7
In the final days of my life, I busied myself with preparing for the end.
While packing, I realized I couldn’t find the bracelet my grandmother had given me before she passed.
It wasn’t valuable, but she’d worn it her entire life.
I mentally retraced my steps and realized I must have left it behind during the move.
I called Ryan to ask if he could help me look for it.
His voice was irritated, telling me he didn’t have time and that I should just go get it myself.
The door code hadn’t changed.
I figured I’d wait until he was at work, go back to the Downtown Loft, and avoid running into him.
With that plan in mind, I drove over.
I searched the master bedroom, then the guest room, the living room, and the closet–nothing.
12:31 PM
<
I was so focused on finding the bracelet that I didn’t notice night had fallen.
I grabbed my bag, ready to leave before Ryan got home.
But just as I reached the living room, I froze.
.
Claire was sitting on Ryan’s lap, her shirt half–off, while Ryan lay passed out on the couch, reeking of alcohol, muttering my name in his sleep.
In my previous life, I had only ever suspected that something was going on between them, catching glimpses of their flirtation.
But seeing it with my own eyes, the pain in my chest felt like a knife twisting into my heart.
Watching the scene spiral into something worse, I couldn’t hold back a cold laugh.
“He’s calling out another woman’s name, and yet here you are, carrying on. How do you stomach it?”
Claire whipped her head around, startled, and her expression turned to shock when she saw me.
She quickly scrambled to pull up her shirt and get off Ryan.
Her face burning with humiliation, she spat angrily at me, “What are you doing here?”
I just stared at her, unbothered by her outburst, and let out a soundless laugh. I turned to leave.
Apparently, my indifference infuriated her. Forgetting to even fix her clothes, she chased after me and blocked the doorway.
“Answer me! What the hell are you doing here, Nina? You got your divorce. Why can’t you just leave us alone?!”
Her fury was met with nothing but a calm, icy look from me as I shot back, “If you want to talk about being shameless, I’m nowhere near your
level.”
It was obvious I was referring to what I’d just walked in on.
She had tried to take advantage of Ryan being drunk to force herself on him.
It was beyond pathetic.
Furious, Claire raised a hand to shove me, but I caught her wrist before she could.
“I almost forgot, you’ve been staying in my house. Have you seen this bracelet while you were in my room?”
I pulled out my phone and showed her a photo of it.
Claire glanced at the picture, then suddenly sneered.
“Oh, your grandmother’s bracelet, huh? She treasured that old thing like it was worth something. It’s just cheap silver.
It broke the moment I tried it on. I threw it away. It was practically falling apart.”
Threw it away?
Rage flared in my chest, and I tightened my grip on her wrist.
“Where did you throw it?!” I demanded, my voice trembling with fury.
But then I stopped, something dawning on me. “How did you know that was my grandmother’s bracelet? And how did you know she cherished it? Have you met her before?”
