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: