"Mrs. Clarke, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" Kaelyn hurried down the stairs, her face exaggeratedly worried. "Maybe I can just put it all in a bag for now?" she added, hiding her disdain behind a sweet smile.

Kaelyn had always looked down on Allison, considering her nothing more than a poor country girl who had shamelessly pursued Colton for a better life. Colton frowned in frustration. "You're so clumsy!" he snapped, looking at the scattered clothes.

Allison's suitcase contained few clothes and hardly any jewelry. She hadn't spent much of the money he'd given her over the years. She lived simply and frugally, reflecting her lack of ambition to exploit her status. But love couldn't be forced or faked.

"Melany's luggage takes priority. Put Allison's stuff in a storage bag," Colton added dismissively, eyeing the torn suitcase. "I'll have the housekeeper buy you a new one tomorrow."

Allison offered a slight, bitter smile. "That suitcase is the one I salvaged from the kidnappers when we were fleeing. Without it, we would have drowned." For years, she had cherished that suitcase, just as she had her marriage. And now, like her relationship, it was in tatters.

Colton gave a cold laugh. "That story might fool my grandfather, but it doesn't fool me." The memory of his childhood kidnapping was vague, and he doubted Allison had been with him.

Turning to Kaelyn, Colton raised his voice. "Hurry up and get her things!"

"Yes, sir." Kaelyn excitedly began to pick up Allison's clothes, deliberately stepping on them and dirtying them. In a sickly sweet tone, she sneered, "Miss Clarke, Mr. Stevens' grandmother always says people are like clothes. Once stained, no matter how much you wash them, the marks never truly disappear."

Allison had always been kind to Kaelyn, even though she didn't have to be. Kaelyn was a distant relative of Colton's grandmother. Years ago, when Kaelyn had made a mistake that nearly caused a rift between the Stevens family and Kellan Lloyd (the eldest Lloyd son), Allison had smoothed things over, brokering a deal with the paralyzed Kellan to secure crucial land for the Stevens' business. Kaelyn had been grateful, almost humiliated, at the time. But now, emboldened by the shifting power dynamics within the Stevens family, she acted as if she'd never owed Allison anything.

It all came down to this: Colton's grandmother's favor had shifted, and with it, the family's attitude.

"If clothes get dirty, you're right," Allison said, her eyes fixed on Colton, "they're impossible to clean." She shrugged. "So I won't need them anymore." He had never liked such insipid, shapeless things anyway. They had never suited him.

"But when people screw up," he continued, his voice cold and unfamiliar, "they have to face the consequences."

The air in the room changed. For the first time, Colton saw Allison with a new perspective—his usual softness replaced by a sharp edge. Even Kaelyn sensed the shift, but quickly adopted an innocent facade.

"I only serve the Stevens family, Miss Clarke," Kaelyn said, her voice dripping with sweetness. "And since you're divorced…"

A slap! Kaelyn didn't get to finish. Allison's palm connected with her left cheek, the sound echoing through the room.

"How dare you hit me?"

"Because I felt like it."

"If Mrs. Stevens finds out…"

A slap! Another, harder slap sent Kaelyn reeling. Both cheeks were red and swollen. The second blow knocked her off balance, twisting her ankle. She screamed in pain, her face a mask of humiliation and fury. Tears welled up. "Mr. Stevens, you've gone too far!"

Before Kaelyn could complain further, Allison grabbed her throat, ripping the collar from her neck. "That's for the suitcase and the clothes. And now I give you back what never belonged to you."

The necklace was modest—an emerald pendant surrounded by diamonds—but its value wasn't the point. The engraving on the back revealed it was never Kaelyn's.

"You… are committing assault!" Kaelyn croaked, panting. In her panic, she wet herself. As Allison's grip tightened, Kaelyn realized Allison could kill her. But Allison, without hesitation, broke the necklace chain and walked away calmly.

Kaelyn stood, desperate, and turned to Colton, pleading, "Lord, this is a misunderstanding, please…"

"Out!" Colton's patience snapped as his boot slammed into Kaelyn's side, knocking her down. The smell of urine intensified his already-flaring temper. "The Stevens family has no place for someone with sticky fingers."

Meanwhile, Allison left the villa, phoned a familiar number, and spoke calmly. "Rebecca, I'm divorced and have moved out. My house and car are still in Vrining. Could I stay at your place tonight?"

Rebecca Green's response was immediate and enthusiastic. "Fuck! You finally divorced that jerk! Forget sleeping over, you're going to a party! A singles party!" Allison could hear Rebecca's laughter. "If the people at Cobweb find out the founder is back, the servers will blow up!"