The Broken Bracelet

Mia's gaze dropped to the bracelet, and her expression turned mocking. "Wait. Don't tell me this thing is fake."

She slipped it off with obvious disgust, pinching it between two fingers as she held it out in front of me.

I reached for it, but she took one step back and dodged my hand.

'Were the Sterlings in the jewelry business? If I wasn't mistaken, Adrian wanted me to marry into that family. So why have I never heard of Mia?'

My inattention only lasted for a second.

However, that was enough to catch me off guard when Mia suddenly tossed the bracelet at me. "Fine. You can have it back if it's just a fake."

Her smile widened. "But don't forget to write that IOU for ten million."

I barely spared a glance at the smug satisfaction spread across Mia's face before turning my gaze to the falling emerald bracelet.

I immediately reached for it, but I was still too late.

A sharp crack rang in my ears.

I dropped to my knees, and the broken pieces cut into my skin. Blood ran down almost instantly, but I barely felt the sting.

That bracelet had been the token of love my father gave my mother. She treasured it her whole life. She only removed it when she was lying on her deathbed just to pass it to me.

Yet, it was destroyed because of me.

I was a horrible daughter.

I knelt there, sobbing so hard I could barely breathe.

I did not know how much time had passed before Preston suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me up from the ground.

"It was just a fake bracelet," he snapped. "Are you seriously going to raise such a fuss because of that?"

His voice was filled with impatience.

"I'll just get you another fake one if it matters so much to you. It won't even cost much."

Then, he frowned. "Instead of wasting your time crying, you should be thinking about how you're going to pay Mia back."

I almost laughed out loud. 'Money? All he cares about is money. He's rich enough to never worry about it. Yet, he still uses such a cruel and ridiculous trick to push me into a corner.'

I shook off his hand, crouched back down, and carefully picked up every broken piece of the bracelet.

Only after I found the last fragment did I lift my bloodshot eyes to him. "Preston, I already have nothing left. Are you still not done playing with me?

My voice went cold. "We're done."

I saw Mia's eyes light up as she grinned with joy. She was acting as if she had finally gotten what she wanted.

Only now did I realize just why she had helped Preston come up with this plan to mess with me. She had wanted me to back off on my own.

At the same time, Preston froze.

He clearly had not expected me to break up with him.

He had assumed I would continue doing everything I could to pay off his debt.

After all, I loved him that deeply. I was even willing to work in the service industry for him and supported him for four years. What else wouldn't I do for him?

Preston stared at me in disbelief. "Nora, you're breaking up with me?"

Then, his expression darkened, and he let out a bitter laugh. "So this is who you are, huh? You'd run the second things get tough. I've truly misjudged you. It turns out you've been looking down on me all along."

After that, he angrily grabbed Mia's hand and walked away.

I watched him leave and understood exactly what he was doing.

He was trying to force me to give in.

That was because I had once sworn that I would never leave him just because he was penniless. I had promised I would never abandon him when he was struggling.

I wiped my tears and turned back toward the nightclub.

I had only taken the bottle-service job to support Preston. Now that I had broken up with him, there was no reason to keep working there.

Besides, I was going back to the Whitmores anyway.

When I told my manager, Carla Bennett, that I wanted to resign, she looked at me in shock. "Nora, did you finally pass the boss's test?"

Then, she sighed. "You've had it rough. The boss sent so many rich guys to harass you and test you with money."

She looked at me with a strange kind of admiration. "The fact that you resisted all of that is honestly rare."

I frowned.

There was so much information in her words that I could not process it all at once.

I wondered what she meant by rich guys harassing me with money and the boss' test.

I asked slowly, "Ms. Bennett, when you say 'the boss'..."

The Boss' Test

When Carla saw the confusion on my face, she looked just as puzzled.

"The boss is Mr. Hale," she explained. "He was the one who arranged for you to work bottle service here in the first place."

Then, she gave me a small, almost pleased smile. "But you've finally made it! I'm sure Mr. Hale will treat you well from now on."

Only then did it hit me.

Preston introduced me to this nightclub four years ago.

Back then, I had just stood up on the blind date Adrian arranged for me and fled from the Whitmores out of anger.

That was when I met Preston.

He thought I was some poor girl from the countryside, running away from a family that had tried to force me into marriage.

I thought he was a broke, unlucky man with no future.

We agreed to work hard together and build our rags-to-riches story.

He sent me here to work at the bottle service, where I had to smile at customers, flatter them, and put up with their wandering hands just to sell more liquor.

And what did he do?

He claimed he was out chasing business when he was really spending his nights drowning in luxury and pleasure.

Carla hesitated before continuing, "What Mr. Hale did was a little excessive. Some of the rich guys who hang out with him would sometimes pretend to be customers and get handsy with you. Mr. Hale said he was worried you wouldn't be able to resist temptation."

Then, she looked at me as if I should feel grateful. "You passed the test, though. I guess that's the silver lining here."

So this was what they called passing the test, and this was what they called a silver lining.

How ironic.

Preston was the one who had trapped me in four years of misery. He was the source of my harassment, and he was the one who had sent his friends to pose as customers just to toy with me. To them, my suffering was their twisted form of entertainment.

He knew how hard I was slaving away just for money, and that I'd suffered from health issues due to pushy customers.

And yet, he continued to lounge in his private room at the nightclub with his rich, useless friends. He continued to watch with cold eyes as I stumbled through the traps he had set.

The more I thought about it, the closer I came to laughing through my tears.

Carla was still calling after me when I finally left the office.

