So the necklace really was a genuine gift from Sebastian to Helena.
But the whole thing was actually just a fluke.
When the jewelry brand representatives came to meet with him the other day, his eyes had snagged on the cat design in their catalog.
He didn't know why—maybe it was the twisted, volatile dynamic he currently shared with his wife.
It made him remember how she used to beg him to let her keep a kitten.
It also reminded him of how relentlessly he had been punishing her lately, and how she stubbornly refused to cry or yield every single time.
A sudden, uncharacteristic urge to coax her had sparked in his chest.
After all, she was carrying his most valuable bargaining chip.
He had no reason to make life miserable for the woman carrying his child.
The further along the pregnancy got, the safer his inheritance would be.
So, on a whim, he had asked about the pendant.
The brand reps told him it was a custom design.
He ordered them to make it, and that was how the diamond necklace came to be.
Truthfully, in their seven years of marriage, Helena had never once asked him for a single thing.
Janetta was completely different.
She'd never explicitly demand gifts, but she had a thousand clever ways to manipulate him into buying them for her.
Mostly out of lingering guilt, Sebastian indulged her every time.
Janetta craved the spotlight, so she usually insisted he present her gifts in public.
And he always played along.
But he felt absolutely no need to explain any of this to Helena.
To him, she was just a tool—a convenient wife brought into the family to secure his inheritance and provide an heir.
Now that she was boldly questioning his motives, he was immediately irritated.
Whatever brief warmth he had felt evaporated, replaced by biting cruelty.
Helena remained perfectly silent, refusing to engage.
"If I don't see that necklace on you... well, you know exactly what will happen," he warned her.
It was as if he could effortlessly read her mind and predict her every move.

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