As the tall and gorgeous figure greeted Nicholas’ sight, he could not help gripping the handle of his
wheelchair tighter.
“Why did you bring her here?”
Zephyr looked indifferent. “You were the one saying to explain misunderstandings as soon as possible
and not to stall it.”
“It was you I was talking about!” Nicholas glared at him.
Zephyr wore a faint smile and waved his hand at Cordelia.
Linda’s steps were heavy as she slowly went to Nicholas.
The closer they were, the clearer their past was in their minds.
Nicholas turned his back away slightly with a cold expression. The moment he bowed down to hold the
wheelchair, however, his big movement revealed his necklace from his hospital gown.
Linda’s breath bated. There was a necklace exactly the same on her neck.
To be fair, it was not a necklace. It was a regular chain with a ring on it. The ring was not worth much,
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtand the chain was not made of a decent material. It was already oxidized at this point.
Linda remembered that it was a gift she had given to Nicholas. She was 16 at that time and had saved
up three days’ worth of breakfast allowance to pick out this pair of rings from the shop across from their
school.
The girl was eager in love, but the boy was careless. Other than being more mischievous and bullying
the girl he liked more, there seemed to be no other way for him to express his love.
Linda had been close to tears in anger when she stubbornly shoved one of the rings in his hand.
“What does this mean?” the young Nicholas asked the obvious, blushing.
“It means… you can only be nice to me from now on! No bullying me!”
“Pft, lousy ring… It’s not even silver. It’s just two metal links!”
“Take it or leave it, Thompson!”
“I didn’t say I don’t want it! Something’s better than nothing!”
“Uh… Linda!” The young Nicholas was still stubborn even though he was so happy on the inside.
“What you bought is nothing! When I make good money next time, I’ll buy you a diamond one! That’s
what you call a ring!”
…
Linda’s hand went to her necklace and clutched the ring on it.
His status was no longer the same, and he had made good money now. Had he forgotten the promise
he made back then, though?
Nicholas’ hands were gripped tight as he pressed his lips together with his back against her.
“Nicholas,” Linda spoke in a quiet voice after some time. “I know you don’t want to see me. Since you
said we shouldn’t contact each other anymore, we might as well make it clear.”
Surprised, Cordelia rushed up to hold her back. “Linda, what are you talking about?”
“Cordelia, I understand your intention.” Linda took a deep breath and forced a smile. “But Mr.
Thompson here… Heh, it’s clear he doesn’t want to talk to me anymore.”
“No! Linda, he—”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“He should give me back what’s mine!”
Nicholas froze and felt his heart squeeze. It hurt like blood was oozing from his heart. He knew that
what she meant by hers was the ring on his neck—but she had no idea how he had risked his life to
protect the ring these ten years. He had found his future to be hopeless when he went to prison. The
ring had been his motivation and support that kept him alive.
Life in prison was not easy. He would often get into fights with other inmates. Even when he was
beaten up, he would keep the ring in his chest—where his heart was. Everyone knew that he had this
precious ring, and all of them thought that he was crazy to risk his life over something that was only a
few dollars.
Nicholas unconsciously guarded the ring with a hand and slowly turned to face Linda.
“Sorry, this is mine.”
“But I bought it back then.” Linda looked impassive.
“You bought it, but… you gave it to me!” Nicholas glared and kept the ring closer to him. “It’s mine since
you’ve given it to me. You have no right to ask for it back!”
“I gave it to the man who vowed to be nice to me for life! Not you!” Linda glared back at him.