Suddenly, Kaidon appeared, stepping out of the shadows. His face was as cold as ice, his eyes unreadable as he watched me. "If you took the pearl, just give it back," he said flatly, his voice void of emotion.

My heart clenched painfully. "I didn’t take it," I said firmly, trying to keep my voice steady. "I don’t want anything from you."

He didn’t believe me. It was written all over his face, in the hard line of his jaw, the coldness in his eyes. I realized then that I wasn’t just losing my marriage—I had already lost the man I once loved.

Kaidon’s grip tightened around my wrist, dragging me toward the house. "You’re not leaving until you give it back."

My heart raced in panic. "Kaidon, are you insane? I don’t have the pearl!"

But he didn’t listen. His grip only grew stronger, his jaw set in determination. Memories of the last time he’d done something like this came rushing back. The time he had taken the pearl from me, locking me in a room for hours without food or water until I was weak, broken. But I had endured. I wouldn’t let it happen again.

He forced me inside, locking the door behind us. The sound of the key turning in the lock echoed in the silence, like a final judgment. I rushed to the door, pounding on it, shouting for him to let me go. "Kaidon! This is madness! Let me out!"

But there was no response. The house was quiet, suffocatingly so. I turned around, facing the man I no longer recognized. "Why are you doing this?" My voice sad, but I held my ground. "This isn’t you."

He said nothing, simply leaving the room without looking back, locking me inside as though I were a prisoner. My stomach twisted in knots, both from hunger and from fear. He had done this before, but this time felt different. It felt final, like there was no going back from this.

As the hours dragged on, I sat on the floor. My mind raced, trying to understand how it had all come to this.

Night fell, and with it, the last of my hope. The door creaked open, and I tensed, expecting Kaidon.

But it was Elara. She walked in, a smug smile playing on her lips as she approached me slowly.

"Luna," she said sweetly, her voice dripping with false concern. "Guess what this is?"

She raised her right hand, the light catching on a dazzling pearl ring sitting proudly on her finger. The very goddess pearl she had accused me of stealing.