Goodbye to Yesterday's Love

“Oh, calm down, Ariel! It’s not like I’m going to break it or anything,” Demi scoffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m just curious about what’s inside.”

“Give it back, Demi,” I said, reaching for the jewelry box she clutched.

But seeing me react only seemed to amuse her, and a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. She danced out of reach, her fingers still firmly wrapped around the box.

“Oh, I wonder how important this cheap jewelry is to you,” she taunted as she cracked open the box, revealing the delicate necklace inside.

Her eyes lit up as she took in the intricate design. Then, she took the necklace and threw the box carelessly.

“Let me just try it on,” she said, ignoring my outstretched hand. “Don’t worry, I will give it back once I’m done.”

“Demi, don’t!” I lunged forward, but she spun around, holding the necklace just out of reach.

She was practically laughing as she dodged my attempts, clearly enjoying herself.

Finally, I managed to grab hold of the necklace, but Demi clung to it stubbornly, refusing to let go.

“Get your dirty hands off of it, Demi!” I snapped, desperation rising in my voice.

“Why are you so stingy, Ariel?” she sneered. “I told you I would give it back. You’re overreacting.”

We wrestled for control, neither of us willing to back down. In the heat of the struggle, the necklace slipped from our grasp and clattered to the floor, snapping at the delicate clasp.

I froze, staring in horror as the piece lay in fragments on the floor.

At that moment, the front door opened, and Morgan and Nate stepped inside, arms full of bags of food they had bought for Demi. Their eyes widened as they took in the scene.

Demi, sensing an opportunity, instantly burst into tears, clutching her hand where the broken jewelry had cut her.

Morgan and Nate dropped their bags, their faces pale with concern as they rushed over to her.

“Demi, are you alright?” Nate asked, his voice filled with worry.

He shot me a glare as he examined her hand. “Ariel, you should be grateful that Demi's okay after yesterday’s accident, but here you are making her cry again. What’s wrong with you?”

It was the first time Nate had ever raised his voice at me, and his words struck deep. He was not looking at me as the friend he had known for fifteen years, but as some villain in Demi’s carefully spun web.

Morgan did not even acknowledge me as he knelt beside Demi, softly asking her what had happened and completely uninterested in hearing my side.

“I just wanted to try on the necklace,” Demi whimpered, her voice shaky as she clung to Nate. “But Ariel got all possessive and grabbed it from me. I just wanted to see it up close.”

“Ariel,” Morgan said, his tone heavy with disappointment, “She is your younger cousin. You should have just let her try it on. As the older cousin, it would not have hurt you to be generous.”

I took a deep breath, willing myself not to cry, even as the hurt and frustration welled up inside me.

I knelt down to collect the broken pieces of my father’s last design, feeling the sharp edges cut into my palm. But I forced myself to stay calm, determined to play the game Demi had set.

Forcing tears to my eyes, I looked up at them with a trembling voice. “This isn’t just any jewelry, Morgan. This was my father’s final piece, the one he designed before he passed away. He left it for me, for my dowry, for my wedding day.”

My voice broke as I stared at the broken necklace, knowing I had never seen it intact again. “How could I be calm while Demi was trying to make it hers?”

Morgan and Nate stared at me, but instead of understanding, their expressions hardened.

“Ariel,” Morgan said quietly, shaking his head, “Demi just wanted to see it, not steal it. You are blowing this way out of proportion.”

Nate, meanwhile, was busy cleaning Demi’s cuts, his voice filled with anger as he looked at me. “Look at her hand, Ariel. If you would just let her try it on, she would not have gotten hurt. She just got out of the hospital, crying out loud.”

I glanced down at my own hand, where blood from the broken jewelry smeared across my skin. But neither Morgan nor Nate seemed to notice.

Their attention was solely on Demi, who looked at me with smug satisfaction, her face hidden from their view.

After making sure Demi was comfortable, Nate picked her up and carried her over to the sofa, cradling her as he took out the first aid kit.

Morgan crouched down in front of me, his voice low and firm. “When you’re done cleaning up this mess, you owe Demi an apology. At the hospital, she told us that she was the one who had provoked you on the stairs yesterday. She even blamed herself for pushing your buttons, but never once did she demand an apology from you.”

He looked at me with a mixture of pity and frustration. “She is two years younger than you, Ariel. You need to act more maturely.”

A bitter smile tugged at my lips as I replied, “Oh, so that’s the story you two believe. Fine. Just go on believing it.”

Ignoring the blood trickling from my hand, I gathered the broken pieces of the necklace, each shard feeling like a weight against my palm.

My chest ached, but it was not the cuts that hurt, it was the pain of being completely dismissed by the people I once trusted most.

While Nate gently bandaged Demi’s hand, the two of them took turns feeding her the food they had brought, treating her like a delicate doll.

Meanwhile, I quietly cleaned my own wound under the kitchen faucet, feeling more alone than ever.

Once the bleeding had stopped, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I glanced at the screen and saw my mother’s name.

Her familiar voice brought a calm I had not felt all day.

“Hey, dear. Are you finished with everything there?” Her voice was warm, laced with that steady reassurance I had come to miss so deeply. “If you’re ready, I can arrange a plane ticket for you on a private flight.”

I felt a small smile tug at my lips. “Thanks, Mom. I can book the flight myself. I have plenty of savings. Maybe not as much as yours, but enough.”

She chuckled. “I’m sure your dad and your grandparents left you more than enough to get by. Oh, and don’t forget to say goodbye to them before you leave.”

“I was planning to,” I said, glancing toward the hallway, where Demi’s laughter echoed as she chatted with Morgan and Nate. “I will make my rounds, then take care of my ticket.”

“Okay, tell me if you have booked your flight, since I will ask your future husband to pick you up,” she teased with a broad smile.

I couldn’t help but stutter when she replied teasingly, “Oh my God, it is not like the marriage will….”

But just as I said that, I sensed someone behind me.

Turning around, I found Nate and Morgan rushing towards me from the door with shocked faces, and they both said in unison: "What? You're going abroad to get married?"