I Tore Up The Agreement

I didn't bother answering Austin. I simply stepped around him and stopped in front of Wren, holding out my hand. "Take it off."

Wren flinched. Her eyes darted toward Austin, hoping he would step in. When I didn't budge, she finally began working the emerald bracelet over her hand.

She took her time, twisting and tugging until the skin around her wrist turned pink. Then, she suddenly sucked in a pained breath, her eyes filling with tears.

"Lily, I think my hands are a little too broad. It's stuck." Her voice trembled. "The more I pull, the more it hurts."

Austin frowned and immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her from me.

"Lily, do you really have to make a scene in front of everyone?" His irritation sounded so natural, like I was the one causing trouble. "It's just an old bracelet. Can't you see that her wrist is already red?"

He looked at Wren, then turned back to me. "Just let her wear it tonight. I'll get you a more expensive one tomorrow."

I stared at him.

He hadn't paid a cent for this penthouse. Yet, here he was, giving away the only thing my grandma left me, as if it belonged to him.

I asked quietly, "A more expensive one? Do you even have enough money left in your account?"

Austin's face stiffened.

Behind us, a chair scraped softly against the floor.

My mother stood up, took a small tube of rose-scented hand cream from her purse, and walked over with the same composed smile she'd had all evening.

She didn't spare Austin a glance.

Instead, she gently took Wren's hand. "Sweetheart, don't force it. You'll only hurt yourself."

Wren blinked at her. "Mrs. Ellison..."

My mother squeezed a little cream onto the back of Wren's hand and carefully worked it around her wrist and knuckles. Her movements were slow and gentle, almost soothing.

Then, she pressed her thumb into Wren's palm and folded her hand inward.

The emerald bracelet slipped off easily and landed in my mother's palm, no fuss, no muss.

It was never really stuck. Wren just didn't want to let it go.

The room went silent.

Even the relatives who had been snacking and whispering moments earlier stopped what they were doing.

Wren stood frozen, one hand still in the air. The faint smell of roses clung to her skin as tears hung on her lashes, but now she had no reason to cry.

My mother took a silk handkerchief from her purse and carefully wiped every trace of cream from the emerald bracelet.

"This bracelet belonged to Lily's grandma," she said pleasantly. "She left it to Lily."

She turned the bracelet in her hand, looked it over, then looked up. "Some things just aren't meant to be passed around."

Her gaze then shifted to Austin, but her smile remained unchanged.

"Austin, if Wren likes jewelry, take her shopping sometime. Let her choose something that actually fits."

Her tone stayed warm, almost kind.

"But family heirlooms are best left alone. I'd hate for something to happen to it, no? I wouldn't know what to tell Lily's grandma if it broke."

She hadn't hurled a single insult or raised her voice.

Austin's jaw tightened as his hands curled into fists at his sides.

He always told me to be generous, to understand, and not to make a fuss over small things.

Yet, he felt trapped in the face of my mother's perfect manners and calm suggestion. He knew that it would only make him look worse if he said anything, so nothing left his lips even though they were hanging open.