When I finished studying design abroad and returned home, my grandfather told me that he had arranged a childhood betrothal for me long ago. The moment I returned to the country, he brought me straight to the Parker family to discuss the engagement. I found it too boring, so I wandered off alone to stroll through the Parker family garden. Suddenly, a woman rushed over and slapped me hard across the face. "Where did you come from, you pathetic thief? How dare you steal from me!" I covered my face, stunned. She lifted her chin arrogantly, her tone full of condescension. "That ruby you're wearing was a birthday gift from Ross to me! You poor bitch! Why is it with you?" I opened my mouth, about to say that it was mine, but she suddenly slapped me hard again. "Do you even know who I am? I'm Ross Parker's future wife! The entire Parker family will answer to me!" I took out my phone and, right in front of her, sent a message to my fiancé Ross. "Ross, there's a crazy woman in your house. Are you going to do something about it?" To my surprise, the message failed to send. I laughed in anger. The engagement hadn't even been settled yet, and he had already deleted me. "How did you sneak in? Hurry and give that back to Ms. Lester!" A Parker family maid lunged at me aggressively, but I dodged her with a quick sidestep. "I'm a guest here at the Parker family estate. How can you treat me like this?" Karen let out a scornful laugh and immediately took out her phone to call Ross, who was actually my fiancé. In less than a second, a gentle, low voice came through the line. "What's wrong, Karen?" I listened closely. His voice was nice, and I kinda liked it. It seemed my grandfather did have good taste. "Ross! There's some woman here claiming to be your fiancée—and she stole my ring!" I cut off her sugary, affected voice and introduced myself to Ross so he wouldn't misunderstand the situation. "Mr. Parker, I'm Diana Summers, your fiancée." He paused for a moment, as if processing my name, then his tone turned cold. "What fiancée? Anyone who enters my house needs an invitation. Otherwise, it's trespassing." After saying that, his voice softened again. "Karen, don't be upset. It's just a ring. When I get back, I'll buy you another one." That pigeon-blood ruby of mine was my parents' love token. There wasn't a second one like it in the world. As I was thinking about how reliable this marriage alliance really was, Karen beside me was already laughing so hard she could barely stand straight, looking me up and down with contempt. "You? Wearing trash without even a brand on it! And you dare claim to be Ross's fiancée? Hilarious!" I had been studying design abroad, and all the clothes I wore were designed and tailored by myself, so of course they had no brand logos. My designs were already sought after by many wealthy ladies overseas, yet she couldn't recognize them. That made me start to doubt her identity instead. After this mess, I completely lost interest in strolling through the garden and turned to leave. But Karen stepped in front of me. "Didn't you hear Ross? You need an invitation to enter the Parker family. Didn't you say you're a guest? Where's your invitation?" I rolled my eyes and reached into my pocket to look for it, but couldn't find anything. Then I remembered my grandfather saying that we didn't need invitations to visit the Parker family. Karen thought I couldn't provide one, so the mockery on her face grew even stronger. "So you really are a liar! Someone, take the ring off her hand, tie her up, and throw her out!" I covered the ring with one hand and stepped back, glaring at her with a dark expression. Several servants approached me and tried to persuade me. "Miss, you'd better return it to Ms. Lester now. Otherwise, you will be in serious trouble." "That ring is a love token between Mr. Parker and Ms. Lester. They've been close since childhood. If Mr. Parker finds out, he won't let you off." "I saw it with my own eyes last time. Someone only dirtied Ms. Lester's skirt, and his hand was gone the next day!" Their words only made the mockery in Karen's eyes grow. "Did you hear that? Get on your knees, put the ring on my finger, and then get lost. Otherwise, your fate will be the same as the person who dirtied my skirt!"