I ignored her, took out my phone, and called Adrian again.

I said, my voice shaking, "Adrian, I want to go home now. Can you come get me?"

What I did not expect was that Adrian was currently overseas on business.

"Nora, don't be scared," he replied immediately. "Send me your location. I'll have someone pick you up."

I had just sent him my location when a sardonic voice sounded behind me.

"Well, if it isn't Nora, the bottle-service girl. What are you doing standing around? Shouldn't you be selling drinks?"

It was Mia.

She stood in front of me with her arms crossed, looking down at me as if I were gum stuck under her shoe.

Her gaze swept over me with open contempt before her lips curled into a smug smile. Then, she tilted her chin toward the hallway. "We need more liquor. Bring us a few good bottles."

Her smile sharpened. "As for whether you can actually sell them… Well, I guess that'll depend on your luck."

I stared into her malicious eyes and instantly cottoned on to what she was planning. They intended to use the excuse of purchasing liquor to humiliate me. However, I no longer needed to worry about their feelings now.

I answered coldly, "Sorry, I've already resigned. So, find someone else."

I turned to leave, but someone grabbed me hard from behind.

It was Preston.

He stared at me with anger written all over his face.

"Nora, you resigned?" he demanded. "Why didn't you discuss it with me first?"

Then, his voice turned sharper. "What about the money you owe Mia? Are you trying to run from your debt?"

I almost laughed. 'The money I owe Mia? He really has the nerve to say that.'

Now that I'd seen his true colors, I couldn't help but wonder whether my brain had turned into mush for the past four years.

The men behind him started pointing at me and jeering.

"She owes someone money, but now she's quitting. It sounds like she's trying to run from her debt."

"Preston, your girlfriend's ghastly."

"A shameless woman like that isn't worthy of you. It's a good thing that you never made the relationship public..."

His friend nearly let something slip.

The Whitmore Name

Preston quickly cut his friend off.

He still wanted to keep me on a leash.

After all, I had not yet "paid back" the money for him.

"What are you talking about?" Preston forced a calm smile. "Nora is just scared she won't be able to pay the money back."

Then, he looked at me as if he were doing me some great favor. "Nora, stop making a scene. I won't be able to help you if you quit now."

He kept talking about how I should repay the money as if I really owed someone a debt.

My lips curled into a bitter, broken thing.

Just as I was about to speak, Mia grabbed my arm and played the generous peacemaker.

"It's only a little money," she said. "I'm not exactly desperate for it, so take your time paying me back, Ms. Whitmore."

Then, her eyes slid toward Preston, and her tone turned sour. "Preston and I grew up together. I'd probably be married to him now if I hadn't spent the last four years abroad."

She looked back at me with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Since you're Preston's girlfriend, I don't mind buying more drinks from you. Consider it as me looking out for him."

So that was why she hated me so much.

I never once thought that we were on opposing sides. However, I now understood that she saw me as the woman who had taken her place while she was gone.

After Mia finished speaking, she ordered someone to bring over the most expensive liquor in the club.

I tried to leave, but her grip kept me there. It didn't matter how hard I tried to struggle as I could not break free.

I told her coldly, "I already said I've resigned from my job, and that I've ended things with Preston."

My gaze moved over them.

"As for who actually owes you money or whether that debt even exists at all… I'm sure all of you know the truth better than anyone."

My words caused everyone's faces to turn stormy.

Preston looked at me with a flash of guilt.

Then, someone muttered that I was only making excuses because I did not want to pay the money back.

That seemed to give Preston the opening he needed. A trace of mockery appeared on his face.

A few bottles of liquor were soon brought over.

I glanced at them and knew at once that Mia had chosen the club's most expensive bottles. Each one was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mia ignored what I had just said and pointed to one of the bottles. "Here's the deal, Ms. Whitmore. I'll buy every bottle you finish. However, I won't be paying a single dime if you can't finish the whole thing."

Before I could stop them, someone popped a bottle open with a loud crack.

Mia was still gripping my arm, and several of Preston's friends came over to hold me down.

Preston looked at me and spoke in that faux gentle voice I had once trusted, "Nora, just drink it. You'll get the commission if you drink them."

Then, he sighed and made a show of being patient."Mia is the eldest daughter of the Sterlings. She doesn't care about this little bit of money, but you can't keep refusing to pay her back."

His eyes softened in a way that made my stomach turn. "Once the money is paid, we can still work hard together."

Preston said all of that without the slightest shame. I had never seen someone so shameless until today.

I had stopped hoping he would speak up for me.

After all, he was the cause of all my misery.

I glared at him and confronted, "Preston, are you still acting? Do you really think I don't know this nightclub belongs to you?"

His expression stiffened.

I continued, "Do you think you're the only one who can hide an identity? Remember, my last name is Whitmore. Don't tell me you've never heard of Whitmore Group—"

Before I could finish, Mia grabbed a bottle and shoved the mouth of it between my lips. The burning liquor choked me instantly, and I started coughing hard.

She grabbed my hair and did not let go.

Instead, she leaned close and hissed viciously, "What were you going to say? That you're the heiress of Whitmore Group?"

Her eyes were full of contempt. "That's the woman my older brother has been in love with for years. Why don't you take a good look at yourself before you lie? Someone like you dares to pretend to be the Whitmore heiress?"

Unlike Mia, who was still acting arrogant and fearless, Preston had gone pale when he saw a tall, sharp-looking man striding toward them, fury in every step.

Preston knew exactly who he was, but Mia knew him even better.

"Let her go!"