"I can afford the compensation costs," I said calmly.

The waitress still refused to believe me and insulted me furiously, her eyes filled with contempt.

"Stop talking big, you filthy beggar! Every item in our castle is worth more than you! Even ten of your lives won't be enough to pay for them!" She grabbed my arm, preparing to drag me away.

I struggled in her grasp, unwilling to leave.

"Stop dragging me! Hurry up and let go! I'll leave once I find the item, and I won't pay a penny less in compensation!" I retorted.

Jayden, who had already reached the entrance of the banquet hall, suddenly turned around and walked expressionlessly toward me. He dragged me away from the waitress.

Stunned, the waitress stepped aside.

"Enough already. Stop making a scene," Jayden said irritably. "How much money do you want?

"I'll give it to you, but stop trying to attract my attention using such methods. Following me all the way here to harass me is only going to make me feel disgusted toward you."

Lina approached as well and stared at me warningly. "Jayden and I are already going to be bonded, Emily. I hope you can understand your place."

I glanced coldly at them both. They were far too arrogant in assuming that I was here to cause trouble for them.

I really didn't want to pay attention to them, so I withdrew my arm and simply poured out all the contents of the trash can. I then crouched down to search intently through the pile.

Upon seeing this, Jayden glared at me. "Stop embarrassing yourself, Emily. I'll transfer $100,000 to your account. Take it and get out!

"After you take the money, don't ever appear in front of me again. I only loved Lina, and the relationship we had for a few years was nothing more than a casual fling. It's also a stain on my life.

"This sum should be enough to feed and clothe you, so don't ever bother me again."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he took out his phone to transfer the money to my account. After just a few seconds, he looked disbelievingly at me.

"You even closed your bank account! You don't have a penny to your name after becoming a beggar!"

I frowned lightly. It was only then that I recalled the payroll card we had applied for together, which Jayden would use to transfer money to me.

After getting married, I always used my mate's Centurion Card and never my own. Over time, the bank automatically closed that account. However, in Jayden's eyes, I had become a penniless beggar.

It seemed like he looked down on me from the bottom of his heart. Forget it. I couldn't be bothered to explain things to him.

Seeing that I was completely ignoring him, Jayden's expression darkened further, and his tone turned cold. "You've already come to the point of digging through trash, Emily. Why are you still pretending to be all high-and-mighty?"

I rolled my eyes in exasperation before finally looking directly at him. "You sure talk a lot. Also, I'm not short of money, so you don't have to give me any either."

If my mate—Caspian Holstrom—knew that Jayden wanted to give me money and that I had once been in a relationship with him, he would be jealous. I had no intention of trying to appease his anger.

Lina smiled mockingly. "Who would believe that you're not short of money, considering your appearance?"

I looked at her in displeasure. "That's my business. It has nothing to do with you."

"You came all the way here to seek me out, yet you still insist you're not short of money?" Jayden asked questioningly.

He stared at me with a complicated look in his eyes and added, "I'm somewhat responsible for you ending up in this state. After all, our breakup caused you to experience an emotional breakdown. They told me that you cried for several days and nights back when we first broke up.

"I'm giving you money out of pity for you. Once you take the money, please don't show up to bother me again.

"I have no feelings for you. Although if it's not money you want, could it be that you want me to feel guilty toward you?"

Lina's expression darkened. As she comforted Jayden, she didn't forget to throw in a jab at me.

"Don't blame yourself, Jayden. She's a lowly Omega who doesn't know a thing. Even though she's able-bodied, she's of such low status that nobody would want to hire her.

"She's also very lazy. Back then, she could've worked hard to earn the money to buy a house herself, yet she decided to ask you to pay for it instead. This proves that she's both poor and lazy."

Unable to listen to Lina anymore, I bellowed, "Please watch your words, Lina! I didn't ask him for money to buy a house!"

Lina instantly shrank back as if frightened. "Let's just forget it, Jayden. Look. Her temper is still the same as always. It's no use helping her, so let's leave her alone already."

I said thoughtfully, "There's no need for you two to worry about my affairs."

However, Jayden was unwilling to let the matter rest. He grabbed my arm again and gripped it hard.

"Stop acting pitiful, Emily. You looked down on the 10 dollars I transferred to you all those years ago, but you'd hardly find as much in a trash can, right?

"And now, you're refusing the money I'm offering you. Do you think your dignity is going to fill your belly?"

I stared speechlessly at him. After all these years, did he still think I broke up with him because of those $10?

Back then, Lina left to study abroad without even a farewell. She broke up with him so suddenly that he found it difficult to accept reality and was extremely upset.

Jacob Porter, who saw his son so depressed, asked me to spend more time with him and get his spirits up. At that time, I thought that since I was friends with him, I would stay by his side and help him get over his emotional pain.

Later, we naturally started dating each other. Yet, when Lina returned from abroad, he started to grow cold, distanced himself from me, and hurt me.

When Lina and I both needed money, he only gave me $10 while transferring $3 million to Lina to buy a detached villa in Centralis.

Such obvious preferential treatment made me understand that Lina was the person he loved most. I still loved him back then, so I couldn't bear to let him go. It wasn't until Lina sent me a message that I gave up on him completely.

Could it be that he didn't even realize that? No, he was surely just playing dumb.

He was now the one harassing me. How utterly ridiculous.

I gazed coldly at his complicated expression. "Stop being so full of yourself, Jayden. I'm perfectly well-off right now, and it was just a coincidence that I met you here."

