Chapter 3

Declan's hand trembled. The glass of water in his hand was shaking slightly. He then scoffed and asked, "You're switching to a new tactic now, huh? You're never going to stop until I call you out, huh?"

I was stunned, failing to understand what he meant at first.

Declan sneered. "Didn't you have Faith push me to propose to you today, Raelynn? What's the matter? You're playing hard to get now that your previous tactic has failed, huh?"

I realized then that he thought I had orchestrated what Faith said today to force a proposal. I found it utterly ridiculous, but I didn't bother clarifying. I merely nodded and said, "I've decided to marry someone else since the tactics have failed."

Declan's sneer deepened right after hearing that. "Do you honestly have it in you to break up with me, Raelynn? You ought to stop taking things too far. You're already 28 years old this year, so there's probably no one else out there who's willing to marry you anymore.

"You should head to bed early—we still have to head to the Johnson residence tomorrow for Grandma's birthday."

Having said that, Declan turned around and walked back into the bedroom.

I watched his retreating figure, feeling nothing but deep exhaustion.

…

It was the following day, and I still attended Nadia Greene's, Declan's grandmother's, birthday banquet. After all, I needed to return the emerald ring she had given to me back then.

Upon arriving at the Johnson residence, Rosie Hall, Declan's mother, stood by the door with Paige holding her arm.

Paige was smiling brightly, looking every bit like the prospective daughter-in-law of the Johnson family. She noticed us and instantly flashed us a smile. She walked over to me and said, "I thought you weren't going to show up today since Declan said you got upset yesterday, Raelynn!"

She intentionally flaunted the emerald bracelet on her wrist—something the Johnson family gave their daughter-in-law.

Mrs. Johnson Senior had the ring while Rosie had the bracelet. Declan, however, had taken the bracelet from Rosie long ago, claiming he would put it on my wrist himself one day.

That would no longer be necessary now, though.

Declan noticed it as well. He lowered his head and explained, "Paige is only borrowing it to wear for a while, so she'll return it later. You shouldn't overthink it, Raelynn."

Rosie walked over with an indifferent expression. Her tone was admonishing. "You've finally arrived, huh? I heard about what happened yesterday. Wasn't it just a boat? Paige is completely on her own now, so it's only right for us to dote on her more.

"You should keep your temper in check and don't make a fool of yourself for no reason, Raelynn."

I found it utterly ridiculous how they had all assumed I would lose my temper, yet no one ever stopped Declan from doing it.

Declan instinctively tried to wrap his arm around my waist to calm me down like he always did, but I stepped sideways and completely dodged him. He furrowed his brow as he was left hanging. "What are you throwing a fit about this time?"

He lowered his voice, and his tone carried a touch of anger. "You'd better not ruin the mood for everyone during Grandma's birthday, Raelynn. I'll apologize to you once we return. How does that sound?"

I raised my head and calmly met his gaze. "I'm honestly not upset about it."

I took out the emerald ring and calmly handed it to Rosie, saying, "You should give this to Ms. Cullen too, Mrs. Johnson. I won't be going in to disturb Mrs. Johnson Senior."

Upon seeing this, Declan's eyes widened.

Paige gripped her dress tightly, putting on an aggrieved but understanding expression. "You're doing this because you're upset, right, Raelynn? I'm the one at fault here, Declan.

"I shouldn't have been so greedy as to take that boat... I'm the reason Raelynn is angry. I should probably return that boat and this bracelet to her…"

She thought of something while speaking and hurriedly tried to remove the bracelet from her wrist, but for some reason, despite the bracelet being quite loose, it wouldn't come off.

Just as expected, the nervousness Declan felt upon seeing me take out the ring instantly vanished. He sneered, snatched the ring right out of my hand, and walked over to Paige. "You don't have to return anything. You can keep it since I gave it to you. You can take the ring and put it on, too."

He then turned his gaze toward me. His eyes were filled with contempt. "I'd like to see how long you can keep this up, Raelynn! I'll have Paige wear these since you don't want them anymore! Didn't you say you weren't heading in for the birthday banquet? Why are you still standing here, then?"

In the past, the more he riled me up like that, the more I would do the opposite out of spite and stay behind, but now, I only felt a sense of relief. "I'll be heading off, then."

I turned on my heel and left after saying that.

I could hear Paige trying to play the peacemaker behind me, but Declan's anger only seemed to flare up. His voice grew louder. "Raelynn can leave if she wants to! She's dying to get married, and she's starved for attention, so she thinks she can leverage this against me! She probably forgot how old she really is!"

I didn't bother turning around as I got into the cab. I then received a message from Mom. "You should take a look at this, Raelynn! It's your very own boat!"