Chapter 5

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open.

Harry finally showed up, his suit wrinkled and dark circles under his eyes.

He spotted the suitcases in the hallway and the people caught up in an argument. He glanced at Tiana first, then his mom, and finally at me.

"Irene, what are you making a fuss about now?" he asked.

Before I could say anything, Natasha started wailing. "Harry, look at your wife. She's trying to kick me out too, and now she's threatening me with the house and your money."

Harry's face grew even stormier. "You don't even respect my mom now?"

I sneered. "When she was insulting my mom, did you ever care about respect?"

Harry stepped closer, his voice dropping to a low growl. "Take it inside. Don't make a scene out here."

I looked at him and asked, "So you do know what shame is?"

He reached out for me.

I sidestepped out of his reach.

His hand missed, and a flicker of annoyance flashed in his eyes.

"Irene, that's enough," he said.

I picked up the trash bag Tiana had left by the door and set it down at his feet.

"Right back at you," I retorted.

Harry bent down to pick up the luggage, but Tiana stopped him with her hand, getting there first.

"Harry, leave it. I got this," she said.

As she crouched down, her sleeve slid up, revealing a delicate silver bracelet around her wrist.

I stared at it for a moment. That silver bracelet was mine.

My dad gave it to me as a birthday gift before he passed away. There was a tiny engraving of "Irene" on the inside.

I never wore it, worried it might get scratched, so I always kept it hidden in the jewelry box at the very back of my dresser.

Last week, I looked for it but couldn't find it.

Harry said that maybe I remembered wrong.

I walked over and grabbed Tiana's wrist.

Tiana yelped, "Irene, you're hurting me!"

Harry clamped down on my shoulder right away.

"Let go!" he barked.

I didn't let go. I used my thumb to flip the silver bracelet over, exposing the inside.

The engraving was revealed. It was "Irene."

The hallway went dead silent for a moment.

I looked up at Tiana and asked, "Harry gave you this, too?"

Tiana's face went pale, and she jerked her hand back.

"I-I don't know. Harry handed it to me last night, said I should wear it to help me calm down," she stammered.

Harry froze and asked, "When did I give you that?"

Tiana's tears welled up and spilled over.

"Harry, did you forget? At the hospital, you said Irene didn't want you home, and you were worried I'd be scared, so you gave this to me," she said.

Harry's lips pressed into a thin line.

Seeing his face, the ache in my chest eased a little.

I felt it was ridiculous.

Tiana really knew how to stir things up.

She stole something and, without missing a beat, dumped the blame on the one who was protecting her.

Natasha started to get flustered. "It's just a bracelet! What's wrong with a young girl wearing it?"

I let go of Tiana's hand and slipped the bracelet off her wrist.

The silver bracelet had dug so tightly into her skin that it left a red welt.

Tiana gasped, and her tears flowed even harder.

I clenched the bracelet in my fist.

"Taking someone else's jewelry without permission is called stealing," I said coldly.

Tiana screamed, "I didn't steal it!"

I headed inside and pulled up the security footage on my phone.

There weren't any cameras in the bedroom, but there was one in the hallway.

Three days ago, in the afternoon, my mom was at the hospital for a check-up. I was at work, and Harry was out at a meeting.

Tiana pushed open the master bedroom door and spent twelve whole minutes inside.

When she came out, she was clutching something in her hand and slipped it into her coat pocket.

I thrust the video right in Harry's face.

"Explain," I said coldly.

Harry's face went pale.

Tiana shook her head, crying.

"I went in to borrow the hair dryer. I didn't take anything," Tiana said.

"The hair dryer's in the bathroom," I snapped.

Tiana was left speechless.

Natasha tried to say something, but I didn't hesitate. I dialed 911.

Harry snatched my phone right out of my hand.

"Irene, you're really calling the cops over a bracelet?" he asked.

I looked at him and said, "It's my dad's memento."

His hand froze.

I snatched my phone back.

The call connected, and I laid out the whole situation, giving the address.

Tiana finally panicked. She lunged at me, but the security guard stepped in and blocked her.

"Irene, I'm sorry, I really am. I was so jealous of you. You have everything: a house, a career, and Harry dotes on you. I wanted to try it on, not take it for myself," Tiana sobbed.

I looked at Harry and said, "Did you catch that? She said you dote on me."

Harry's eyes darted away, suddenly looking guilty.

These past few days, he kept taking Tiana's side, telling my mom to back off, and telling me to let it go.

But now, after getting caught stealing from me, Tiana was using his favoritism as her excuse.

The cops showed up fast.

Tiana sat on the hallway bench, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

I handed over the security footage, proof of purchase, and photos of the bracelet.

Harry stood off to the side, trying to speak up a few times, but I cut him off every time.

"Officer, I want this handled by the book," I said.

Tiana looked up at him and pleaded, "Harry, can you put in a word for me?"

Harry's lips moved, but he hesitated.

"Irene, how about we handle this between ourselves first?" he finally said.

I shot back, "You gonna pay for her?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?"

Harry stood there, saying nothing.

As the cops led Tiana away to take her statement, her legs nearly gave out, and she almost collapsed.

Natasha chased after the officers, yelling, "She's not well. She can't handle the police station."

I leaned against the doorframe, watching the elevator numbers count down.

Harry turned to look at me, exhaustion written all over his face.

"Are you happy now?" he asked.

I kept wiping the bracelet in my palm with a tissue, over and over.

"No," I said.

He froze.

I looked up at him. "You should move out, too."