I then tried to tug my arm out of his grasp, but he was holding on too tightly. In fact, his grip was hurting me.

I continued, "Our relationship already ended many years ago, and I've never tried to seek you out again. You can rest assured of that."

He frowned at me, looking deep in thought.

In order to dispel his confusion, I elaborated, "Also, I'm married. My mate has a rather bad temper, so it'll be bad news if he sees you clinging onto me."

He dragged me over to him in shock upon hearing this. "Did you get married behind my back?"

I immediately broke out of his grasp and retreated a few steps.

He looked at me with great curiosity and asked, "Who's your mate? How could he allow you to be reduced to picking up trash?"

I hated being asked invasive questions like these and didn't reply.

Upon seeing that I wasn't speaking, he suddenly sneered. "You almost managed to trick me. Oh, I get it now.

"You wanted to use marriage to upset me and make me return to you. I'll have you know that even if you told me you gave birth to our child, I wouldn't care."

I was once again rendered speechless. He didn't have to put it so bluntly. I was also well aware that Lina was the only person he loved.

He had been the first to confess his love to me back then. I even asked him over and over again whether he had gotten over Lina. It wasn't until he swore that he had forgotten Lina that I agreed to be with him.

So, why did he now feel that I was still unwilling to give up on him and wanted to continue to be with him?

I wasn't the kind of person to go looking for trouble only to make a fool of myself.

Unfortunately, he had already formed his own preconceptions of me, so it didn't matter what I said. I turned around and continued to rummage through the trash, deciding to ignore him.

Lina held onto Jayden's arm. "Since she doesn't appreciate your help, it's useless trying to help her, Jayden. Let's just go!"

However, Jayden refused to leave. He stared closely at me, a trace of hesitation crossing his face.

Lina felt a little helpless. Then, in a flash of inspiration, she offered, "We need a staff member to help clean the tables for today's celebration, Emily. If you're willing to be our temporary help, I'll give you 50,000 dollars as a reward."

Jayden agreed as well. "That's right. Since you're not willing to accept the money for free, you can earn it through labor instead!"

Their offer made me laugh angrily. I had turned down several important jobs, clearing five days in my schedule to spend with Cassidy during her summer break.

And yet, Jayden and Lina were asking me to work for them. How ridiculous.

I lifted my head and said sternly, "I know the two of you are rich, but I don't have the time to play the role of pauper for you to boost your egos.

"Please stay away from me. You're getting in the way of my search." If I didn't find the ring today, I'd end up drowning in Cassidy's tears.

Seeing that I had once again turned him down and had returned to rummaging through trash, Jayden fell silent. He looked livid.

"You have no idea what's good for you," Lina complained crossly.

"The Alpha King will be arriving soon, Mr. Porter. If he sees the beggar here, it'll affect our castle's image, so it'd be best for us to drive her out!" the waitress from before urged anxiously.

Jayden had a nasty expression on his face. He gestured at her, expressing his agreement.

"Have her quickly removed from the premises and don't let her sneak back in again. It'll leave an embarrassing stain on our reputation if she were to encounter any nobles."

The waitress ordered the bodyguards behind her to arrest me. I glared defensively at them and shouted coldly, "Don't touch me!"

"The people who will be visiting our castle today are powerful figures from all over the kingdom, Miss Beggar, especially the Alpha King, who even brought his mate and pup. Your appearance is going to offend their eyes," said one of the bodyguards.

"If you stay here even a moment longer, our castle's reputation will be affected. We'll be accused of being lax in our management. I really can't afford to shoulder that responsibility," added the other.

As soon as the words left their mouths, both bodyguards stepped forward. Just as they grabbed my arms, I found the ring within the trash pile and immediately picked it up.

Wonderful. I'd finally found the ring and could hand it back to Cassidy. I looked happily at the two bodyguards and said, "Alright. I'll leave on my own."

Everyone present sighed in relief knowing that I was willing to leave. I had only taken a single step forward when Lina stepped up to stop me. "Hold on."

There was a stormy look in her eyes. She stared intently at the ring in my hand before suddenly grabbing my hand and forcing my clenched fingers open.

A silver-white ring glowing with faint moonlight lay quietly in my palm.

Lina looked at it in surprise. "What's this? Is it… It looks like it has a wolf pattern carved into it."

"It's a promise ring," Jayden interjected, his voice instantly turning hoarse. He gazed at me with a complicated look on his face.

"Why can't you understand, Emily? Our relationship is already unsalvageable."

I looked down at the ring. Silver light reflected a slightly blurred pattern carved into the ring. It was the wolf spirit totem Jayden and I had once seen in the northern forest.

That year, he'd just broken up with Lina and was behaving like a soulless wolf. Jacob sought me out and told me that Jayden might not survive until the next full moon. I was afraid that he really wouldn't make it, so I tried everything I could to keep him company.

We went traveling together. As we passed the Spirit Hills to the north, we saw a group of free-roaming wolf spirits unbound by blood pacts. Jayden smiled for the first time then, commenting that the wolf spirits lived so freely.

Later, we agreed that if we loved each other, we wouldn't make any bonds or mark each other. Instead, we would only give each other a promise ring, just to commemorate the days we were free and sincere toward each other.

Yet, Jayden now stood in front of me with nothing but mockery in his eyes.

"You're not planning to return the promise ring to me, are you?" he asked with a sneer. "You're truly even more naive than I expected, Emily."