Broken amethyst
Chapter 1
College days, Ethan, the campus ice king,
chased me for two years before I finally
agreed to go out with him.
The day we got together, I gave him three
keepsakes.
I told him, “Ethan, these three things are the
most important things in my life.”
“You must never lose them. If these three
things are gone, you’ll never find me again.”
We were happy, eventually walking down the
aisle. With my help, his company grew
stronger and stronger.
But everything changed the day his first love,
Lana, returned from overseas.
Lana tore up our marriage certificate. Ethan,
who’d never raised his voice at me before,
said,
“It’s just a marriage certificate! We can get a
<
new one. Why are you making such a big deal
out of it? Apologize to Lana.”
Lana had been robbed overseas, and Ethan,
who always believed in me, suddenly
questioned me.
“Lori, I told you Lana and I are just friends.
Why can’t you understand? You even sent
people to rob her and hurt her overseas. Now,
go apologize to Lana!”
Then, one day, I saw my keepsakes on Lana.
That’s when I gave up.
I decided to take back those three things that
were so important to me.
But when the three things disappeared, Ethan
went crazy.
- 1.
“Why are the things I gave you on Lana?”
I tried to control my emotions, to keep from
exploding.
In Lana’s Instagram post, the necklace I
<
designed was clearly visible around Lana’s
neck.
That necklace was the first one I designed
completely on my own.
It was also the first necklace I ever won a
design competition with.
It meant the world to me.
“What things? Lori, don’t push it.”
“Do you hate Lana this much now?”
“Let me tell you, even though we’re married,
the things I give away aren’t automatically
yours.
On the other end of the phone, Ethan spoke
coldly.
His words were like daggers piercing my
heart.
I understood. He’d forgotten the necklace,
forgotten the keepsakes I gave him. Saying
anything more was pointless.
“My necklace.”
く
I gritted out those four words.
Finally, Ethan’s voice faltered, his breathing
ragged.
“Lori, it was my oversight. I’ll go get it back
from Lana right away.
There was panic in Ethan’s voice, but I didn’t
want to hear any more.
I hung up, heartbroken.
Looking back at the past year since Lana’s
return, I realized I’d been lying to myself.
I’d told myself Ethan and Lana’s alone trip.
was for work.
I’d told myself that Ethan coming home drunk
was because of business dinners.
I’d even told myself that those strange marks
on his body were from a fall.
It finally dawned on me; I couldn’t lie to
myself anymore.
This relationship was over.
After hanging up, I decided to drive to
<
Ethan’s office to get my necklace back.
But as soon as I arrived, I heard unusual
sounds from inside.
“Lana, give me the necklace back. I’ll get your
a better one later.”
Ethan’s voice was incredibly gentle, a tone he
hadn’t used with me in ages.
“Ethan, you called me here just to get the
necklace back?”
“So, I’m still not as important as Lori to you?
One call from her and you get back
something you gave me seriously.”
“Lana, it’s not like that…”
“It’s okay, Ethan. You’ve married her now, so
you have to do what she wants. You’re not
mine anymore.”
Lana’s words hung in the air, leaving a long
silence.
After about a minute, Ethan spoke again.
“Assistant, find a way to make an exact
L
replica of the necklace Lana’s wearing…”
He said this in front of Lana, meaning he
wanted to make a copy and give it back to
- me.
Didn’t he know?! How important that necklace
was to me?
I couldn’t take it anymore. I threw open the
door.
Ethan hadn’t put down the phone. When he
saw me, a flicker of panic crossed his eyes.
“Lori, don’t you know how to knock before
entering someone else’s office?”
His words stunned me.
Someone else?
Those words echoed in my head, a searing
pain.
My prepared words died in my throat.
Perhaps seeing my silence, Ethan realized
he’d said something wrong.
