“Gretchen, can you stop being so difficult? I can call off the engagement anytime before it happens, you know.”
Gretchen replied calmly, “Suit yourself.”
After that, silence hung heavy in the air until Marjorie spoke again. “Gretchen, don’t be mad. I’ll give it back to you soon.”
Later that day, the doorbell rang at Gretchen’s place.
When she opened the package, she found the engagement ring—cut into four jagged pieces as if by wire cutters.
Along with it was a note.
[Gretchen, I promised Bernie I’d give it back to you. So… does this mean you’re not mad at me anymore?]
Before she could process her anger, the doorbell rang again.
It was Bernard, standing outside.
Gretchen’s hands trembled, but she refused to acknowledge him.
But he wouldn’t stop pressing the doorbell.
“Gretchen, open the door. Let me explain.”
Unable to take the noise anymore, Gretchen flung the door open. Bernard stood there, his hair a mess, his face full of impatience.
“I’ll compensate you for it,” he said. “How much do you want? Five thousand? Ten thousand?”
Gretchen closed her eyes briefly and shook her head. “It’s not about the money.”
“Then what is it? Didn’t you go through all this trouble to marry me for money?” Bernard’s voice was dripping with annoyance. “Gretchen, stop playing games. I told you before—you can’t have it all. With me, it’s either money or feelings. You can only pick one.”
Gretchen met his gaze, her face expressionless. “Is that so? Then I don’t want any of that.”
With that, she slammed the door shut.
Bernard stood frozen in shock, but anger quickly took over. He pounded on the door, shouting, “Gretchen, what the hell is that supposed to mean? Open the door and explain yourself! It’s just a stupid ring—why are you making such a big deal out of it?!”
Inside, Gretchen slid down to the floor slowly, listening to his muffled shouting in a daze.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed. It was Rheinold.
“Gretchen, Terrence came back early. He’s here with me right now. Do you have time to come over?”
Terrence—Bernard’s older cousin and the key figure in the family business.
He graduated from Harvard with a repurposing for staying out of the spotlight, but it was well-known that he managed more than half of the Golbersteins Co.’s major operations.
The young man was the most important and capable member of his generation, far ahead of everyone else in the family.
Gretchen vaguely remembered meeting him once as a child—a quiet, composed figure.
The invitation caught her off guard, especially since it was earlier than planned. But still, she agreed.
“Of course, Uncle Reinhold. I’m free.”
The old man chuckled on the other end of the line. “Oh, Gretchen, you’ve really got such a great personality— gorgeous and competent! We’re so lucky to have you in our family! Very well, I’ll send a driver to pick you up right away!”
After hanging up, Gretchen began to worry. Marjorie ruined her engagement ring, and her partner’s ring, which she had customized in a rush, was now useless too.
Still, after a moment’s thought, she carefully wrapped the broken pieces of the ring, placed them in a box, and tucked it into her purse.
As she stepped outside, a voice stopped her. “Where are you off to?”
Apparently, Bernard hadn’t left.
He leaned lazily against his car, his eyes scanning Gretchen’s from head to toe. His tone was dripping with sarcasm.
“Got your hair done? Wearing a dress? What, you’re heading to a red-carpet event?”
But Gretchen just ignored him completely, walking straight to the car Reinhold had sent.
Bernard’s smirk faded when she didn’t respond. He opened the car door and slid into the front passenger seat.
“It’s my family’s car. I can ride in it too.”
The driver then looked uneasy. “S-Sir, your father sent me to pick up Miss Marxhausen.”
Bernard snapped, “Wherever she’s going, I’m going too. Got a problem with that?”
With that, the car sped down the road and finally came to a stop in front of the Golbersteins’s Garden Café.
