Chapter 6 Give Me Back My Ring

Madison did not expect Allen to be so unreasonable. Not only did he not allow her to be a caretaker, but he wanted her to be home at 7:30 p.m. at night. If she had to have the dinner ready to serve at 7:30 p.m., she would have to be home at 6:00 p.m. at least. However, Allen refused to eat the food she prepared, so she did not understand why he wanted her to come home and make dinner for him. Madison could not figure out anything, no matter how hard she thought about it, so she decided to put it at the back of her head for the time being. After all, the most important thing to do right now was to look for another job. She did not have much money left, so she had to get a new job as soon as possible. As for the $7,000 monthly allowance that Allen had promised her, Madison had never thought about using it at all. When she promised to marry Allen, she had already told him that she didn't want anything except the $150,000. Fortunately, Madison majored in jewelry design when she was at university. It was just that she had been expelled from her university because of an incident. From then on, she did not want to step into the jewelry design industry anymore. However, she had been sending drafts to some studios in private. Not long ago, an up-and-coming studio liked her works very much. They had approached her through some connections and hoped that she could work with them. Since she could not work as a caretaker anymore, she would have no other choice but to take up her old trade again if she wanted to earn some money. After making up her mind, she emailed the studio, and they replied within five minutes. They wanted her to bring some of her designs and come to their studio for an interview. Madison hurriedly packed her stuff up and went to the studio. Even though the studio she had applied to was small, it was rather popular in the industry. The studio was located in an office building in the city's center. The director of the studio was Mr. Shaw. He was a promising young man. He was satisfied with Madison's designs and offered her a job opportunity on the spot. When Madison handed over her ID card, Mr. Shaw observed it for a while and said, “So, you’re Ms. Madison Campbell from the jewelry design department of the University of Alfonso? I’ve heard a lot about you…” After that, he placed his hand on her thigh, and Madison sprang up in shock. “What are you doing, Mr. Shaw!? Please have some respect!” “Hah, chill, Ms. Campbell. Now that I look at your face… I realize that you’re even prettier when you’re angry… I've been wondering what kind of pretty designer has applied for my studio. I never expected it to be you, Ms. Campbell. “Everyone in this industry has heard a lot about you. I heard that you've slept with all the professors and counselors of your department of jewelry in order to win a competition at the University of Alfonso. Honestly, you don’t have to apply for a job to become a jewelry designer. You can just come and be my lover. I promise you that I’ll take great care of you…” “Get away from me!” Madison shouted as she pushed away Mr. Shaw with all her might. She grabbed her ID card from him and ran away from the studio. She held onto the wall and gasped for air, her whole body shaking from anger. She closed her eyes, and it took her a long time to suppress the disgust from her stomach pit. ‘I knew it. I shouldn’t have returned to this industry!’ “Madison?” Suddenly, an inquisitive voice rang out behind Madison, bringing her back to reality. Madison was stunned for a few seconds as she found the voice somewhat familiar. She turned her head around and was stunned again when she saw the person. “Rowena?” “It really is you, Madison! I didn’t expect to run into you here!” Rowena shouted excitedly as she hugged Madison. Madison was also happy, as she did not expect to run into her bestie from her university years. At that time, she had not wanted to bring any trouble to Rowena, so she had deliberately stayed away from her. “Madison, I've been looking everywhere for you after you were expelled from the university, but you went off the grid overnight. I know you don’t want to see those people anymore because of that incident, but I’m different… I’ve always believed in you…” Rowena refused to let Madison go since it had taken a long while to find her. “Oh yeah, why did you come to this studio?” Rowena asked curiously. “The owner of this studio is a dirty goat. You don't work here, do you?” “No, I just came here for an interview. But luckily, I decided not to join his studio,” said Madison. She was not going to tell Rowena about the incident that had taken place in the studio earlier. “What? You're going to become a jewelry designer again? Why didn't you come to me?” “Come to you?” Madison blinked. Rowena excitedly pulled her along and headed for another studio in front of her with a better location. “Ta-da! This is the jewelry studio that I opened. I don’t care, Madison. I won’t let you leave my side again. You must stay and help me this time.” Rowena came from a wealthy family. They were excellent students when they were studying jewelry design at the university. After Rowena graduated, her brother sponsored and helped her to open this studio. Rowena offered Madison a good salary package and relatively relaxed working hours. It was the best option for Madison. However, she was worried that she would come across the people she did not want to see again if she worked with Rowena. Sensing her hesitance, Rowena urged Madison to sign the working contract on the spot. In the end, Madison made up her mind and decided to sign the contract. One reason was that she needed more money now, and the second reason was that she could not bring herself to reject Rowena. In the afternoon, Rowena treated Madison to a meal at an expensive restaurant downstairs to celebrate their reunion. … Madison was familiar with the restaurant downstairs. She used to go there from time to time while still living with the Campbells. The average price for the meals in the restaurant was about $100. It was not a place where she could afford to spend anymore. “It’s okay, Rowie. I’ll just find something to eat near the company…” “No, no, no. I told you we’re going to celebrate our reunion. Besides, I told my brother about you, and he will join us later. I don’t care. You’ve got to come with me,” said Rowena. Rowena urged Madison to come with her to the restaurant. Madison could not turn her down, so she had no choice but to go to the restaurant with her. However, just as Madison took her seat, someone approached them. The manager showed up and commanded arrogantly, “I’m sorry, Ms. Campbell. You’re not welcome in our restaurant. Please leave.” Madison was stunned for a moment. She did not recall offending this manager before. “What do you mean? How can you chase a customer out of your restaurant? We’ve made a reservation for today!” said Rowena. “I’m sorry, Ms. Orlando. Our restaurant operates on a membership basis. We don't welcome guests who are no longer members. You’re a member of our restaurant, so we’re more than happy to serve you, but you didn’t mention that you’d be taking Ms. Campbell with you when you were making a reservation.” In other words, Madison did not have the right to dine here because she was no longer a restaurant member. “You…” Rowena was infuriated. This was the first time she had ever heard that her friends needed to be a member when she took them to dine at this restaurant. Apparently, the manager was making things hard for them. “It’s okay, Rowie. Let’s go to another place.” Madison lowered her head and grabbed Rowena’s arm. She did not want to get into a fight with other people now. Besides, the yearly membership fee for this restaurant was $1,500. It was no longer a place where she could eat anymore. After calming Rowena down, Madison rose to her feet. Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure from the corner of her eye. A group of guests at a table not far away stared at them with gleeful grins. The woman who laughed the most happily was none other than her cousin, Vivian, whom she hadn't seen for a long time. Madison frowned slightly, and understanding soon dawned upon her. ‘That’s why the manager came to chase me away,’ she thought. Madison did not expect to run into Vivian here, and she did not expect her to take advantage of her status and have the manager kick her out of the restaurant. ‘Does she not have anything else better to do?’ Nevertheless, Madison did not want to get into a fight with Vivian here. As she was about to leave the restaurant, Vivian, sitting with her legs crossed, shifted to another position and ran her hand through her hair in what she thought was a charming way while smiling mockingly at her. Suddenly, a familiar obsidian ring fell from Vivian's collar following her actions, and Madison’s expression changed. “Madison? Where are you going?” Before Rowena could do anything, Madison rushed up to Vivian. “Vivian! Give me back that ring!” Madison stood in front of Vivian’s table with her arm outstretched as she stared fixedly at her. Her eyes were clear and bright. Vivian's heart skipped a beat, and she seemed somewhat flustered. “W-What ring? I don’t know what you are talking about!”