Even the wedding dress Harry had just brought home ended up being used as a hanger for trash.
I didn’t even glance at it. I just went straight to the pillow, searching for the gold bangles Grandma had left me.
The little brown cloth pouch was still there, but it was empty.
My mind went blank with a loud ringing in my ears.
I was trying to think, maybe they fell somewhere. Then I suddenly heard Rose’s sickly sweet voice from outside the room. “Mom said since I lost the necklace, she wanted to make it up to me, so she gave me this pair of gold bangles.”
“Harry,” she said playfully, “I’ll give you one. Can you go talk to my mom for me?”
Harry chuckled. “You little schemer. You think I don’t know what you’re up to? You just want us to wear matching jewelry, don’t you?”
“Oh, come on,” Rose pouted, leaning into him. “I know you’re marrying Ms. Albyn, but we grew up together. You’re like a big brother to me. Just because you're getting married doesn’t mean I stop being your little sister, right?”
She nestled into his chest and Harry pulled her close. Their wrists were side by side, each of them wearing one of the matching gold bangles.
My heart split open in an instant.
I stormed into the room and yanked Rose’s arm away. “Give it back! You're not worthy to touch that!”
I didn’t even use much force, but she dramatically fell to the floor with a loud thud.
Rose immediately turned to Harry with teary eyes. “Harry, I was just trying to share the bracelet with you! Ms. Albyn is being so mean!" She added, "And it’s from my mom! I already lost my necklace and now she’s trying to take this from me too?”
Harry’s expression turned cold. “Joyce, apologize. I let you slide earlier today, but now you’re just being mean! Apologize to Rosey!”
I stared at him, my voice flat. “Apologize for what? That bracelet was my grandmother’s. She left it to me—for our wedding.”
Harry blinked, he wasn't expecting htat. Then, scoff escaped his lips, “Stop lying. Your grandma’s a poor country woman. If she could afford gold bracelets, why would she steal a necklace? So, Apologize.”
I was done arguing.
I grabbed Rose’s wrist and tried to pull the bracelet off. Suddenly, she bit down on my hand.
The bracelet slipped from both our hands and hit the floor with a metallic clang. Before I could even bend down to pick it up, Rose stomped on it, successfully snapping it in half.
In that moment, it felt like she shattered the last bit of hope I’d been holding onto.
I nearly went black out, my hands trembling as I reached for the broken pieces. “Rose, that was the only thing I had left from my grandmother…”
Rose immediately replied, “Ms. Albyn, you still refuse to admit you were wrong? No wonder you’re her granddaughter. Your grandma stole my necklace and now you’re trying to steal my bracelet too?”
She clutched her perfectly fine ankle like she was injured and began threatening to call the police.
I didn’t hear a word out of her lips. All I could think about was lunging at her, tearing that smug look off her face.
But the moment I stood up, Harry slapped me. Hard.
He stared at me like I had just ruined every illusion he had of me. “Joyce, I thought you were different. But I guess you’re just as petty and greedy as everyone else. You can’t even leave Rosey’s bracelet alone!”
“Fine, this is your last chance,” he said coldly. “One week. Fix the bracelet and bring it—along with your grandmother’s apology—to Rosey’s hospital room. Make a public apology in the papers, too.”
“If I don’t see sincerity, there won’t be a wedding.” He picked Rose up in his arms and left without looking back.
I knelt on the floor, shaking, gathering the broken bracelet pieces into my hands.
And I cried silently.
That night, I signed for a delivery, packed my things and boarded a southbound flight with nothing but a plane ticket in hand.
At the hospital, Harry waited until the very last day of the week, but I never showed up to apologize to Rose. Meanwhile, Rose lay comfortably in her hospital bed, lazily eating grapes Harry fed her.
“Harry, do you think Ms. Albyn’s running away? Maybe you should just marry me tomorrow instead,” she said.
Harry felt a sharp jolt in his chest. He glanced at his phone—it hadn’t buzzed once all week. Resisting the rising panic, he forced himself to stay calm.
“She won’t bail. Joyce may be blunt and tactless, but she wouldn’t just walk away from the wedding.”
Trying to reassure himself, he drafted a text message, editing it several times before hitting send: [You don’t need to make anything public. Just return the repaired bracelet and the wedding can go on as planned.]
The message took a long time to send. In the end, a red exclamation mark appear.
