Chapter 2

The next day, Julian arrived at my family's residence.

He wore a faded blue outfit, washed so many times that its color had nearly worn away. In his hands, he carried two packages of biscuits and a small wooden box.

Everyone in the front courtyard was busy taking inventory of the gifts being added to my sister's bridal gift, and no one bothered to greet him.

Father was drinking tea with the Sinclair family's steward, while Mother fussed over the pearl hairpins Clara was trying on. In the end, I was the only one who went to the kitchen to fetch a wooden stool for Julian.

He didn't sit down. Instead, his gaze settled on the purplish bruises around my wrist.

"How did that happen?" he asked.

I slipped my hand into my sleeve. "I bumped it by accident."

He didn't press me for an explanation. He simply handed me a bottle of medicinal ointment.

Clara walked over and glanced at the wooden box in his hands. "What's inside?"

Julian opened the box, revealing a silver hairpin shaped like an orchid, its delicate petals cradling lustrous pearls at the center.

"It belonged to my late mother. Before she passed away, she said it was to be kept for her future daughter-in-law."

My fingers had barely brushed the box when Clara exclaimed, "It's beautiful!"

At the sound of her voice, Mother came over at once.

"Clara has to visit the Sinclair family's elders tomorrow, and she's missing a simple, elegant piece of jewelry. Evelyn, let her borrow it for the day."

I tightened my grip on the wooden box. "This belonged to Julian's late mother. It's not something that should be lent out."

Mother's smile immediately faded.

"You're sisters. It's only for one day. It's not as if you'll lose the hairpin forever. Since when did you become so petty?"

Clara's eyes reddened as she took Mother's hand.

"Mother, please don't make things difficult for Evelyn. I'll just wear an old hairpin instead. The Sinclair family won't look down on me over something like that."

Just then, Arthur walked in. When he saw what was happening, he immediately scolded me for making things difficult for my sister.

Julian closed the wooden box and stepped in front of me. "Arthur, this hairpin belonged to my late mother. I'm afraid it wouldn't be appropriate to lend it to someone else."

Arthur sneered. "You two aren't even married yet, Mr. Caldwell, and you're already teaching her to turn against her own family?"

Julian didn't argue. He simply handed the wooden box back to me and said, "Keep what's yours safe."

Those few simple words made my nose sting.

So the things that belonged to me didn't always have to be given away.

…

That afternoon, Mother summoned Clara and me to the main hall to divide up the gifts from our family that we could take to our husbands' homes.

She began by handing Clara the deed to a silk shop in the southern part of town. Father followed, presenting her with a stack of banknotes, while Arthur gave her a set of solid-gold jewelry.

When the jewelry box was opened, golden light filled the room.

By the time it was my turn, the table was already empty.

A maidservant carried in the two old cotton quilts instead. Yellowed stuffing poked through the torn corners and spilled onto the floor, yet Mother acted as though she hadn't seen a thing.

"Evelyn, your husband's house is just nearby, so you don't need that many gifts. These two quilts will be perfect to take to your husband's home."

I didn't accept them.

"Where's the gold bangle Grandmother left me?" I asked.

Clara instinctively slipped her wrist into her sleeve, but I'd already caught a glimpse of the gold.

Mother explained, "Clara's wedding gown is so extravagant that ordinary jewelry wouldn't do it justice. I had a goldsmith reshape the bangle. Let her keep it for now."

I turned to Clara. "Do you think it belongs to you, too?"

She hurriedly took off the gold bangle. "If you want it, Evelyn, you can have it."

I had just reached for it when Mother grabbed her hand.

"How can you take off a gift after you've already accepted and worn it? You'll only bring yourself bad luck for nothing!"

Arthur shoved my hand away as well. "Clara merely borrowed one piece of jewelry from you, and now you want to snatch it back?"

One after another, they spoke as though I were the unreasonable one, as though I weren't the one whose family heirlooms had been taken from me.

I slowly lowered my hand. "If nothing in this family belongs to just one person, then shouldn't I get half of the silk shop in the southern part of town, too?"

Clara immediately clutched the deed to her chest, while Mother slammed her palm against the table.

"How can you compete with your own sister over something like this? She's marrying into the Sinclair family! She'll need it more than you!"

I looked at their faces, all twisted with the same anger, and felt the last remnants of hope inside me slowly die.

When they took what belonged to me, it was all in the name of sisterly love.

But the moment I asked for a share of what they gave my sister, I was suddenly labeled greedy and insatiable.