was being paranoid. "Okay," I said quietly. "I believe