Owned No More

On Norton's birthday, the gift I'd bought in Snowcall arrived right on schedule.

Elvis and I had picked it out together. They were cufflinks from a luxury brand Norton particularly liked.

Norton was thrilled with the present, but Caesar's expression darkened the moment he saw the cufflinks. He knocked over his drink, and the bottle shattered on the floor.

When he saw those cufflinks, Caesar had a gut feeling that there was someone else in my life now. Still, he remained confident that I belonged to him and was just throwing a tantrum.

Glass scattered everywhere, and a shard sliced Caesar's arm, leaving a bloody gash. The private room erupted into chaos.

"What just happened? Why did Caesar suddenly lose it?"

"You're bleeding pretty badly. We should get you to a hospital."

But Caesar refused to go. His face was twisted with rage as he sneered. "Some other guy picked out this gift. She would never buy anything from this brand on her own."

There was an anger in Caesar's tone that even he didn't seem to recognize.

Norton quickly tried to reassure him. "That can't be right. Miranda's in Snowcall, isn't she? She probably just grabbed something random.

"It's not like when she shops for your birthday, where she usually starts planning months ahead."

Their friends chimed in to support him. "Exactly. We all know how much Miranda cares about you. To her, all of us combined don't matter as much as you do."

Caesar let out a cold laugh. "Cares about me? Does this look like someone who cares? I unblocked her number ages ago, and she hasn't called me once!"

"Miranda's still a woman after all. Why don't you call her yourself and smooth things over?"

Caesar's expression remained stone-cold. Upon seeing this, Norton took a photo of Caesar's injured arm and sent it to me. Caesar's expression finally softened slightly when my call came through.

I asked anxiously, "Norton, are you hurt?"

I had no idea Norton had put me on speaker. "It's not me—it's Caesar's hand. He accidentally cut himself just now, and the bleeding won't stop.

"Maybe you should call him to check on him? Or just come back and see him yourself?"

Norton continued in this manner for a while, but I remained silent.

"Miranda, are you listening? You should really come back. Caesar won't listen to anyone, and he's bleeding but refuses to go to the hospital."

I let out a soft sigh before speaking gently. "Norton, there's no need to tell me about Caesar's problems anymore."

Norton's voice immediately turned panicked. "Miranda…"

Everyone heard the sound of me hanging up, and the private room fell completely silent after that.

Caesar laughed bitterly. "So this is what you all meant when you said she cared about me?"

Finally, Lucas spoke up. "Caesar, what you did before was pretty hurtful… Miranda's a woman, and even if you don't love her anymore, you shouldn't have brought another woman to break up with her in front of everyone like that.

"Nobody would forgive you easily for something like that."

Caesar's laugh was mocking. "She's been with me for eight years. Even a dog would be loyal after that long! Why wouldn't she forgive me?"

Our friends fell silent until someone spoke up quietly. "But Miranda only gets so many years in her life. She's your stepsister. She endured all that pressure to have a forbidden relationship with you.

"Caesar, have you considered that Miranda might never come back?"

Caesar angrily cut him off, his voice carrying a barely detectable tremor. "That's impossible! She can't live without me!"

He was determined to find out who was taking me away from him.