Chapter 1
Delivering a luxury sushi order worth ¥99,999 on a stormy day with an extra 100 tip–I was quietly thrilled.
But then I accidentally overheard laughter coming from inside the villa
“She actually believes you were paralyzed in a car crash, and she delivers takeout every day to support you? She even sold her mother’s keepsake?”
“If she finds out you’re the Silvercrest Society’s heir to the Reynolds fortune, worth billions of dollars, and you’re just playing the poor man’s
wouldn’t she die of heartbreak?”
Jacob Reynolds swirled his wine glass lazily.
“A woman like that cheap and born to serve others.”
“She used to outshine Sophia in school. Deceiving her now is the punishment she deserves
I stood in the rain, tears blended with the downpour.
So he faked being sick for two years just to help his childhood sweetheart take revenge on me.
His paralyzed legs, his tragic orphan story, his helpless tears–All of it, carefully crafted lies.
In the end, I called the father I hadn’t spoken to in years.
“Dad, I lost. I agree to the engagement.”
After hanging up, Sophia Montgomery’s voice drifted out of the villa again.
“My sweet Jacob spoils and defends me, that’s why he taught that little tramp a lesson. I’m so happy.”
Her slender fingers hooked under Jacob’s chin.
And I saw the ring on her finger–my mother’s.
Jacob chuckled softly, gently biting her fingertip. “You naughty thing.”
I saw his supposedly paralyzed legs, casually crossed on the coffee table–completely functional.
The thick white cast that fooled me for over two years gleamed mockingly under the lights.
Clutching the delivery box, I knocked on the door.
Everyone inside turned their heads to look at me.
The once–lively living room fell deathly silent.
Step by step, I walked toward Jacob.
Each step left a distinct, wet footprint on the floor,
Jacob’s voice turned hoarse and tense, his eyes darting nervously. “Why are you here?”
“I was just… meeting some old classmates…” I ignored him. My eyes were fixed on the ring on Sophia’s finger.
“Give me back the ring.”
The smile on Jacob’s face traze. He hadn’t expected me to
this calm.
He instinctively wheeled toward ine, trying to soothe me with that familiar gentle tone: “Emily, listen to me…
“Listen to what?” I cut him off, my lips curling into a grimace that was uglier than crying.
“Tell me that you generously sold the ring to Miss Montgomery for a good price?”
*Or that your paralyzed legs just happened to be working today?”
Jacob’s face turned pale. He opened his mouth but said nothing
The room grew heavier with silence.
Only Sophia let out a sneering laugh
She stood with her hips swaying in her high heels, and came to stand before me, deliberately holding out her hand with the ring.
This ring is a gift from Jacob. You like it? Want it back?
She emphasized “a gift” with smug satisfaction in her eyes.
Jacob’s face twisted with guilt. “Sophia, stop! Emily, she-“!
“She what?” Sophia cut him off impatiently, giving me a slow
-over–my soaked, cheap delivery uniform.
“You want it? Fine, for Jacob’s sake, I could give it back. But not at the original price. I’ve worn it already, after all.
at a “friendship price! Y500,000, cash. Pay now, and it’s yours.”
¥500,000?
If I’m in a good mood, I’ll sell it to you
After falling out with my father, I had nothing left. I’d pawned all my mother’s keepsakes to “treat” lacob. I couldn’t even scrape together Y500 now.
I looked at her gloating face, then at Jacob–who avoided my gaze, silently condoning her cruelty.
It felt like an icy hand had clenched my heart, crushing the last flicker of warmth 1 held for the past,
“Fine.”
“I’ll buy it.”
Chapter 1
All I wanted was to get back the last thing my mother left me and then never have anything to do with these people ever again.
You’ll buy it?”
Sophia laughed as if she’d just heard the joke of the century, covering her mouth in exaggerated amusement.
Then she pointed at the insulated delivery box I was still holding the Yo0,000 luxury sushi set.
“You couldn’t warn Y500,000 even if you delivered takeout your whole life. Look at what you’re holding! Have you ever seen sushi this expensive? Have you ever tasted it? Do you even deserve to?”
Before I could react, she suddenly reached out, yanked the box from my hands, and hurled it to the ground.
BANG!
The wooden container slammed into the marble floor with a
a heavy thud
The lid popped open, and the meticulously plated, priceless sushi spilled everywhere–sashimi, caviar, and wagyu beef scattered in disarray.
Sophia looked down at the mess and ground her high heel into a slice of precious bluefin tuna
“See that? & Ya9.999 sushi meal. I throw it out whenever I want. But you someone born into a lite of poverty–you could never live so freely, could
you?”
“You’ll never earn enough to eat food this high–end. You’re only fit to smell it. That’s the difference between you a
you and me, got it?
Laughter and jeers erupted from the crowd.
Yeah, seriously! A delivery girl daring to fight Miss Sophia over something?”
She looks broke as hell Wants to pay 500,000? Maybe if she seduces some old man at a retirement home!”
“Honestly, with that innocent look, she’s probably just the type rich old guys go for.”
Sophia basked in their mockery, her smug grin widening.
She looked at the ring on h
on her finger, then back at my soaked, humiliated figure with a look of pure disdain.
“Jacob once told me this ring was supposedly s
some priceless thing. But judging by how poor you are, it’s probably just a piece of junk, huh?” “You’re the only one who ever treated it like treasure.”
With that, she pinched the ring between her fingers.
Before anyone–including Jacob could react, she yanked open the glass doors raised her arm, and flung the ring outward.
It traced a glittering are through the rain–And with a splash, it landed perfectly in the rushing waters of the Crystalbrook River beside the villa.
My eyes widened in horror–that ring was the last memory of my mother!
My body moved before my mind could react.
Like someone possessed, I bolted toward the terrace and climbed over the ralling, ready to leap into the freezing river below. “Emily!”
Jacob shouted. In a split second, he stood up from his wheelchair!
The movement was thed and agile nothing like someone who had been “paralyzed” for two years,
In a flash, he ran forward and wrapped his arms around my waist, dragging me back from the
“Let me go! Jacob! Let go of me!”
struggled with all my strength, eyes locked on the river as the last glint of the ring
Cold rain mixed with burning tears blurred my vision.
Are you insane?! You’d risk your life for some damn ring?!”
was swallowed by the current.
Jacob’s voice was tinged with panic–but mostly impatience, as if I were the one being unreasonable.