All my life, I'd only ever had others kneel and beg in front of me. The last person who dared speak to me like that already disappeared for good. I stepped forward and slapped Karen across the face. She turned her head, eyes wide in disbelief. "How dare you?" She instantly covered her face and pointed at me, ordering several maids to rush over. I looked at them and smiled. When I first went abroad, my grandfather worried I might get bullied, so he taught me Sanda himself. They were just a few maids. I took them all down in under a minute. "Weak." I rubbed my slightly numb knuckles and turned to leave amid Karen's furious screams. Suddenly, a maid shouted, "Mr. Parker is back!" I looked up to see a man in a perfectly tailored suit striding over with a cold expression. Karen's fierce expression vanished in an instant, replaced by a pitiful look. Then she threw herself into Ross's arms. "Ross! You're finally back! I got bullied!" To be honest, Ross was quite good-looking. Even in the entertainment industry, he could carve out a place for himself. Unfortunately, knowing full well that he was engaged to me, he still got too close to his childhood sweetheart. I frowned at them. I needed to call my grandfather immediately. This marriage was impossible. So I ignored their clingy display and walked straight toward the garden exit. "Stop! You hurt my girl and think you can just leave like that?" Ross didn't even look at me. He lowered his head and wiped Karen's tears. Several bodyguards quickly stepped forward from behind him and blocked my path. I took a deep breath and turned to look at him. "Mr. Parker, my grandfather is currently in your grandfather's study discussing our engagement. Do you want them to know about all this?" When I mentioned Ross's grandfather, the servants' expressions shifted slightly. "What? Is she really Mr. Parker's fiancée?" "So what if she is? Look how much Mr. Parker cares about Ms. Lester. This marriage might not even happen." "Exactly. We'd better not say anything and offend Ms. Lester. With her temper, we might all suffer later." When Ross heard the word engagement, his face darkened more. "What engagement? I never agreed to it. Besides, Grandpa has always doted on me. How could he possibly force me to marry some shrew like you?" Karen lifted her head from his arms and looked at me smugly. "Ross and I are childhood sweethearts. A thief like you actually dares to covet the position of his wife?" I nodded but said nothing. That scumbag and that shameless woman were a perfect match. They deserved each other—better they stay together than hurt anyone else. It was just that my grandfather had said the Parker family had put in the most effort among all the families who were proposing back then. I had met Mr. Nick Parker a few times. He was a very decent elder. How would he react if he found out that the alliance he worked so hard to secure had been ruined by his own grandson? It would probably be a disaster. But there was no helping it. His own grandson ruined everything.
I shook my head regretfully and was about to leave. Suddenly Karen screamed sharply, "Can't let her go! Ross's ruby ring is still on her hand!" As soon as she said that, several bodyguards restrained me at Ross's signal. Then they reached straight for the ring without any explanation. But the ring had been specially adjusted to fit my finger, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't move it even a little. "Karen, if this really belongs to you, how is it exactly the same size as my finger?" I looked at her teasingly. Instead of backing down, she became even angrier. She grabbed Ross's arm and shook it hard. "She must have thicker fingers! She forced it on, that's why it won't come off!" "Then use a drill!" I was kinda flustered, because I hadn't brought any bodyguards with me today. Ross's bodyguards were tall, strong, and far more numerous. After resisting for a short while, I was caught off guard and pinned to the ground. Karen immediately squatted in front of me excitedly, her blood-red nails pinching my chin. "Weren't you so arrogant? Come on!" After saying that, she used all her strength to slap me across the face. Sand scraped against my cheek, leaving several bloody scratches. Ross stared at me for two seconds, then smiled. "Karen, does your hand hurt? Want to see something even more fun?" Karen's eyes instantly lit up. "Tie her to the boat in the pond!" I widened my eyes and looked at Ross's faintly excited expression. Did he know something? "No! You'll regret this!" Karen's face was full of scorn and excitement. "Regret? I've never regretted anything." "As for you, today I'll make you regret stealing from me!" The bodyguards dragged me to the pond in the center of the garden. They tied me up with a rope before throwing me onto a rickety old canopy boat by the shore. Before I could even open my eyes, they flipped me over. Then an electric saw was started and brought straight toward my fingers. The intense pain made me scream uncontrollably. Very soon, my blood stained the pigeon-blood ruby. That made it look eerily sinister. "Looks like that girl is dying here today." "Such a pretty young girl, but she's just too stubborn. Look at her. Mr. Parker won't let her off. She's gonna lose her finger or even her life!" "This is too cruel. I can't bear to watch anymore." The maids and servants chattered among themselves at the edge of the pond. I could no longer hear them clearly. The pain in my hand made me struggle violently. The old boat, long overdue for repairs, creaked and splashed against the water under my movements. It was eerily similar to the scene when my parents died at sea. The fear buried deep in my heart was instantly dragged back out. My face turned deathly pale. My hands moved on their own to clutch my head tightly. Bright red blood streamed down my cheeks. "No! Don't! Let me go back up!" But Karen and Ross stood on the shore, watching like this was a show. They even stretched out a foot and kicked me toward the center of the pond. I forced my eyes open and saw Karen holding the ring with a smug smile. Ross had an arm around her and said gently, "The ring's been stained with that bitch's dirty blood. Throw it away. I'll buy you a new one." After that, amid my screams, they casually tossed the ring into the lake. "Ross! Aren't you afraid my grandfather will come after you for this?"
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