I Gave My Heart to My Sister's Boyfriend

Chapter 8

Before the words had fully faded, Jayden's eyes turned lifeless and cold.

"Liora, you are truly despicable!" Jayden spat, his voice dripping with contempt. "I'm no better—still hung up on a woman like you. What a joke."

Liora clenched her fists until her nails dug into her palms, fighting the overwhelming urge to run after him and explain the truth. She watched numbly as he disappeared from view, her heart aching too deeply for tears to form.

Jayden, hate me, she thought silently. It will make forgetting easier.

Nearby, Isabella observed the scene, her eyes burning with venomous jealousy. A moment later, a shrill cry rang out from the hallway downstairs.

"Oh no! My crystal bracelet broke—the one you just gave me!" Isabella wailed, her voice trembling with feigned distress. "I've barely worn it!"

Dread pooled in Liora's stomach. Right on cue, Jayden's icy voice cut through the air.

"Liora," Jayden commanded, not even looking at her. "Retrieve every last crystal bead for Isabella. Not one missing. Don't come back until you've found them all."

Isabella tilted her head, offering a saccharine smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Do be careful, Sister. There are exactly twenty beads—not one less."

Gritting her teeth against the searing pain radiating from her artificial heart, Liora dropped to her knees to begin her search. Suddenly, someone killed the chandeliers, plunging the grand banquet hall into oppressive darkness.

Unseen feet kicked the scattered beads into shadowed corners. Liora's fingers finally closed around one bead—only for a sharp stiletto heel to crush her hand down onto the hard floor. Before she could scream, a heavy leather shoe stomped onto her other wrist, pinning her helpless.

Looking up through the gloom, she met the smug grins of pampered socialites surrounding her.

"Liora, you should have known better than to cross her," one of the women sneered.

It was clearly Isabella's doing. These same people, who had once groveled at Liora's feet, now followed Jayden's lead without hesitation after the Jialing incident.

Through the gaps between their bodies, Liora glimpsed Jayden in the distance. He was laughing carelessly as Isabella clung to his arm. Her vision began to darken at the edges. As if sensing her gaze, Jayden glanced toward her trapped form before turning back to kiss Isabella full on the mouth.

Her heart shattered like glass. She remembered the boy who had once beaten a man bloody just for insulting her name. She had gotten her wish—he had moved on.

With a bitter smile, Liora wiped the blood from her lips. Enduring the agony of being trampled, she gathered the crystal beads one by one.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly. When she finally collected the last bead, the banquet hall stood empty and silent, the guests long gone.

Liora stared at her mangled hand—now a pulpy mess of flesh and bone—and let out a hollow, self-mocking laugh. A frigid night wind knifed through her flimsy dress, and she suddenly retched, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the pristine marble. Her body was failing her.

Yet, she doggedly pressed on, delivering the recovered beads to the villa.

Jayden took the repaired bracelet without expression and, right before her eyes, tossed it into the trash bin.

"I had these blessed at the church myself," Jayden said coldly. "Now they're tainted. What spiritual worth could they possibly hold? They aren't even fit to wear."

Then, softening his voice instantly for Isabella, he turned away. "Tonight, I'll take you to the auction. You may have as many bracelets as you desire, understood?"

Isabella immediately cooed, throwing herself against him. "Jayden, you're so sweet!"

Rooted to the spot, Liora choked back the iron tang of blood rising in her throat, terrified that a single drop might betray the true extent of her agony.