Chapter 4

The officer took the receipt and asked me to remove the ring. I did as instructed and handed it to him.

He matched the receipt against the ring, checking if the style and details lined up.

The officer shot me a skeptical look, his brows furrowed.

"Miss, this ring matches the description she gave exactly.

"Do you have a receipt for this ring?"

I shook my head. James had given it to me for my birthday six months ago.

It never crossed my mind I'd need to prove it was mine.

The moment the girl saw me hesitate, her face flushed red with anger.

"Are you serious? How can you be so disgusting?" she snapped. "I hired you to feed my cat, and you steal my ring?

"Do you have any idea what this ring means to me? My boyfriend gave it to me for Valentine's Day two weeks ago.

"I was so terrified of losing it that I didn't even wear it. I kept it safe at home. And now you've taken it."

Watching her screaming at me, my chest tightened so much I could barely breathe. Especially when I caught sight of the receipt in the cop's hand.

James's name was right there on the receipt.

Did James buy two identical rings? One for me, one for her.

I nearly lost it for a second, almost letting my tears fall.

The officer misinterpreted my expression, thinking I was about to confess. He stood up and slid a statement across the table.

"Alright, since you admit to the theft, sign this, and we'll proceed with processing."

Her lips curled into a smirk as she stood beside the officer. "Officer, I want her to rot in jail.

"People like her, posing as a pet sitter to steal, deserve to be punished."

The ache in my chest disappeared in a flash, and even the tears that were about to fall got swallowed back.

I stood calmly, glancing at her. "Who's really the thief here?"

I pulled out my phone, about to call James.

But before I could dial, a warm, familiar voice echoed from behind me. "Sophie, did she finally admit to stealing the ring?"

The moment Sophie Lane heard James's voice, she spun around and rushed over to him.

"She admitted it, James. Sorry you had to come all the way down here."

My fingers tightened around my bag. I bit down hard on my lower lip, forcing myself to turn around.

And when I did, I saw more than I wanted to.

Sophie wasn't clinging to his arm. She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek.

And James ruffled her hair the same way he used to ruffle mine, murmuring, "You were scared, huh? Don't worry. I'm here now. I'll take care of everything."

Seeing that tenderness in his eyes, the pain in my chest was suffocating. I couldn't stand there and watch this circus anymore.

I forced myself to keep my voice steady and said, "She's not the one who got scared. It's me."

James froze for a moment, then, as if he'd seen a ghost, he frantically pushed the girl clinging to his arm away from him.

I walked calmly up to James and, before anyone could react, delivered a loud, hard slap right across his face.

James stood there, completely dazed, unable to recover for a long time.

As for Sophie, even after James pushed her away, she didn't get angry. She stood her ground, blocking anyone from getting to him.

"What do you think you're doing? Who gave you the right to slap my boyfriend?"

I didn't answer her. I looked at James. "How long have you two been together?"

For a split second, panic flashed in James's eyes.

But he recovered quickly, rushing over and grabbing my arm. "Eva, let's go home. We'll talk about this calmly."

What was there to say? Only more empty excuses.

Before I could respond, Sophie came at me again.

"You're the girlfriend he's been with for seven years, right? The one who won't marry him or have his kids.

"If you won't even give him a child, why are you still holding on to him? Let him go. Give him to me.

"If you don't love him, I will."