The moment I opened the door, I saw him lounging in his chair.
And there, plastered to his side, was Olivia, giggling sweetly.
She stiffened for a second, then reluctantly sat up.
“Sophia, why don’t you ever knock?”
Ignoring her, I grabbed her hand.
The glaring green shimmer of the ring burned into my eyes.
“Is this yours? You think you can just wear it?”
“Hey, what are you doing? That hurts!” Olivia yanked her hand back, pouting pitifully.
“Sophia Lane, are you crazy?”
Michael immediately shielded her behind him, as if I were some kind of monster.
“Don’t you know that’s mine? How dare you give it to her?”
My voice trembled with fury.
Michael hesitated for a moment, then his expression turned impatient.
“Olivia liked it. I thought it looked nice, so I let her try it on.”
“That’s all it is. And you storm into my office over a worthless ring? Where are your manners?”
I almost laughed out loud.
Manners?
A cheating man lecturing me about manners?
On my birthday, when he claimed to be too busy on a trip, I begged him to spend some time with me.
He told me I was too dependent, asked why I couldn’t buy things myself.
He said he hated “rituals” and told me not to try to change him.
Back then, I comforted myself, thinking it was just his personality.
But now?
He didn’t hate rituals—he just hated giving them to me.
Cheating was already undeniable.
I no longer wanted to argue or cling.
And I couldn’t afford to waste time—the meeting with my cousins was drawing near.
“I don’t want to fight with you, but this is not some worthless trinket.”
Though my body shook, my voice stayed firm:
“This jade ring is my grandfather’s heirloom, bought with lives in a deadly tomb. It means everything to me. Please, make her give it back.”
Olivia peeked out from behind Michael, reluctantly extending her hand with the ring.
Her eyes reddened as she whimpered:
“Sophia, you’re so mean… I didn’t know it mattered so much. I just thought it was pretty… This is all my fault, please don’t fight.”
“If you’d just said you wanted it, I’d have given it back. Why be so angry, so violent…”
She pretended to take it off, but Michael stopped her.
His cold gaze met mine, his voice icy:
“Sophia, enough. It’s just an old thing. Olivia wearing it is its blessing.”
“Why make her suffer for such a trivial item? Heirloom, schmearloom—I’ll buy you ten better ones later.”
“I don’t want ten. I just want this one.”
Lifting my chin, I declared:
“This isn’t about money. It’s a token, a promise among our grandfathers’ descendants.”
I tried to snatch it back, but Michael shoved me hard.
His face twisted with contempt.
“A promise? What bullshit promise?”
“You’ve got some nerve. Look at yourself—living in my mansion, wearing luxury brand clothes I bought, driving a luxury sports car worth millions. Tell me, which of those things didn’t come from me, Michael Reed?”
“One ring? Ten rings? A hundred? They wouldn’t even cover a fraction of what you’ve spent of mine. And you dare scream at me about what’s yours?”
His words stabbed me like knives.
Yes, I’d been a housewife these years, handling his affairs quietly, not working outside.
But I was thrifty, and all those things were what he had insisted on giving me—not what I demanded.
