Chapter 7

After the earlier incident, Mabel couldn't trust sending the bracelet by mail, so she placed it in her handbag to carry with her personally. That day, Pearl called to invite Mabel to a family dinner. Her sincere words about this possibly being their last reunion meal touched Mabel, so she agreed. When she arrived at the Valentine family estate, Wesley and Anais were already seated in their usual spot. Avoiding their gaze, Mabel took a seat further away. Throughout the meal, Wesley attended to Anais' every need while Mabel ate mechanically with a blank expression. Pearl watched uncomfortably but couldn't openly scold her son. After dinner, as Mabel bid Pearl farewell and stepped outside, laughter from the garden caught her attention. Wesley, Alora and Anais were chatting merrily. "Wes, this bracelet's actually quite fun. It's hard enough to crack walnuts! I wonder what material it's made of." "Who cares? It can't be valuable. That pauper Mabel wouldn't own anything decent!" Alora chimed in. Those few sentences made Mabel's blood boil. Storming over, she saw Anais wearing the bracelet. It was now scratched and dented from, perhaps, actual walnut cracking. Flames of rage burned in Mabel's eyes. Her face flushed crimson, chest heaving with audible breaths. "Wesley, you stole my bracelet for Anais?" Wesley frowned disapprovingly. "Stole? Annie just wanted to borrow it for a few days." "Taking without asking is theft. Don't you understand basic principles?" Nearly losing control, Mabel's trembling hands grabbed Anais' wrist to remove the bracelet. "Ow! Ms. Myers, you're hurting me!" Anais whimpered. Wesley immediately flared up. Mabel was making such a fuss over a worthless bracelet—daring to speak to him like that and even laying hands on Anais. Wesley seized her shoulders and shoved her backward. Caught off guard, Mabel fell hard onto the ground. A flash of lightning split the sky, and rain began pouring down. Anais clung to Wesley, her voice trembling with remorse. "It's all my fault, Wes. Please don't fight. "I'll give the bracelet back to Ms. Myers right now." She slipped the bracelet off her wrist and extended it toward Mabel. Ignoring the pain from her fall, Mabel scrambled up, reaching desperately for it. Just as her fingers were about to close around it, Anais' hand jerked. The bracelet clattered to the ground, shattering into pieces. Mabel's pupils dilated in horror while Anais gasped dramatically. "Oh no, Ms. Myers! Why didn't you hold it properly? Now it's all shattered! What do we do?" "It's her own fault," Wesley said coldly, still seething. Without another glance, he ushered Anais and Alora inside, leaving Mabel alone in the rain. The downpour soaked through her clothes as she stared at the shattered fragments—a sharp, suffocating pain spread through her chest. She collapsed to her knees, pressing her forehead to the wet ground, and sobbed uncontrollably. Her mother's last keepsake was gone. The final tangible memory she had of her was destroyed. Three years of devotion, and what did she have to show for it? Nothing. She had lost everything.