No Longer Yours to Break

Zoe got tossed out of the auction hall like trash, right in front of everyone.

Her dress was wrecked, her body ached from where security had roughed her up—but none of it hurt like her heart did.

Outside, fireworks lit up the sky—used only when someone locked in a win.

She just stood there, staring. By the time she blinked, her cheeks were already soaked.

Whatever was left of her feelings for Connor burned out right then, gone with her mom's stolen bangle.

She wiped her face, pulled herself together, and grabbed every asset she still had.

She was going to his place. That bangle was the one thing she wasn't walking away from.

***

Zoe showed up just as Connor's car rolled through the gate.

Vicky froze when she saw her, instantly shoving the hand with the gemstone bangle behind her back.

Zoe's face was pale, her hands clutching a fresh stack of financial statements.

"Give me back my mother's bangle. All of this—it's yours," she said, voice shaking in the cold but steady as ever.

Connor's jaw tightened. At the word "bangle", his scowl deepened.

"Vicky's the lady of my house now. We don't need your money."

Zoe didn't say a word. She just stepped in their way, arm out, eyes locked on them.

Vicky placed a soft hand on Connor's arm. "Go inside, Connor. This is between me and Zoe. I'll handle it."

He paused, then turned and walked off.

The second he was gone, Vicky's whole vibe flipped cold.

She smacked the papers out of Zoe's hands like they were nothing.

Then she smirked, lifted her wrist—and chucked the bangle straight into the pond.

Zoe didn't even think—she watched the bangle disappear and dove in after it.

The freezing water slammed into her, stealing her breath and numbing her on contact.

She thrashed for a second, then the panic hit.

She couldn't swim.

The cold, the dark, the blind panic—it all blurred together. She had no idea where the bangle went.

Water thrashed around her as distant, muffled shouting came from the shore—then another splash. Someone else had jumped in.

Her skin felt like it was on fire, every inch stabbed with ice, the weight of the water pressing in.

Through the blur of water and panic, Zoe barely made out Connor rushing over.

He was yelling.

"Vicky! Vicky, are you okay?"

So Vicky had jumped in too. But... why?

Zoe didn't have time to figure it out.

Her fingers suddenly brushed something solid—round, smooth.

She grabbed it, heart pounding. It had to be the bangle.

With everything she had left, she kicked toward the surface.

Onshore, Connor dragged a soaked Vicky out of the water, barking for the butler to take her inside.

Vicky was coughing, gasping, trying to say something.

But Connor didn't answer. He just stood there, silent, eyes locked on the water, brows drawn tight.