Chapter 3
“Copied someone else’s work?”
Bernadette’s heart gave a hard thump. When she looked at the comparison photo the Crowley Group sent, she almost laughed–it was ridiculous.
There was nothing similar in that picture except the basic structure. If that counted as copying, then the whole architecture world was guilty.
She called Nolan right away and said straight out, “I didn’t plagiarize.”
Nolan did not argue. He just said calmly, “The project team decided to go with Jessica’s design.
!!
Just like that, every word Bernadette wanted to say got stuck in her throat.
She wanted to ask, “Did the team really choose Jessica, or did you?”
Her throat tightened. The question burned on the tip of her tongue, but she could not get it out.
Her eyes landed on the crystal tape measure on her desk–the one Nolan gave her once! She closed her eyes, then asked quietly, “Do you believe
me?”
“You’ve made enough money these past few years.‘
”
His tone on the other end was flat and calm. There was not a shred of warmth in it.
Bernadette froze for a second before she got what he really meant.
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Back when Nolan was just starting out, he worked closely with her studio. All the prices for those projects were way lower than the market.
Yet, in his eyes, all that was just her cashing in on him.
It felt like someone stabbed her right in the chest, and the blood that spilled was ice cold.
***
Even though the deal with the Crowley Group was over, Nesta was thrilled. She was still laughing as if nothing had happened.
That evening, Bernadette got a call from the hospital saying that Nolan’s mother was being discharged today.
When she got downstairs, she saw Nolan’s car waiting.
“Get in.”
Bernadette looked at his cold face, her feelings all tangled up.
The car drove straight to the hospital. Then, Bernadette went upstairs to help Annalisa Heenan pack her things.
Right when she was about to leave, she noticed the trash can in the ward. It was stuffed with unopened gifts Nolan’s grandmother had sent from Pennsylvania.
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Her heart squeezed tight. She quietly picked them out of the trash and tucked them into her bag.
Annalisa walked faster than her. The second she got in the car, she sat herself in the front seat and gave Bernadette a look through the rearview mirror.
A
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She started complaining to Nolan in Los Angeles accent. “Your
grandfather always liked your older brother best. Now he’s about to get engaged to the Naughton Group’s heiress, so of course he’s the general manager and you’re stuck as deputy!
“I don’t know what you were thinking when you married this woman.
She’s useless.”
Nolan was an illegitimate child.
After his father passed, the chairman of the Colfield Group sent both grandsons into the company to fight for the inheritance.
Annalisa had never liked Bernadette as her background was no help to Nolan. So, she would say stuff like this so many times.
Bernadette sat quietly in the back seat, staring at Nolan’s silent face in the mirror. Her heart just sank, bit by bit.
In the past, when his mom talked like this, Nolan would argue back for her. Yet, over time, he just got used to it.
Little by little, Nolan’s silence turned into a silent agreement in Annalisa’s eyes. The worse her words got, the more he just let her talk.
And now, Bernadette could not even tell if his silence meant he felt trapped–or if he actually agreed.
After dropping Annalisa off at her villa, Nolan turned the car around to head back.
Bernadette leaned her head on the window and watched the snow swirl outside. Out of nowhere, she asked, “Do you regret marrying me?”
Nolan did not say a word.
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The silence in the car felt heavy.
Bernadette felt cold all over like the heater could not reach her heart at
all.
She curled in on herself, and after what felt like forever, she finally heard Nolan’s voice. “We’re already married. Questions like that don’t matter anymore.”
Bernadette’s eyes stung with tears and her voice came out raw. “Stop the
car.”
Nolan pulled over. The second he did, she got out. The wind slapped her face with snowflakes, sharp and freezing.
There was a hint of snow caught in Nolan’s dark brows when he rolled the windows down, but his eyes were colder than the snow.
“What are you throwing a fit for now?”
Bernadette just shook her head. Her throat felt so tight she could barely speak.
Nolan frowned, looking annoyed. He gave her one last glance, then stepped on the gas and drove away.
Bernadette stood there in the snow for a long time before she forced herself to swallow all the hurt. She looked up and saw a giant ad screen at the intersection–it was showing an ad for the Starlight bracelet.
It said every bracelet had its own unique code carved on the little stars.
Bernadette stared at those words, lost in thought. Somehow, she found herself inside the jewelry store.
She asked the clerk to look up the code on the bracelet Nolan bought.
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01:31
It was 1314.
When Bernadette heard that number, it felt like her whole body turned to
ice.
Jessica’s bracelet had the same number.
Jessica’s voice echoed in her ears. “This was a gift from my boyfriend for
our second anniversary.
