Chapter 2

"Fine. I'll buy the ring," I said.

I just wanted to get back the last thing Mom left behind and proceed to have nothing to do with these people in front of me ever again.

"You'll buy it?" Rosie squealed with laughter, as though she'd heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

Pointing at the insulated delivery bag I was holding, the one that contained the 10,000 dollars' worth of food I was supposed to deliver, she declared, "Even if you spend your entire life making deliveries, you'd never be able to earn 500 thousand, right?

"Look at what you're holding. Have you ever eaten such expensive food before? Have you ever seen it before? Do you even think you're worthy of that?"

All of a sudden, she reached out and snatched the bag from me. Before I could react, she threw it hard on the floor. The bag fell open, and the food came tumbling out—expensive steak, caviar, foie gras, and more, all splattering everywhere.

After looking at the mess, Rosie stomped on a piece of foie gras with her heel, grinding it into smithereens.

"See this? I can easily toss out 10,000 dollars' worth of food as I please! A pathetic beggar like you will never be able to live as freely as I can!

"You won't ever get to earn enough money to indulge in such luxurious food. The only thing you can do is stand there and smell it! That's the difference between us, got it?"

Everyone else in the living room also jumped in with mocking laughter and jeers of their own.

"That's right! How dare a deliverywoman try to take something from Rosie?"

"Look at that beggar! She was born to live a pathetic life! She said she'd pay 500 thousand dollars for the ring, right? Well, she might be able to. She can go to a nursing home somewhere and try to bag herself some old geezer!"

"You have a point there. She's not too shabby looking. Plenty of old dudes like innocent-looking women like her."

Rosie gloated even more after hearing them chime in to agree with her. She glanced at the ring she was wearing before staring at me, standing there looking miserable.

With a look of disdain, she said, "Mark said this ring of yours is supposed to be valuable, but even something valuable to a pauper like you is probably worth pennies, right? You're the only one who thinks it's some kind of treasure."

As everyone looked on, she took off the ring and yanked open the window, throwing it out before anyone even realized what she was doing.

The ring arched through the rain and fell into the rolling river beside the villa with a soft plunk.

"NO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my expression horrified.

That was the last thing I had to remember Mom by!

Before I could even think properly, my body had already started moving. I bolted straight toward the balcony, ready to climb over the railing without hesitation and jump into the river.

"Emmy!" Mark cried out.

He jumped out of the wheelchair and shot forward, moving way faster than one would expect from someone who'd been "paralyzed" for two years.

Grabbing me from behind, he hauled me away from the railing.

"Let go of me, Mark! Let go!"

I struggled with all my might to break free of him, sinking in despair as I watched the ring disappear into the depths of the water.

The icy raindrops and the scorching tears mingled together, blurring my vision.

"Calm down! Are you seriously going to risk your life over some stupid ring?"

There was an almost imperceptible hint of panic and fear in Mark's voice, but it was mostly drowned out by his fury at my seemingly immature reaction.

Some stupid ring, he called it.

That was the final belonging Mom had left to me, but his precious Rosie had tossed it right out as if it were trash!

All of the rage, sorrow, and humiliation I felt instantly turned to ice. I stopped struggling, my body turning to stone in his arms.

"Let's break up," I said, my voice unnervingly calm.

Mark froze for a moment before reacting as if he'd been told a joke. "Stop throwing a tantrum, Emmy! I know you're upset about the ring. I'll tell Rosie to apologize to you. We'll—"