Jonathan’s eyelids lifted slightly, betraying a flicker of emotion.
He shouldn’t have been surprised by this outcome.
Ever since that day at Blackspire, after he’d shown Niamh the divorce papers, it was as if she’d plucked him clean out of her life.
The very night she received the papers, Niamh had walked out of the hotel and wasted no time cozying up with Julian.
And now…
Now, Elmer was by her side.
Elmer noticed Jonathan’s fists clenching tightly at his sides.
“Mr. Thomas, visiting a patient depends on what the patient wants. I think it’s best you head home.”
Jonathan didn’t waste a single word. He simply turned and left.
It was the dead of winter, yet he broke out in a sweat just from running out of the building.
Only to be shut out at the door.
For the first time, Jonathan felt like a complete fool.
From her hospital bed, Niamh could see the cityscape through her window with just a careless glance.
Down below, Jonathan was striding toward his imperial blue Bentley.
Elmer entered the room, noticing how Niamh had just turned her gaze away from
the window.
“Apple, strawberry, mango, grapes… Which one would you like?”
“Hmm… I’ll stick with an apple.”
Elmer picked up a freshly washed apple, ready to peel it for her.
“I can do it myself,” Niamh said, reaching out her hand.
“You’ve got bandages all over your hands!” Elmer reminded her, and Niamh finally looked down at her fingers, wrapped thickly like a mummy. She gave a wry smile. “You’re right. I’m the patient now.”
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Barely had Niamh been admitted to the hospital when Marina, together with Susy, organized a cocktail party.
The guest list? Every single one of Niamh’s clients.
Most of Niamh’s current clients were people she’d met at that gala attended by Queen Elizabeth, so it hadn’t been hard for Susy to get in touch with them.
At the party, Marina took the stage, microphone in hand, radiant under the lights.
It had been a long time since she’d been the center of attention like this.
This felt right.
A confident smile played on Marina’s lips.
She hadn’t invited Jonathan to this gathering–she was saving that for later.
“Ladies and gentlemen, let me assure you-
S
Marina’s voice rang out. “At the gala, it was Niamh who set me up. She secretly swapped my crown with the children’s tiara I designed.”
Of course, talk is cheap
The guests weren’t about to take her at her word.
“In two days, I’ll go head–to–head with Niamh, right in front of everyone, restoring antique jewelry for the Solmaris Museum. We’ll see, before all of our peers, whose skills are real and whose are nothing but smoke and mirrors.”
“I’ll make sure Niamh loses–fair and square–in front of the whole industry.”
Marina’s bold declaration filled her with anticipation, already picturing her own triumph.
x
Susy had been eager to get back at Niamh ever since the humiliation at the wedding, but Marina hadn’t seen her act yet.
So Marina reached out to Susy, probing her intentions.
से
1+
12
+
—
Susy’s original plan had been to get a gang of thugs to rough Niamh up.
But to Marina, that wasn’t nearly enough.
P
If they were going to do it, they might as well go all the way.
She knew that Niamh had gotten the opportunity to restore antique jewelry for the Solmaris Museum, thanks to a client’s recommendation.
Niamh’s career was finding its feet again, and she even had a new protector by her side, while Marina’s own fortunes–both professional and romantic–were on the
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decline.
It felt, to Marina, as if Niamh had stolen her luck, her spotlight, everything that should have belonged to her.
So she told Susy to pass along a new message to the thugs: don’t just rough Niamh up. Ruin her hands. Break her fingers, one by one.
