Chapter 2
I looked at Penny in confusion, expecting her to explain she’d given it to me willingly.
Instead, she suddenly fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. “It wasn’t Miss Sinclair’s fault. I gave it to her myself.”
“Miss Sinclair has been so kind to me, even giving me this bracelet. I’m not upset, really,”
She kept bowing over and over, her head practically touching the floor. The three men sniffled, tears in their eyes–remembering how much they’d had to rely on others all these years.
They stepped forward to defend her:
“Even as a Sinclair, you have no right to pressure someone into giving up their mother’s keepsake.”
“The clip might not be worth much money, but its sentimental value can’t be measured by your thousand–dollar bracelet. Give it back to Penny now!”
“Always so entitled, only thinking about yourself without caring who gets hurt.”
My expression changed instantly, but I still thought there must be a misunderstanding that could be cleared up.
Gritting my teeth, I handed the clip back to Penny, but she fumbled the catch.
The clip shattered into pieces, and she bit her lip before shouting:
“If you’d rather destroy it than return it, why pretend to be nice?”
A Alexander, always the first to defend the underdog, snapped, his voice like ice:
“Apologize to Penny right now, or I’ll call off our engagement!”
Back then, I’d already told Alexander that I wouldn’t marry anyone but him.
Alexander used this as leverage, forcing me to bow my head to Penny.
I was too young then, too afraid of losing the man I loved to stand up for myself.
All I could do was apologize with tears in my eyes.
But that one apology turned into five long years.
Ever since then, Penny would act like a terrified mouse whenever she saw me–either suddenly dropping to her knees or bursting into tears.
Yet I hadn’t done anything wrong…
I looked at Alexander, my face hardening:
“If you’re so worried I’ll bully Penny, maybe you should just keep her tied to your belt loop at all times.”
Even with my sarcasm dripping off every word, Alexander just frowned:
“Are
you threatening me? What are you planning to do to Penny?”
Max clapped his hands and pointed at me accusingly. “Don’t tell me you’re going to use us giving Penny the Ocean Starscape as an excuse to bully her?”
Dylan glared at me, his eyes cold. “You have everything, while Penny’s never had anyone celebrate her birthday. It’s just one Ocean Starscape–why can’t you let it go?”
My eyes narrowed. “The Ocean Starscape?”
14.30%
Chapter 2
The Ocean Starscape was an underground aquarium that had been under construction since I was born.
In the southeast corner, there was this rare green jade–you know, the kind that’s so deep green it almost glows. When the water rippled around it, the light bounced off, making the whole pond look like it had a galaxy trapped inside.
Six months ago, as it neared completion, Dad put Alexander in charge of finalizing everything, tasking him with presenting the Ocean Starscape to me at my birthday gala next month.
But now, this gift that was meant to be mine had become Penny’s.
My gaze landed on Alexander. He was in charge of finishing the project.
Without his approval, no one could enter the unopened aquarium.
Alexander looked a bit guilty under my stare, but quickly turned defensive:
“Penny grew up rural, too busy scraping by to ever really look at the stars. I was just doing something she always wanted. Plus, you still own the place, right?”
“Stop making a fuss. If it makes you happy, I’ll announce our engagement at your birthday gala next month. Will that make you happy?”
Watching Alexander’s smug look, I almost thought I was the adopted child.
Yet nobody in the room seemed to notice anything wrong–instead, they all felt sorry for Alexander.
“Why make such a ce?
Ellie Sinclair is spoiled, selfish, and cruel. Marrying her would be worse than becoming a monk”
“I bet Ellie’s over the moon now. Her years of obsession finally paying off.”
“No, no, Alexander, please don’t ruin your life for me,” Penny sobbed. “I’ll kneel before Miss Sinclair, I’ll be her servant, I’ll do anything…”
My throat got dry when I said, “I won’t marry you.”
Alexander raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
Max and Dylan exchanged worried glances, clearly terrified I might choose one of them instead.
With the three guys I grew up with hating me so openly, I was scared I’d start crying if I stuck around any longer.
I turned to leave, but Penny grabbed my wrist.
She had tears in her eyes, she knelt down in front of me again:
“Please don’t be so hard on Alexander. They’re adopted by your family–they’re always been in your shadow. If you’re angry they gave me the Ocean Starscape and wanna tell your father, I’ll get down on my knees and apologize however you like.”
She started banging her head on the floor–boom, boom, boom–until her forehead turned red and started bleeding.
Alexander pulled her up from the ground, his face full of concern, then turned to glare at me:
“You keep saying you won’t marry me–go ahead, try rejecting me when it matters! Using cheap tricks to mess with Penny–real brave, huh?”
“Aren’t you just planning to snitch to your dad and run Penny out?”
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