The Twenty-Billion-Dollar Sacrifice

Liam didn't come back for two days. I spent the time in a daze, moving through the silent apartment like a zombie.

Then, a text message from him lit up my phone.

Can you do me a favor? There's a blue velvet box in my top drawer. A courier is coming to pick it up in an hour. Have it ready for him.

I went to his drawer. Inside was a small, elegant box. I opened it. A diamond necklace.

"For the woman who saved me," the note attached read.

I laughed until I sobbed.

When the courier arrived, I handed him the package. "I'm going with you."

The car ride was silent. As we drove toward the St. Regis, the rain began to streak the windows, triggering another memory I couldn't suppress.

It was raining the night I left the estate. I had packed one small bag. I walked down the long driveway, soaking wet, shivering.

Liam was waiting at the bus stop outside the gates. He didn't have a car then. He held a broken umbrella over my head, his jacket soaked.

"You really did it," he had said, looking at me with awe. "You gave it all up for me?"

"Everything," I had promised, shivering against his chest. "It's just us now, Liam. You and me against the world."

He had held me tight. "I won't let you down, Elena. I swear."

I wiped a tear from my cheek in the back of the courier car. He had let me down. He had taken my sacrifice and built his foundation on my back, only to hand the keys to someone else.

The St. Regis was hosting a massive press conference for Sophia's new movie. I walked into the ballroom. The noise died down instantly. Every head turned.

I was wearing a simple dress and no makeup. My hair was pulled back in a messy bun.

Liam saw me, and his face tightened into a knot of anger. "Elena? What the hell are you doing here?" he hissed as I approached the stage.

I didn't answer. I just held out the blue velvet box.

"You forgot this," I said, my voice surprisingly steady.

Sophia snatched the box. "Oh, Liam! It's beautiful!"

She made him put it on her. Then, she faked a stumble. "Oh! My baby!"

"Elena!" Liam roared, lunging to steady her. "Security! She's trying to hurt Sophia!"

I held out the divorce agreement I had been clutching. "Sign them, Liam."

"Just sign it so she'll leave!" Sophia moaned.

Without even reading it, he snatched a pen, scribbled his name, and shoved the document back at me.

Then he swept Sophia into his arms. "Let us through! It's an emergency!"

I turned to leave. As I walked away, someone deliberately stuck out a foot.

I went down, hard. My head hit the marble floor with a sickening crack.

Through a haze of pain, I saw Liam stop. He looked back at me, lying on the floor with blood starting to pool around my head. For a second, I saw a flicker of the boy from the library, the boy who held the broken umbrella.

But then Sophia whispered something in his ear.

The boy vanished. The CEO turned his back on me and walked away.

I lay there, the polished floor cold against my cheek. I realized my wedding ring was gone. It must have flown off when I fell.

I didn't even look for it.

Ignoring the stares, I stumbled to the exit. I flagged down a taxi.

"Hospital?" the driver asked, alarmed by the blood.

I wiped a smear of blood from my cheek.

"Yeah," I said, a grim smile touching my lips. "But I'm not gonna die."