Limping slightly, I pushed open the door to Gavin’s office.
Savanna was there, posing gleefully for selfies. She flaunted an engagement ring on her hand–one I hadn’t seen before.
Instinctively, I glanced at my hand. The spot where my wedding ring used to be was now
bare.
It must have slipped off during the accident.
But I still remembered when Gavin knelt before me, sliding that ring onto my finger.
He’d held my hand, his gaze reverent.
“Aria, take my hand, and I’ll never let go.”
“This is custom–made, like our love. One of a kind.”
Now, both the ring and the love it symbolized were gone.
Savanna turned, sensing my presence.
Our
eyes met, and for a moment, I froze.
The bitter irony hit me: she looked like my younger version.
“Can I help you?” she asked, her tone light but her eyes glinting with challenge.
Her familiarity with me was telling. She knew exactly who I was.
“I heard you want something of mine,” I said calmly. “I came to tell you I’m not giving it up.”
Savanna smirked, her voice dripping with condescension. “Something of yours? Oh, do you mean the caregiver I just hired? Or perhaps something else?”
I understood her implication but didn’t dignify it with a reaction.
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18:56 Thu, Dec 12 RGB
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“Whatever it is, you can’t take it from me.”
“If I want it, I’ll have it,” she snapped.
Looking at her face–both familiar and foreign–I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Savanna, do you think you’re so bold because you’ve stolen the title of Mrs. Carter?” I taunted. “Or are you just a pitiful little pet bird?”
Her face went pale, her bravado crumbling like a house of cards. She looked like a kitten pretending to be fierce.
I wheeled myself closer, leaned in, and slapped her hard across the face.
“Let me make this clear,” I said, enunciating every word. “Mistresses don’t get to act out
of turn.”
The venom in my words sent her reeling.
Suddenly, something heavy struck my back.
The impact reopened my wounds, and I collapsed, shattering a nearby mirror as I fell.
Ilay on the floor amidst broken glass, struggling to breathe as pain engulfed me.
Through the haze, I saw Gavin rushing to Savanna’s side, his face full of concern.
His voice was like ice as he barked orders.
“Are you all useless? Get her out of here!”
