Chapter 4 - The Mark on the Skin
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“You’re embarrassing us.”
Those three words shattered three years of carefully cultivated patience.
It wasn't Vanessa who had humiliated me in that ballroom. It was Brad. He had weighed my self-respect against his family’s social comfort, and he had chosen comfort without a second thought.
I looked at Brad’s handsome, calm face—the face of a man who believed everything in life could be smoothed over with a quiet apology and a handwritten note later in the week.
I reached down with my left hand. My fingers caught the platinum band of my two-carat diamond ring. I twisted it off my finger in one sharp, decisive movement.
“Kate, stop—” Brad began, reaching out a hand.
I didn't argue. I didn't yell. I simply drew my arm back and threw the ring directly at his face.
The heavy diamond struck him high on the cheekbone with a sharp, metallic click. He flinched backward, his hand flying to his eye as the ring bounced off his skin, hit the marble trim beneath the chandelier, and vanished into the plush carpet.
“I’m dumping you,” I said, my voice echoing clearly across the silent circle of onlookers.
Vanessa’s jaw dropped. The smug smile vanished from her face instantly.
Brad stood frozen, his hand still covering the pink mark under his eye, staring at me as if I had suddenly transformed into a stranger.
“Kate…” he stammered, his polished composure completely shattered. “You can't be serious. Right here?”
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“Right here,” I replied softly. “Keep the ring, Brad. Use it to pay for your next dinner with Vanessa.”
I turned my back on both of them, caught the eye of a stunned waiter, grabbed my silk evening coat from the coat check, and walked out into the pouring rain.
