Chapter 5
Gwen recovered quickly.
She always did.
She laughed and took a slow sip of wine.
“She’s desperate.”
Nora shook her head through the glass.
Snow clung to her eyelashes.
Her breathing had become uneven.
Liam’s hand moved toward the lock.
Gwen noticed.
“Don’t.”
He looked at her.
“She’s freezing.”
“And she knows exactly how to make you feel guilty.”
Nora pressed her hand harder against the door.
“Liam, please.”
Gwen stepped closer to the glass.
“You wanted this family. Tell the truth.”
Nora’s expression changed.
Not anger.
Grief.
She looked at Liam as if seeing the marriage from far away.
Then she lowered her hand.
Slowly, painfully, she twisted the wedding ring from her finger.
Her fingers were stiff from the cold.
Liam watched, confused.
“Nora?”
She placed the ring in the snow.
Then reached into the damp fold of her dress and pulled out a cream note.
Small.
Folded.
Unopened.
She set it beside the ring.
Gwen stopped breathing for half a second.
Liam saw that too.
Nora looked at him one last time.
Not begging anymore.
Clear.
Determined.
Then she shifted downward, out of his line of sight.
Not falling.
Not shown.
Simply gone below the balcony frame.
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And Liam’s anger finally died.
Read the full story 👉 Nora stopped pleading when she realized Liam needed evidence more than he needed her voice.
