CHAPTER 3: Bracelet

CLAIRE'S POV,

I stood at the entrance, frozen, unsure where to go or what to say. For minutes, no one noticed me. I lingered, feeling like a ghost, a silent witness to a life I didn’t belong to.

Finally, Charlotte’s eyes flickered in my direction. A slow, pitying smile curled onto her lips as she said, in that sweet, saccharine voice that made my skin crawl, “Oh, Claire is here.”

“What?” Leonard’s mother’s voice rang out in sharp, cold surprise, her glare like a dagger. “What is she doing here? Who invited her?”

A small smile tugged at Charlotte’s lips, a look of pure, practised innocence on her face as she gazed up at Leonard.

“I’m so sorry. I know today is your anniversary,” she said with an apologetic sigh. “But we just got some wonderful news, and Leo was so excited to share it with everyone.”

A chill spread through my body, cold and unrelenting. I felt as though the ground was slipping from beneath me. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. All I could do was stare at her, sitting there so comfortably, as though she were the one who belonged here—as if I were the intruder.

And then, Leonard appeared at her side, a glass of red wine in his hand, his face glowing with a brightness I hadn’t seen in a long time.

His eyes flickered to me, and for a brief moment, I felt a surge of hope. Maybe he would come to me, I thought. Maybe he’d hold me, kiss me, apologize for being late, for missing our anniversary.

But he didn’t. Instead, he looked back at her, his eyes filled with a tenderness that crushed me.

“Claire,” he said, his tone casual, like he was greeting an acquaintance instead of his wife. “You won’t believe it. One of the best doctors from Germany is coming to treat Charlotte. There’s a real chance she might walk again.”

He spoke with such excitement, such joy, his smile wide and unguarded. His eyes sparkled, his whole face alight with a happiness he hadn’t shown me in years. And it wasn’t for me. It wasn’t for us.

A sharp, suffocating ache gripped my chest, my breath coming in short, uneven gasps as I tried to process what he’d just said. He’d forgotten our date.

He’d missed our anniversary lunch. And here he was, standing beside her, celebrating her, as if I were invisible.

“Leo…” I took a hesitant step forward, reaching into my bag and feeling the pregnancy report clutched tightly in my hand. “I… I have something important to tell you too.”

“What?” He barely glanced at me, his focus already shifting back to Charlotte. But after a moment, he sighed and gestured for me to follow him. “Fine. Come with me.”

He led me down a narrow hallway, his hand light on my back, guiding me as though I were some secret he was trying to hide.

He brought me to a small guest room, closing the door behind to shut out the sounds of laughter and celebration. For the first time that day, he turned to me with a warm, familiar look, and before I could stop myself, I melted into his arms.

I clung to him, desperate for any bit of comfort he could give.

“I’m sorry, Claire,” he murmured, his breath soft against my hair. “I know it’s our anniversary, and I didn’t mean to make you feel… forgotten.”

The tears I’d held back broke free, slipping silently down my cheeks. Those simple words, that small apology, were all I’d wanted.

For a moment, all the anger and disappointment melted away, replaced by a desperate, fragile hope. Maybe he did care. Maybe he hadn’t forgotten me entirely.

I gathered the courage to finally tell him the truth.

“Leonard,” I whispered, my voice filled with hope. “I have something I need to tell you…”

“Wait,” he interrupted, pulling back with a smile. “Let me go first.” He reached into his pocket, his eyes glinting with excitement as he brought out a small velvet box.

My heart fluttered. “A gift?”

“Yes, for my lovely wife,” he said, his words gentle, his tone affectionate. He opened the box, revealing a delicate diamond bracelet that shimmered under the light. It was beautiful—stunning, even. But as I looked closer, a cold realization settled over me.

The bracelet. It looked almost identical to the diamond necklace Charlotte was wearing that night.

A nauseating dread filled my stomach. It was a matching set...

But I ignored it for the time being even when my heart was crushed, because there was something more important that I needed to tell him. I knew I could talk about it later.

“Leonard,” I started, swallowing the lump in my throat, forcing myself to speak despite the pain that clawed at my heart. “I-I have something to tell you. I’m…”

But before I could finish, a voice broke through the silence—a soft, insistent call from outside the door.

“Leo? Where are you? I need you.”