Chapter 4

Josie Barnett POV:

His words, amplified by the sudden silence, hit me like a physical blow. The air felt thin, suffocating. I could hear the hammer fall, sharp and final. My mother' s necklace was gone.

Chaney, draped in emeralds, held the pendant up, a triumphant smile plastered across her face. Christopher watched her, his eyes filled with adoration. My chest tightened, a cold, hard knot of pain. I felt like I was drowning.

"Some people just can't compete," a snide voice whispered near me. "Know your place, darling."

I stood up, my legs wobbly. I had to get out. I walked, no, I fled, through the opulent ballroom, the glittering lights now feeling like shards of glass. The cold night air was a welcome shock.

My phone buzzed. A text. I almost dropped it. It was from the research foundation. Ms. Barnett, your fellowship is confirmed. Five years. High security clearance. We look forward to your arrival.

A wave of relief, so potent it made my knees weak, washed over me. It was real. My escape was real.

I leaned against a lamppost, the city lights blurring through the sudden tears. It's over. The thought was a prayer, a promise. I was done with this life. Done with him.

I went back to my dorm, not the penthouse. I curled up on my bed, pulling the covers tight around me. Sleep came quickly, a deep, exhausted slumber.

The next morning, a loud gasp from my roommate jolted me awake. "Josie! Oh my god, Josie, don't look!"

She was holding her phone, her eyes wide with concern. She tried to hide it, but I snatched it from her.

The headline screamed: "Billionaire Christopher Kirkland Spends Millions on Vintage Sapphire for Reunited Love, Chaney Weiss!"

There, on the screen, was a picture of Christopher, his arm around Chaney, her hand clutching the very necklace I had tried to buy. His face was alight, a genuine, unguarded smile I had rarely seen directed at me. He looked at her like she was his entire world.

He really loves her. The thought struck me, cold and clear. He hadn't just bought her a necklace; he had bought her a piece of my past, a piece of my mother's memory, and he' d done it for her. The way he loved her was with a fierce, unapologetic passion. The way he 'loved' me was with expensive trinkets and empty promises.

A bitter laugh escaped me. He'd never looked at me with such open devotion. Never.

"I'm fine," I told my roommate, my voice flat. I handed back her phone. "Really."

I thought that would be the end of it. That he would finally forget about me, wrapped up in his rekindled romance. I was wrong.

My phone vibrated again. A text from Christopher. Meet me at the penthouse. Now.

My heart pounded, a dull, heavy thud. I went. Just one more time. One last act in his play.

The moment the elevator doors opened, a strange smell hit me. Paint, plaster, new wood. The penthouse was a construction zone. Walls were torn down, furniture covered in white sheets. It was unrecognizable.

"What's happening?" I asked the housekeeper, her face grim.

She wrung her hands. "Mr. Kirkland is redecorating, ma'am. For Ms. Weiss. She wants a more... modern feel."

My stomach dropped. "My things? My books? My photographs?"

"All cleared out, ma'am," she said, her voice softer now, almost apologetic. "Ms. Weiss preferred a minimalist aesthetic. Said they cluttered the space."

Cluttered the space. My sentimental belongings, the few personal touches I had dared to add, had been deemed clutter. My small collection of medical textbooks, the framed photo of my parents, the worn blanket my grandmother had knitted. All gone.

This wasn't just a redecoration. This was an erasure. An eradication of any trace I had ever existed within these walls. This place, which had once briefly felt like a sanctuary, a temporary home, was now being remade for his 'true' love.

A sharp, unbearable pain shot through me, stronger than any humiliation. He hadn't just removed my things. He had removed me. He had taken the last vestige of a shared space, a shared life, and wiped it clean.