Chapter 3

The next morning, I went to the pawn shop in the old district.

I wanted to get my mom's ring back. Last night I'd sold some coats and bags on Poshmark and barely scraped together five hundred dollars.

The owner sat behind the counter and pushed up his reading glasses.

"Young lady, you're too late."

"That silver ring was bought half an hour ago."

I froze in place, my fingers tightening on my canvas bag strap.

"Sir, the redemption period hasn't ended yet, has it? Could you help me contact the buyer?" My voice trembled. "I can pay more."

The owner shook his head. "The young couple seemed to really like it. They paid in full and left wearing it."

I was about to plead further when the glass door of the pawn shop swung open. The wind chime rang with a crisp sound.

Ethan pushed through the door, carefully shielding the girl behind him.

"Vivian, slow down. The doctor said you can't walk too fast."

Vivian Winters was wearing those five-hundred-dollar limited-edition running shoes, holding a cup of hot milk tea.

She smiled sweetly. "Ethan, I'm not that fragile."

She raised her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear.

On her ring finger, that familiar silver ring caught the harsh sunlight.

My breath stopped.

Ethan looked up and saw me standing by the counter.

Shock flashed across his face, followed by a frown.

"Lily? What are you doing here?"

Vivian saw me too. She shrank back behind Ethan, looking nervous.

"Hi, Lily," she said timidly.

I ignored her, staring straight at the ring.

"That's my ring." I looked at Ethan.

Ethan glanced at the ring on Vivian's hand, his frown deepening.

"Lily, stop making a scene."

"I just bought this from this shop. How is it yours?"

The pawn shop owner coughed behind the counter but said nothing.

I looked at Ethan's self-righteous face and found it absurd.

"I pawned it two days ago," I said, word by word.

Ethan froze. He seemed to remember something. His expression changed.

Vivian's eyes immediately reddened. She hurried to take off the ring.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I didn't know it was yours."

"Ethan saw I was feeling down lately and said he'd buy me a little gift to cheer me up."

"I'll give it back. Please don't be mad at Ethan."

The more anxious she got, the harder it was to remove the ring stuck at her knuckle. A red mark formed on her pale finger.

Ethan grabbed her hand.

"Stop. You're hurting yourself."

He turned to me, his voice filled with impatience and accusation.

"Lily, if you needed money, why didn't you tell me? Why come here and pawn things?"

"I already bought the ring and gave it to Vivian. She really likes it."

"It's just an old ring. I'll take you to buy a new diamond ring later."

He spoke in the most rational tone while making the cruelest decision.

In his world, my keepsake wasn't worth Vivian's momentary happiness.

I watched him shield Vivian behind him.

"No need," I said quietly.

Ethan thought I'd given in. He relaxed.

He pulled a card from his wallet and held it out to me. "There's a thousand dollars on this. Pay your rent and buy yourself something nice with what's left."

"Stop acting like I've mistreated you."

I didn't take the card.

I turned and walked toward the glass door of the pawn shop.

As I pushed it open, I heard Vivian whisper, "Ethan, is Lily really mad?"

Ethan's voice was flat.