Chapter 5

“Oh my God!” Vivienne screamed as she clung to Jerome's arm. “They're going to kill us! Jerome, please... I'm so scared.”

Jerome's face darkened. “Stay behind me. I'll get you out of here first. No one is going to touch you while I'm here.”

Without hesitation, he opened the door on Vivienne's side.

Several Partridge bodyguards rushed forward.

“Protect Miss Vivienne!” Jerome ordered. “Get her to safety immediately.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist and quickly pulled her out of the SUV.

“Jerome!” I reached toward him, my voice shaking. “What about me? Don't leave me here!”

But he ran with Vivienne surrounded by his guards and leave me behind.

Again.

The SUV rocked harder until the windows finally shattered. The street junkies rushed inside.

I shrank into the corner. “No! Please... I don't have anything. Please leave me alone.”

Nobody listened.

They grabbed everything they could. My purse, my jewelry, my watch, even my wedding ring.

Someone ripped the diamond earrings from my ears.

The pain made me cry out.

Another person yanked away the necklace Jerome once gave me.

Then rough hands grabbed my clothes.

“No!” I fought back with what little strength I had left. “Please don't touch me! Please!”

My soaked dress tore apart with a loud rip.

Cold air hit my bare skin.

I hugged myself as tightly as I could. The greed in their eyes disappeared. Something much worse replaced it.

One of them laughed.

“Damn... she's beautiful!”

Another reached toward me.

“I've never touched a woman like this before.”

Fear swallowed me whole.

“No...” Tears streamed down my face. “Please... someone help me...”

Was this really how everything was going to end?

Abandoned by my husband. Humiliated in the middle of the street.

Then sirens echoed through the air.

Several police cruisers and Partridge security vehicles sped toward us.

“Police!” one of the officers shouted. “Back away from the vehicle! Move now!”

The addicts immediately scattered in every direction and within seconds, they were gone.

I stayed curled up in the corner of the destroyed SUV, unable to stop shaking or crying. Pieces of my dress barely covered my body.

An elderly woman from a nearby store slowly approached. “Oh, sweetheart...” she said gently as she removed her cardigan and wrapped it around my shoulders. “You're safe now. Everything's alright.”

Safe.

Was I?

I didn't even know what that word meant anymore.

With her help, I somehow made it back to the Partridge estate.

The familiar gates came into view.

The place I'd once called home... Now it felt colder than any prison.

I took one more step but everything around me started spinning.

The last bit of strength left my body, and darkness swallowed me after I collapsed right in front of the gates of the Partridge estate.

…

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the same luxurious bedroom that had started feeling more like a prison.

Jerome was sitting beside my bed. The moment he saw my eyes open, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Lori...” He reached for my hand. “What happened today... I'm sorry. I didn't handle it well.” His brows pulled together as he looked at me. “The situation got out of control so fast. Vivi was terrified and completely panicked, so I had to get her somewhere safe first. But the second I knew she was safe, I sent my men back for you. I swear I did. I would've never left you there on purpose, so... please don't hate me.”

I quietly looked at his face.

Another excuse.

Another lie.

He didn't save Vivienne first because she was in greater danger. He saved her because she mattered more.

It was really that simple.

Everything else, every explanation, every apology, every promise, was only there to hide the truth.

The truth was that if he had to choose between us...

He'd always choose her.

My chest hurt so much I thought I might break apart. Anger, grief, pain, and disappointment mixed together until I couldn't even tell which emotion was stronger anymore.

In the end, I smiled. A small, broken smile.

Tears quietly slipped down the sides of my face.

“You don't have to explain anything,” I whispered. My voice barely sounded like mine anymore. “I understand. I really do.”

Jerome froze.

It was almost like he'd expected me to cry or scream.

Instead... I simply accepted it.

He stared at me for a long moment. Something flickered across his face.

He gently pulled me into his arms.

“I'm sorry,” he said softly. “I've already dealt with everyone involved. Those people who attacked you are gone. They'll never threaten you or anyone else again.” His arms tightened around me. “I promise you, Lori. I'll never let anyone hurt you again.”

I almost laughed.

Anyone? The only person who had ever truly destroyed me... Was him.

Everything I'd suffered. Every scar. Every nightmare. Every tear I'd cried. Every bit of pain...

Started with Jerome.

...

After that day, he seemed determined to make up for everything.

Every morning, expensive gifts filled my room. Rare medicines, designer clothes, jewelry worth millions, fresh flowers. Anything I looked at for more than a second somehow ended up in my hands. He granted almost every wish before I even asked.

The servants whispered that the future Don had become even more obsessed with his wife.

But none of it reached my heart anymore.

I accepted everything quietly.

My heart had already died and nothing could bring it back.

...

A few days later, Donna Anastasia, the wife of one of the most respected mafia dons in the city, hosted an exclusive garden party for the women of every powerful mafia family.

Jerome didn't want me going alone, so even though it was meant to be a gathering for the ladies, he came with me anyway.

The moment we arrived, he slipped his hand around mine. He stayed beside me the entire time. He carried my drink, adjusted my shawl whenever the wind blew, asked if I was tired, if I was hungry, if I wanted to leave.

Everyone watched us.

“I swear, Jerome Partridge is the perfect husband.”

“I've never seen the future Don treat anyone this gently.”

“Donna Lorelie is so lucky.”

“They're still so in love after all these years.”

Their voices followed me everywhere.

Every compliment felt like another slap across my face.

If only they knew the truth.

If only they knew the man they admired had destroyed his own wife with his own hands.

Then Vivienne arrived.

She walked into the garden with her usual graceful smile. She greeted everyone politely as if she belonged there.

But the moment she heard everyone praising Jerome for loving me, I saw it—her eyes slowly turned cold.

Halfway through the party, Donna Anastasia clapped her hands with a smile. “I've prepared a little competition for everyone. Since we're all gathered here today, let's make things a little more exciting.”

Several bodyguards rolled out a professional shooting range with moving targets.

“The winner gets this,” Donna Anastasia announced as a velvet box was opened.

The moment I saw what was inside, I stopped breathing.

A white diamond butterfly brooch.

No...

That couldn't be! My hands started shaking.

It was my mother's.

She gave it to me when I was little. Seven years ago, after my mother's private jet crashed, everything she owned disappeared during the investigation. I searched for that brooch for years. I thought it was gone forever.

How did it end up here?