I would confront her face to face. I would look into her eyes and hear her confess with her own lips. I wanted to see just how long this woman could maintain her charade.
I threw open the door. Noelle had just emerged from her bath, damp hair cascading over her shoulders as she sat at the vanity, staring blankly at her reflection in the mirror.
At the sound, she whirled around in alarm. Seeing my expression, bewilderment flashed in her eyes, quickly replaced by wariness. She instinctively rose and stepped backward.
"Kholod... you..."
I gave her no time to react, advancing step by step until I stood directly before her.
I withdrew the bracelet from my pocket, spread it across my palm, and held it before her eyes. My gaze locked onto hers, determined not to miss the slightest flicker of change.
Suppressing the rage roiling within me, I asked with deceptive calm, each word precisely articulated, "Noelle. I'm asking you one final time. This bracelet... is it truly yours or not?"
Chapter Eleven
Noelle
Kholod's voice was eerily calm, yet every word sliced like a blade of ice.
I stared at the bracelet in his hand, my mind a whirlwind of confusion.
That style of bracelet—it must have been one of the pieces my mother bought for me back then. But the exact design? I couldn't remember it at all.
Growing up, Mother had loaded me up with countless pieces of jewelry, clothes, and bags—all to help me snag a spot in some rich family. She called them "necessary investments," essentials for fitting into high society. I'd never cared; they were just extensions of her own ambitions.
"I told you," I lifted my head, meeting those amber eyes burning with rage, "I really don't remember."
"Don't remember?" He sneered. "Or too scared to admit it?"
"Kholod! What the hell are you obsessing over?" I raised my voice. "I've had tons of jewelry my whole life—similar bracelets alone, at least half a dozen. How could I possibly remember every single one?!"
"Then why not just deny it outright?" He stepped closer, his gazedangerous. "The first time I showed up with this bracelet, why didn't you flat-out say 'that's not mine'?"
"I never admitted it!" I backed up until my back hit the dresser. "You decided that all on your own!"
He held the bracelet right in my face, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Noelle Bellucci, you think I'd buy that bullshit?"
I finally exploded. "Kholod Morozov, you've been talking to yourself from the start! You showed up with that bracelet, insisting I'm your savior! I said I don't remember, but you had to pin it on me!"
"So you just went along with it?" His eyes darkened, turning sinister. "Let me think you were the one?"
"Went along with what?!" I practically yelled. "I've been rejecting you the whole time! I said I wouldn't marry you! You threatened me, used my family's debts to force me! This is all your doing!"
"And the bracelet?" He grabbed my shoulders hard enough to nearly make me yelp in pain. "Why'd it end up with Isabella?"
Isabella? What did she tell him?
"I..."
"You what?" He pressed. "Spit it out! Did you know all along that bracelet wasn't yours?!"
"I don't know!" I struggled to shake off his grip. "I really don't!"
"Still lying!" His voice turned frantic, shoving me toward the bed. "Noelle, how long are you gonna keep this act up?!"
I stumbled back, my calf hitting the bedframe, and I lost my balance, crashing onto the mattress.
Before I could react, he was on me, pinning me down.
