chapter 3

That sentence sounded especially harsh to me.

The reason Eric played with those little pieces of jewelry was that he had learned it from me when we were kids.

Mom had been a jewelry designer, and when she was alive, she often bought me little trinkets like bracelets and rings to cheer me up.

I had kept every single one of them.

Whenever I had free time, I would follow Mom's designs on paper, giving them a new look and swapping out the pieces.

Eric would play along with me, and then he slowly began to enjoy making jewelry too.

He often used screwdrivers and pliers to make little pieces for me, like bracelets, necklaces, anklets, rings, and earrings.

One time, he spent an entire day setting pearls into a necklace for me.

He put it on my neck and said seriously, "Nicole, I'm circling you with this. When you grow up, you'll be mine.

"Remember that. You can only be my bride and marry me."

Then Felicia came into our lives, and Eric stopped making jewelry for me.

He began giving the pieces he set to Felicia.

But I hated Felicia.

It was her coming that made Mom find out Dad had been having an affair and betrayed their marriage. That revelation ruined them.

Mom later took her own life with sleeping pills.

Felicia was, in effect, the indirect cause of Mom's death.

When Felicia first appeared, I wanted to push her from the balcony and watch her fall.

So I had often forbidden Eric from giving those inlaid pieces of jewelry to her.

He had nicknamed me "Petty Girl."

Now, seeing me, Felicia wore a smug smile.

"What would you like? A necklace, earrings, or a ring? I can make any of them for you," Eric asked gently.

Felicia glanced at me sideways, a hint of malice on her face.

"A necklace," she said. "I want one with lots of pearls."

Necklaces were the pieces Eric and I had made the most of.

Over the years, Eric had set countless necklaces for me.

Felicia didn't like necklaces.

She preferred rings and always filled her fingers with them. She said that at a wedding, the bride and groom exchanged rings.

Clearly, she meant to provoke me.

I ignored her and walked away.

That night, when I came home, I found my room full of Felicia's clothes.

My clothes had been thrown into the guest room.

Even the box of necklaces Eric once gave me lay scattered on the floor.

Seeing me, Felicia put on a fake, sweet tone. "Nicole, I'm so sorry. Dad says I'm too weak and need to stay in a sunlit room. He wants you to switch rooms with me.

"These necklaces fell out of the box when the housekeeper was moving things. I'll pay you for them. Luckily, Dad just gave me a large sum of money."

Seeing my dark expression, Eric glared at me. "Nicole, they're just a few worthless handmade necklaces. Why are you quarreling with your own sister over them?"

But he had seemed to forget that those necklaces had all been set by the two of us, following the designs Mom had drawn.

Now, in his eyes, they were completely worthless.

I shoved past Eric and carried my luggage into the guest room.

The day I was to leave for Entogow was approaching quickly.

I practiced Taekwondo without stopping while also learning the Entogow's language.

The future was full of uncertainty. I couldn't picture myself living in a foreign country without even knowing the language.

At the last family gathering, Felicia wore an extravagant mermaid-style gown and chatted and laughed with a few wealthy girls from Zoxpolis.

When they saw me approaching, the rich girls immediately started making snide remarks.

"Felicia is leaving for Entogow in a few days for the marriage alliance. And her sister? She's so heartless—she won't step in when it matters and makes her younger sister suffer."

"People like that are completely selfish. They don't care about family at all. Trying to reason with her about sisterly bonds is pointless."