Shattered Then Healed By His Love (by Haley Blanton) novel Chapter 173

Chapter 173 My Dowry

“I already gave it away. How do you expect me to look after this stunt you pulled?”

“Gave it away?“” Natalie’s gaze was cold. “Didn’t you tell me it was stolen, Mr. Jackson? Or did you mean you gave it to your beloved?”

“So you knew all along,” he said, his voice dropping, “and that’s why you did this?”

“Did you think I could get it back any other way?”

Her direct question left him speechless.

Natalie saw right through him. “We’ve been married for years, and you’ve never once tried to understand me. Every good thing was always for Victoria. Was I ever even in your thoughts?”

“You’ve had everything you could want by my side. What more did you expect?” His brow furrowed, his expression laced with irritation.

“Then tell me,” she shot back, “what exactly have I gotten out of this marriage?”

He was silent again, his gaze cold.

Her voice rose. “In all the years of our marriage, not only did I get nothing I wanted, I endured the coldness of you and our son, and in the end, you both sent me to prison! You tell me what I’ve gotten!”

Nothing but scars and a broken heart. That’s what she got.

“You’ve never known me at all. I’m sure you had no idea…” A bitter, mocking smile touched her lips. “That hairpin was my dowry.”

Her words hung in the air. He stared at her, stunned. “What did you say? It was your dowry?”

He knew she’d had it before their wedding, but he never knew its significance.

“But of course,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “With all your attention focused on your precious Victoria, how would you ever have known?”

She turned and walked toward the door, having no intention of continuing the argument,

“I was going to bring this to you at home, but it seemed too valuable to carry around, so I came straight here.”

Natalie opened the box in the break room. The pendant was cracked down the middle, as if from a hard fall. A small piece was also missing. To repair it properly, she would need to find an identical piece of emerald. The quality was exceptional, the same high–grade emerald as her hairpin. A stone like this was virtually impossible to find on the open market.

An image of a man named Noah flashed in her mind. He might have what she needed.

“So? Is it a difficult repair?” Lucy leaned in for a closer look.

“It’s not easy,” Natalie admitted, “but it’s possible. I might have to leave Brookvale for a bit. This kind of emerald is hard to find. I’ll have to go see Noah.”

“I thought Noah was in Sinoria. That’s hundreds of kilometers away. Can’t you just have him ship it?” Lucy looked at her, confused.

“No. A stone like this is too rare. If anything happened to it in transit, it would be a disaster.” Natalie’s expression grew serious.

“Are you going on a business trip, Natalie?”

Hearing their voices, Atlas walked in and glanced curiously at the object in her palm. It was a broken pendant.