Chapter 1
When Aline Moore brought the project proposal to her husband Clayton Hill’s office, she walked in just in time to see him slipping a ring onto his mistress Joyce Dunn’s finger.
She froze, staring at the ruby-studded diamond ring-it was the one she had begged Clayton to buy.
In three years of marriage, she had never asked him for anything.
That ring was the first thing she ever requested. Not for vanity, but because it was a keepsake from her late mother.
“A ring like that and you’re already mesmerized? I told you, you’ve got no taste,” Clayton’s close friend, Jimmy Rowe, said with open disdain.
Aline ignored his taunt. She stepped forward and reached for Joyce’s hand.
But before she could touch it, Clayton grabbed her wrist. “I already gave the ring to Joyce.”
“But you promised it would be mine!” Aline said, her usually calm and delicate face flushed with rare fury.
Clayton frowned, clearly annoyed. “Stop being unreasonable. It’s a gift to celebrate Joyce’s promotion to deputy cap-
tain.”
Unreasonable? Aline felt a wave of cold sweep through her chest. “And what if I won’t let this go?”
Jimmy chimed in with a smirk, “Clayton, I’ve said it before-Aline’s never been good enough for you. Vain, useless… You should’ve divorced her ages ago. A woman like Joyce is a much better match.”
Very few people knew about Clayton’s secret marriage to Aline, but everyone knew that Joyce was his first love.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Joyce said with a sneer. “I have no interest in being the other woman.” Then she casually pulled off the ring and tossed it at Aline’s feet.
A ring worth millions-thrown to the ground like trash.
Aline’s eyes welled up. That ring had meant the world to her mother.
She slowly crouched down and clenched it tightly in her palm.
The cold, jagged edges dug into her skin, stinging her hand.
Looking down at her, Joyce scoffed, “A real woman should focus on knowledge and vision. Instead of fighting me over a ring, why not spend your time bettering yourself?”
Jimmy snorted. “What knowledge or vision does she have? God knows what bargain-bin college she graduated from. If Clayton hadn’t taken pity on her and let her coast in the company, she’d probably be sweeping streets.”
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Chapter 1
And Clayton-he hadn’t said a single word in her defense.
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Aline stood up and ignored Jimmy. She stared straight at Joyce. “You keep saying you’re not a homewrecker. So why are you so comfortable accepting a million-dollar ring from someone else’s husband?”
Joyce scoffed. “I saw it as a casual gift from a friend. I didn’t care about the price.”.
“Oh really?” Aline shot back. “So friends just casually give each other million-dollar rings now? Jimmy’s your friend too, isn’t he? Has he ever given you anything worth that much?”
Joyce was speechless. Even Jimmy’s expression stiffened.
“That’s enough,” Clayton said impatiently. “It’s just a ring-don’t blow it out of proportion.”
Aline tightened her grip on the ring until it cut into her palm.
Just a ring. That was all it was to him.
That ring-her mother had once used it, in a war-torn foreign country, to trade for medicine and food. It saved the lives of fifty orphaned children.
To Aline, it was never just a ring. It was the embodiment of her mother’s values. Her belief in compassion and sacri- fice.
She took a deep breath, remembering the phone call she’d received just before stepping into the office-her parents’ ashes were already on the plane and would arrive in Uslille tomorrow.
Looking up at Clayton, she said calmly, “Forget the ring. My parents’ ashes are being flown back tomorrow. I want you to come with me to receive them.”
Her parents had spent their lives worrying about her. More than anything, they’d wanted her to have a home and a partner she could rely on.
