He Gave My Ring Away,So I Built My Own Kingdom

The day Garrett Whitmore finally agreed to come home and meet my parents, my mom slaughtered the hog she'd been raising for two years to put on a big family dinner.

Then he took a phone call at the table, said something urgent had come up at the company, and left.

The next morning, I saw his social media post. My engagement gold bracelet was clasped around the wrist of his assistant, Leonora Manning.

The caption read：Leonora's wrist is so slender, it fits perfectly.

My mom called to ask when he was coming back.

I told her not to wait.

I packed Garrett's things into a box and left it at the front desk of the office.

When he came looking for me, Leonora was right behind him.

“Garrett only stayed because he was worried about me being home alone with no one to look after me. Please don't be mad, Jocelyn Fox.”

She made a show of reaching for the bracelet on her wrist, all false sincerity.

I let out a cold laugh.

“Don't bother taking it off. Keep it.”

“Consider it my parting gift to you both.”

The color drained from Garrett's face.：“Who said anything about breaking up?”

“I did.”

I slapped my employee badge down on the desk and walked out.

“I'm going home. That hog's already been slaughtered, so someone might as well enjoy the feast.”

……

“Jocelyn, are you done with this tantrum?”

Garrett stormed after me and seized my wrist.

Heads poked out of offices all along the hallway.

I looked at him calmly.

“Let go.”

“Over a bracelet? Really?” Garrett kept his voice low, laced with the same irritation I'd heard a thousand times.

“I put up with your dramatics every other day, but we have a major client today. You're walking out right now? Is this blackmail?”

Leonora click-clacked over in her heels.

She tugged timidly at Garrett's sleeve.

“Garrett, this is all my fault.”

“Maybe I should just give the bracelet back to Jocelyn.”

Her eyes welled up as she spoke.

Garrett pulled her behind him, his frown deepening.

“She'd throw a fit whether you returned it or not.”

“Jocelyn, Leonora just started here. What's wrong with me looking out for her as her boss?”

“You always complained that bracelet was too big on you. I lent it to her for a few days to go with an outfit. You're really going to blow this up into a breakup?”

I stared at the man I'd spent five years with.

Standing there so righteous, so sure of himself, he looked like a complete stranger.

“Garrett, that was an engagement bracelet.”

“I know it's an engagement bracelet.”

He frowned slightly, his tone equal parts exasperation and entitlement.

“But Leonora has that meeting with Grandview today and she needed a piece of jewelry that would hold the room. I lent it to her for one day. It's not like you lost a limb.”

Seeing not a flicker of emotion in my eyes, he mistook it for stubbornness, sighed, and pulled out his phone.

“If it bothers you that she wore it, fine, let her keep it. I'll take you to the store tomorrow and pick out something more expensive. We can look at wedding rings while we're at it.”

He swiped open a transfer screen with practiced ease and held it up to my face.

“Here, ten grand to start. Go pick whatever you like. If it's not enough, I'll add more.”

I didn't respond. I just looked at the number glowing on his screen.

He understood perfectly well what he'd done. He simply believed that the promises I treasured, the lines I'd drawn, could all be appraised and swapped out at his convenience.

“Jocelyn, don't be upset with Garrett. He was just thinking about the company's image.” Leonora chimed in from the side.

“Shut up.” I didn't spare her so much as a glance.

Leonora flinched and ducked behind Garrett.

That set him off.

“Jocelyn, don't push it.”

“I'm pushing it?” I smiled.

“Yesterday was the day my parents set aside to meet their future son-in-law.”