Chapter 4 The Countdown
The brooch was a gift from Antonio for their third
anniversary. Grace cherished it very much. But it went missing during the move a few weeks ago.
“Why would my brooch be here…” Grace murmured. She had sort of guessed it and her anxiety grew.
A breeze of wind blew over. Grace remembered something that happened a few weeks ago. Claire had come to Grace with the brooch in her hand. She asked with a smile, “Grace, is this brooch your favorite gift? It’s beautiful. But I never saw you wear it.”
“I keep it in the box in case I lose it,” Grace answered casually.
Claire looked down at the brooch and asked in an innocent
tone, “Can I wear it?”
Grace didn’t think too much of it and nodded. She never thought it’d lead to the end of her and Antonio.
Grace clenched the brooch. Tears had blurred her vision. But she finally clearly saw why Antonio changed and why Claire kept on pushing her.
Grace slowly got up and dropped the brooch back into the paper bag before tossing the bag aside. It felt like she had thrown away a heavy past. She took a deep breath, balled up her fists, and staggered toward a taxi.
Grace returned to the mansion. It was pitch dark and as silent as a graveyard. But she didn’t turn on the lights and merely
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dragged herself to the living room before plopping down on the cold floor.
The room was filled with wedding decorations. Her wedding dress was hanging on a coat hanger. The ring box was sitting on the table quietly. Everything in the room reminded her that her wedding was coming. The wedding she planned all by herself.
Grace looked at and stared at the calendar on the wall. It said ten days till the wedding. Grace paused for a while and ripped off the piece of paper that had the word “wedding” on it. She even crossed the word out with a pen. Grace smiled bitterly, “Not a countdown for my wedding, but a countdown of me leaving here.”
She stood up and went to her wardrobe. She threw the dresses she picked out specially for the wedding into a suitcase. As her fingers grazed the wedding dress, her eyes widened. Grace had tried the dress on five times before deciding on this one. But she was never going to wear it now.
Grace stared at the wedding dress and felt the stink in her eyes. In the end, she didn’t keep the tears at bay and broke down crying. She covered her mouth tightly and the sobs still slipped through her fingers.
For the past few days, Grace had been telling herself to stay calm and strong. But every time she saw something related to her wedding, she felt her heart break a little.
She slowly crouched down, covering her face with her hands. Her shoulders were shaking slightly as tears dripped down through her fingers.
“Why…” Grace muttered. She sounded so lonely in the quiet
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Chapter 4 The Countdown
room. “Why are you doing this to me?”
She was thinking about Antonio. They had been through so much together. He was her first love. She helped him start his business and stayed by his side devotedly. She even gave up her dream for Antonio’s career. She used to believe they’d grow old together.
And now?
Grace couldn’t even figure out when Antonio stopped loving her. Maybe…he never loved her in the first place.
