The ball immediately hit Nora’s leg, right on the spot where she had been cut by a piece of broken porcelain two days earlier. The wound was just starting to heal and had almost formed a scab. But now, because of the ball, it started bleeding again.
Nevertheles, Nora tried to keep walking even though it hurt. She limped away, trying not to show how embarrassed and hurt she was. But Sally’s close friend didn’t care. She laughed loudly, mocking Nora without any kindness.
On the other hand, Benjamin just stood there as he watched everything. For some reason, he felt a strange pain in his heart. He remembered that Nora wasn’t always like this. She used to be confident and strong.
But then he reminded himself that she had made a mistake. And, people who made mistakes had to face consequences.
When Nora finally got home, her parents saw the red and swollen marks on her face. They looked surprised, but they didn’t ask her any questions. They didn’t ask if she was okay. They didn’t comfort her. Instead, they just stayed quiet.
Later that night, Nora opened her diary. She sat at her desk for a long time, thinking. Finally, she picked up her pen and wrote something simple about Benjamin.
[Benjamin Hunt was my classmate from high school, but we’re not that close anymore.]
Nora knew it wasn’t the truth, but she didn’t want to write anything more. She was tired of everything.
The next morning, something unexpected happened.
Nora received a phone call from Sebastian Hunt, Benjamin’s powerful uncle, for the first time after what happened in the golf course.
“I heard what happened at the golf course,” he said calmly.
“I’ve already punished Benjamin. Our lawyer will visit your house later today to give you some property as compensation.”
Nora was surprised since no one had protected her like this in a long time.
“I’ve been too busy lately,” Sebastian continued.
“I haven’t had time to look after you. I’m sorry. I’ll bring Benjamin to apologize to you in person in a few days.”
Nora didn’t know how to respond. She felt flattered and awkward at the same time.
After a few more words, Sebastian added kindly, “There’s no need for us to act like strangers.”
Not long after that, he hung up.
Later that morning, a lawyer came to the Riley Family’s house.
The lawyer brought a very thick folder full of legal documents. He explained that these were for transferring property to Nora’s name. One of the properties was the golf course where the incident had happened.
Nora stared at the documents in shock. Was this what Sebastian had meant by ‘some property’? She thought Sebastian was only trying to be polite. She never imagined he would really try to give her something so big. Now, she realized Sebastian really was someone worth hundreds of billions.
“I can’t accept this,” Nora said quickly, her voice full of confusion.
The lawyer looked slightly uncomfortable.
After thinking for a moment, he handed her a business card and said, “Miss Riley, this is my contact information. If you change your mind later, we can transfer everything to your name at any time.” Nora took the card and quietly walked the lawyer to the door.
Just a few minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Riley came home in a hurry. Their faces were full of anger and panic.
“Nora!” her father shouted.
“What happened between you and Benjamin?! Do you know that he was punished by the Hunt Family last night? He had to kneel all night as punishment! Now he’s under house arrest!”
“Really?”
Nora said softly. She didn’t smile, but deep inside she thought to herself, ‘That’s good. I also walked alone all night in the cold rain.’
But she didn’t say it out loud. Even though Benjamin had been punished and her parents were now so angry about it, Nora didn’t feel happy at all. She just felt empty and bitter.
Her younger sister, Sally, quickly came to Benjamin’s defense.
“Nora,” Sally said as she shed tears.
“I heard Benjamin was punished very badly. You’ve always liked him so much. You wouldn’t want him to suffer like this, right? Please, go to the Hunt Family and ask his uncle to forgive him. Do it for Benjamin.”
Mr. Riley added, “This whole thing started because of you. I don’t care what exactly happened at the golf course. Young people fight sometimes, but now Benjamin’s family is angry. You need to go there and apologize.”
Nora’s heart felt like it was breaking all over again.
She looked at her father and said, “You’re blaming me without even asking what happened?”
However, Mr. Riley frowned and said, “Benjamin’s wealth was taken away. That’s serious. You must come with me to the Hunt Family and ask for forgiveness.”
After that, it suddenly became clear to Nora.
The property the lawyer had brought to her was all under Benjamin’s name. But now, because he was punished, it was being taken away and given to her. She thought about Sebastian’s words. He had said he would bring Benjamin to apologize.
But now her own father was asking her to go beg for Benjamin’s forgiveness. It was unbelievable. She couldn’t help but feel that the whole thing was ridiculous.
“Dad,” she said clearly, looking into his eyes.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I won’t beg for him.”
Her father’s face turned red with anger.
“I’m doing this for your own good!” he shouted.
“Benjamin is your future husband! Why are you being so stubborn? It’s not good for you to fight with him like this!”
Nora suddenly felt tears filling her eyes. She couldn’t understand her father anymore. He said he loved her, but this didn’t feel like love. If he really cared about her, why didn’t he stand by her side?
With a voice filled with sorrow, she said, “Dad, he’s not my future husband.”
Her father didn’t take her words seriously. He thought she was just being emotional. But Sally looked at him with hopeful eyes. After a moment, Mr. Riley let out a long sigh and rubbed his aching forehead.
“If you’re going to be like this, then fine,” he said.
“Sally will take your place in the marriage. She and Benjamin already like each other anyway.”
The next moment felt like time had frozen. Nora couldn’t breathe. She watched as her father, right in front of her, gave the wedding ring that was supposed to be hers to Sally. Sally smiled sweetly and said softly, “Nora, don’t be sad. You and Benjamin were never meant to be happy together.”
Nora slowly wiped the tears from her cheeks. Her heart felt like it had completely shattered. She didn’t say another word. She just picked up her phone and called the lawyer.
“Mr. Capello?” she said with a quiet but steady voice.
“I’ve changed my mind. I want the property.”
