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    Xylia’s throat tightened as she locked her eyes on Tessa. Her voice was barely there. “Why is that pendant on you?”


    Tessa froze for a second, then instinctively clutched it in her palm. “Oh, this? Connor gave it to me. Why?”


    Her tone sounded perfectly casual, but to Xylia it cut like ss. “You knew how much this pendant meant to me.” She turned toward Connor, her voice raw. “Before I went to prison, I handed it to you myself.”


    Xylia had trusted Connor with it because she was terrified something would happen to it behind bars. That pendant was worth a lot, and more than that, it was irreceable. In her head, she couldn’t wrap it up. ‘He actually gave it away to Tessa?‘


    Connor frowned, shot her a t look, and said calmly, “It’s just a pendant, Xylia. You used to not be this unreasonable.”


    Xylia felt ice crawl through her chest. She thought, ‘Just a pendant? He knows it was Grandma’s.’


    Xylia remembered that winter when a snowstorm hit. The chain had snapped, and the pendant fell into the drifts. She’d spent the whole night on her knees, digging through the snow till her hands split and bled.


    Connor had seen it all. And now he said, “It’s just a pendant.”


    Xylia dropped her head, her voice shaking. “It’s the only thing Grandma left me.”


    “Oh, that’s it.” Tessa let out augh, grinning like she’d said something clever. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re not even a real Schultz.


    “Grandma was my grandma. I miss her sometimes, so of course I’d want to hold on to something of hers.”


    Xylia’s eyes went cold. “Didn’t you already get her inheritance? This pendant was the one thing she gave me herself.”


    Laurel had said, “You may not be mine by blood, but you’re mine by heart.” She had handed over the pendant as if it were a promise. The inheritance, the pendant, everything had been


    meant for her.


    And in the end, Tessa had taken the inheritance. Connor had told her not to fight, so she’d walked away with just the pendant. Now Tessa had that too.


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    “Come on, don’t make a scene. I’ll buy you another one,” Connor muttered, his brow furrowing tighter. His voice carried no warmth. “Tessa’s your sister. And Laurel was her grandma to begin with. It’s just a ne. Why are you being so petty about it?”


    His words hollowed Xylia out. Her body shook, her voice trembling. “I just want what belongs to me. How does that make me petty?”


    “Mom, that’s jealousy talking.” Sonny piped up, frowning. “That’s not cool. Whenever it’s about Tessa, you’re always out to get her.”


    And in his head, he added, ‘Mom was always so harsh with me. But Tessa? She was the one sneaking me treats, letting me have fun. Tessa said it was about being free.


    ‘But whenever Mom caught her taking me along, she blew up. That’s jealousy. I don’t get it. What’s so wrong about wanting to be free?‘


    He kept going, his little voice sharp as knives. “Dad and I get it. You came out of prison hurt and insecure. But that doesn’t mean you should take it out on Tessa.


    “Being disabled isn’t the problem. The problem is when your heart’s all twisted. You should really drop the grudge and learn from Tessa what kindness looks like.”


    His childish words hit like des, stabbing into Xylia until she almost felt herself bleeding inside.


    She’d always known Sonny liked Tessa. But watching the guys who had wrecked her life stand there on some moral high ground felt like the cruelest joke.


    She had given everything to this family for years. And in the end, it still didn’t measure up to a single smile from Tessa.


    Tessa suddenly cut in, “Why so serious?” She nced at Xylia’s face and burst outughing. “Rx, I was messing with you. You girls always make such a big deal out of nothing.”


    She slipped the pendant off her neck. “Here, take it back before you start thinking I’m sneaking around with Connor. Honestly, if something was going on, it would’ve happened ages ago.”


    Connor’s face shifted, just a flicker, but it was there.


    Xylia frowned hard, her eyes locked on that pendant. Just as she reached out, Tessa curled her lip into a smirk and let <i>go</i>. The pendant slipped right through her fingers, hit the floor, and shattered into pieces.


    Xylia’s eyes went wide. Her hands trembled as she tried to stand, not even reaching for her


    cane.


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    The moment she put weight on her legs, pain shot straight up through her, knocking her off bnce. She pitched forward, and Tessa let herself fall sideways too, crashing down next to


    her.


    Connor and Sonny both yelled Tessa’s name and rushed over to fuss over her. Not a single nce went Xylia’s way.


    Connor pulled Tessa up, his voice cold as he looked down at Xylia. “She already gave it back to you. Why would you shove her? You’re getting more unreasonable every day.”


    Xylia didn’t even hear him. Her hands shook as she picked up the pieces one by one. No matter how she tried, the pendant wouldn’t fit back together. Laurel’sst gift to her was gone for good.


    Connor watched her, head bowed over the broken pieces, her blood streaking across the metal just like that winter night she searched the snow until her hands split open.


    Something flickered in his eyes. Almost pity. Connor said quietly, “Xylia, just apologize to Tessa, and we’ll let this go.”


    Xylia’s shoulders shook, and suddenly sheughed. Laughed so hard tears slid down her cheeks. In her head she thought, ‘Apologize? The one who should apologize is me?‘


    Seven years of marriage had gone the same way. Tessa only had to stir the pot with a few words and Connor always sided with her. He had once “stepped right into the mess himself” just to shield Tessa.


    And Xylia had been the fool, still begging for a scrap of his affection.


    Even knowing this was how it would end, her chest still felt heavy, her whole body aching like every nerve was tearing apart. When the pain ebbed, all that was left was exhaustion.


    “I’m sorry,” Xylia whispered. Her voice was drained, t, carrying nothing at all. “I was wrong.”


    Something uneasy flickered across Connor’s face, too quick for even him to notice. Still, his brow furrowed.


    “Good. At least you admit it.” He steadied Xylia, leaned in close, and murmured where only she could hear, “Tessa is your sister. Don’t make life harder for her. She’s been through enough.”


    Connor’s voice softened. “We’re family. It’s just a pendant. I’ll have my assistant pick up another one at auction for you.”


    “I know I was wrong.” Xylia’s tone stayed t, unreadable. She looked Connor straight in the eye, then shoved him off, her gaze cold enough to make him flinch.


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    “I was dead wrong,” she said. “Wrong to mistake being moved for being loved. Wrong to take a cheating man for a decent husband. Wrong to marry you!”


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