Chapter 3

So I begged Lisa to come with me.

I humbled myself and begged her three times, and it took her two whole days to finally agree.

But she then said she was too busy with work and couldn't leave until the first day of the holidays at the earliest.

Holidays meant jammed highways, so I could only try to get train tickets.

These past few days, I'd been burning with anxiety, worried Grandma wouldn't make it, yet I still tried to be understanding of Lisa's difficulties.

I only found out today that she wasn't busy at all.

She just believed what Henry said, decided I was lying, and deliberately stalled me.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I lowered my head and put down the cup.

Before turning around, I suddenly remembered something important.

"Lisa, at our engagement party last year, Grandma gave you a brooch, right? That's a keepsake from Grandpa. Give it back to me, I want to take it home."

Lisa didn't reply immediately.

She picked up my cup, took a sip, then casually said: "Henry liked it, so I gave it to him."

I froze.

Henry let out a weak "Ah!", then said, "I… I didn't know that brooch was so important. I accidentally lost it."

I took a step forward, my voice completely changing pitch. "You lost it? Where did you lose it?!"

Lisa frowned. "Why are you yelling? It's just a brooch."

The air in the living room dropped to freezing point. Henry bit his lip.

I turned to stare at Lisa. "It's not just a brooch. It's a keepsake from Grandpa!"

"I know, but your grandmother said it was a gift for her granddaughter-in-law when she gave it to me. Once it's given, it's mine, and I can give it to whoever I want."

I could never have expected her to be so unreasonable.

I clenched my fists and hardened my tone. "We haven't gotten married yet, so it's not yours yet. You must return it to me, or I'm calling off the engagement."

Lisa instantly turned livid.

"Jeffrey, you're getting mad at me over a stupid brooch? It's not like Henry lost it on purpose! I can't believe you're so petty!"

Henry's eyes reddened, his voice soft and weak. "Ms. Jetrow, please don't get mad at Mr. Woods. It's my fault for not taking good care of the brooch..."

Lisa looked back at him. "This has nothing to do with you. Once it was given to me, it was mine. I gave it to you, so it was yours. If you lost it, you lost it."

I looked at her gloomy face. "Lisa, my grandpa's keepsake is lost, and you think it's no big deal?"

"It couldn't be helped. What do you want Henry to do? Jeffrey, stop being so unreasonable."

Oh, I'm unreasonable?

Grandpa's keepsake was lost, yet she called me unreasonable.

I suddenly realized how much she had changed.

She wasn't like this before.

The first year we got together, when Grandma heard I was dating someone, she personally knitted a pair of gloves and sent it to Lisa.

Lisa treated them like prized treasures. She even posted them on her social media, saying she couldn't bear to wear them because she didn't want to get them dirty.

She also ate the wild vegetables and pickles my aunt sent with great relish, and even took them to the office for lunch.

When someone tried to take a bite, she guarded them fiercely, saying they were proof of my relatives' approval of her.

Back then, she treasured everything my family gave her.

But ever since she hired Henry as her assistant, she asked my relatives to stop sending her local products.

She said those things made her look like a country bumpkin.

Any good food we had, we must save a portion for Henry, and if I voiced the slightest protest, she'd accuse me of being petty.

And now, she even gave away Grandpa's brooch without my permission.

Henry lost it, but she called me unreasonable.

Or maybe, she hadn't changed.

I had just become less important to her.

"Lisa, this is not a joke."

I said softly. "If the brooch is gone, then it's over between us."

She stared at me, her lips pressed tightly together.

"You're really going to break off our engagement over a brooch?"

"I told you, it's not just a brooch."

"Are you done throwing a tantrum?!"

She suddenly let out a roar, startling Henry into backing away holding tightly to the cheap jacket.