As part of the "Exchange Program," Emmett Young moved into my rundown home. The night before he was supposed to head back to the city, he told me how he felt about me and asked if I wanted to join him for studies in the city. Overwhelmed with happiness, I missed the patronizing tone in his voice entirely.

Later on, Ruthie Simmons's family heirloom necklace went missing. Right in front of everyone, Emmett looked at me in disgust and said, "You refuse the money I give you because you prefer stealing, don't you?"

I stayed silent, choosing not to defend myself. I quietly gathered my things and left the Youngs' mansion that night. Five years passed, and while working as a teaching assistant greeting new students, I unexpectedly came across Emmett Young, now a freshman. With red eyes and a face full of hurt, he said, "Did you know, I took a five-year break from school just to find you?"

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At Emmett Young's birthday party, his childhood friend Ruthie's family heirloom necklace went missing. Ruthie casually mentioned seeing me sneak back into the house, prompting Emmett to lead a search through my room. Amid the turmoil, he stepped on the Victorian-style dress my grandfather had given me and impatiently said, "Arya Young, return the necklace to Ruthie, and I'll pretend this never happened."

He didn't give me a chance to explain myself before claiming I was guilty. The party guests erupted into chaos.

"Of course, she's a thief, just a country girl from the sticks. What else would you expect?" They looked at me with disdain, their eyes full of contempt.

"What's surprising? She got close to Emmett for his money. She's probably already stolen from the Youngs!"

"No, I didn't take anything..."

I tried to defend myself, but my words were swallowed by their loud jeers.

"This is disgusting. Shouldn't we call the police?"

With a pale face, I desperately looked to Emmett for help, but his expression was full of thinly-veiled disgust. He looked at me mockingly from afar, saying, "Arya Young, you refuse the money I give you because you prefer stealing, don't you?"

Time seemed to stand still at that moment. I couldn't believe what he thought of me. Laughter erupted from the crowd:

"What a hypocrite! How did her parents raise her, to end up a thief?"

"Stealing and getting caught, this is a joke! She's like a clown!"

I shook my head frantically. "I'm not a thief! There are cameras at the party; you can check them. I was in the kitchen the whole time, and Martha can confirm..."

"Enough!"

Emmett's voice cut me off. He wasn't known for his patience, and now, his anger had hushed the crowd. With a dark expression, he shouted at me, "I'll give you one more chance. Return the necklace and apologize to Ruthie."

"Arya, please, just give it back," Ruthie sobbed, leaning against Emmett's shoulder, tears of desperation in her eyes. "I'm begging you. I won't hold anything against you if you just give it back."

The crowd buzzed again: "Give it back, Arya! How can you be so cheap? Don't you see how upset Ruthie is?"

"Ruthie isn't even holding a grudge, so why are you still pretending?"

They were furious, practically ready to tear me apart.

But why should I apologize? I hadn't stolen anything. How could I return something I never took? And why should I have to apologize for something I didn't do?

I come from a rural area, while Emmett is the heir to a city fortune. Our paths were never meant to cross.

But because of his rebellious streak, Emmett's parents sent him to be part of an exchange program, which landed him with my family. Our first encounter was far from pleasant.

The day Emmett arrived, it was pouring rain. He stood there, covered in mud, a scowl on his face, and snapped, "Move out of my way!"

His rudeness rubbed me the wrong way, but recalling Grandpa Tobias's advice to treat guests well, I managed to prepare baked potatoes for him, even though we usually had nothing more than boiled vegetables. I even gave him our only egg.

Emmett didn't appreciate the effort, though. He sneered and called it pig slop. It wasn't until I accidentally hurt my leg while digging up potatoes for him that Emmett showed a different side. That night, ignoring everyone’s protests, he carried me over hills and through fields to get me to a hospital.

After that, things between us thawed. He stopped griping about the potatoes. Instead of lounging around, he went to school with me and even learned to help Grandpa Tobias with the farm animals.

"Arya, if you can't even handle the livestock, how will you ever make it to college?" Emmett teased.

"I will. Education changes everything," I replied seriously, gazing up at the vast blue sky. Emmett, however, was looking at me.

After the fall harvest, Emmett's exchange program ended. I assumed that would be the end of our time together. But then, he confessed.

"When the time comes, you should come to the city with me to study. You won’t have to worry about getting into college. It beats staying here in the middle of nowhere."

I was so swept up in the moment that I didn't catch the condescension in his tone. I said goodbye to Grandpa Tobias and, with a heart full of excitement, left the countryside with Emmett.

But the city wasn't as thrilling as I had imagined. The first thing Emmett did was wrinkle his nose and have Martha, the housekeeper, take me for a bath. When I came out, I found all my things had been tossed out, including the potatoes he'd once asked me to bake.

He said those worthless things were nothing but an embarrassment. I sensed Emmett had changed, but having never left the countryside, I felt anxious and decided to keep quiet.

But everyone has their breaking point. Sure, I may be a poor country girl, but that doesn’t mean I’m a thief!

I insisted on looking at the surveillance footage, but Emmett's patience was gone.

"I've already given you more than enough respect, Arya. Enough is enough," he said with a cold chuckle. "An hour ago, the hall's camera malfunctioned. Don't pretend you didn't know."

"When your father, the gambler, asked me for money, I didn’t say no. And now you're sneaking around, taking Ruthie's necklace. Why? Trying to show you can make it on your own?"

"Give it back, and I'll act like this never happened."

My face went pale, a ringing in my ears. In a daze, I recalled what Ruthie had said to me.

"You're just a passing entertainment for Emmett. You're not from his world."

I hated Ruthie’s arrogance then. But at that moment, I suddenly realized she was right. Ruthie and Emmett are alike—privileged and pampered, looking down on those less fortunate.

In Emmett's eyes, I'm just an insignificant person. Any wrongdoing naturally falls on me.