"Wait, I don’t understand. What does he an?" I frowned and turned to the assistant chef.
"What just happened?" I asked him.
But he only offered an apology. "I’m sorry, I can’t offer you an explanation," he said, and walked away.
Ruby and I exchanged glances.
"He can’t work with a Sebastian?" She raised her brows. "He can’t work with a Sebastian," she repeated.
"Does this have anything to do with the brothers? Maybe he has so connection to them?" she guessed.
"Maybe," I sighed.
"Do we just watch them go?"
"What can we do? They rejected every offer we made."
"We can speak to them once they return; I think the competition is about to begin."
"Alright, we’ll speak to them if we see them again." We returned to the mall and noticed people gathering at a particular location.
"I think the competition is happening over there; let’s go." We followed the crowd and found ourselves in an open area.
There were stalls set up, with people managing them. The crowd gathered in front of the stalls.
A lady with a microphone stepped out and cleared her throat. "Welco to Laura’s live sale event. How has your day been?" she asked.
"Let’s go to the front; let’s push our way through," Ruby said, starting to move forward, but I didn’t follow her. I couldn’t do it.
"What are you doing?" she asked when she noticed I wasn’t following.
"Go ahead, I’ll stay here," I said.
"You have our purchasing cards, and I’m certain you’ll be among the top three winners. It’s best to move to the front."
"No, I’d rather stay here; I’m more comfortable at the back." I reached into my purse and took out the purchasing cards. "You can hold onto the two cards."
I tried handing them over, but she hesitated.
"What is it?" I asked when I saw her staring at my neck.
"Where... Where is your necklace?" she pointed.
"My necklace?" I tried to reach for it but couldn’t find it. My eyes widened, and my heart stopped.
"Did you... Did you take it off?" she asked.
"No," I whispered, shaking my head.
She scread. "Don’t tell it got stolen."
"Moon goddess! Was it...?"
"Wait." She approached , and we walked to a quieter area. "Search your purse; maybe you took it off."
"I didn’t," I answered.
She took my purse and searched it thoroughly, but didn’t find the necklace.
"Maybe it’s in one of the shopping bags. Or maybe it’s in the car. We could also search there."
"It’s not in the car, Ruby; I never took it off," I sighed.
"Then what happened to it? Don’t tell it got stolen. This is the first ti you’re wearing it to an event; do you rember its price?"
"Of course... I rember. Why not?" I let out another sigh.
"We must... We must search for it. We can’t give up."
"Where do you expect to find it, Ruby?" I sighed again, feeling frustrated and heartbroken.
"But... But... Maybe we can report it. Yes, there are caras around; they’ll find the culprit. Let’s report this to the security team," she suggested, but I didn’t move; I slumped against the wall and stayed there.
Ruby left and returned a few minutes later. "They want you in the situation room; let’s go, they’ll find it," she urged, and when I didn’t budge, she held and pulled along.
When we reached the situation room, they requested our ti of arrival, and Ruby told them. They began the search and located us on the big screen.
"Yes, here," Ruby pointed at the screen. "The necklace was on her neck when she ca in. You can see it," she pointed out.
The situation room staff did their best to locate the necklace thief, but due to how crowded it was, finding the necklace proved difficult.
When the search began to take longer, I grew more frustrated and excused myself from the room.
Ruby ca after . "Are you okay?"
"Ask them to stop the search; let’s go."
"Don’t you want your necklace back?"
"I do, but the search is proving too difficult. I’m getting a headache. I want to go ho. Tell them not to bother."
"Okay, you can go ahead; I’ll et you in the car in ten minutes."
"Alright," I said and left, going straight to the car.
"Are you okay, Ms.?" my driver Joshua inquired. "Are you done for the day?"
"Yes, but we’ll wait for Ruby."
"Are you okay?" He asked again.
"I am. You don’t need to mind ."
"Alright, Ms."
I relaxed in the car and closed my eyes as my head beca hotter and I grew more dizzy.
Ruby entered and sat beside . "I’m sorry this happened; it happened because of ," she apologized.
"Did you ask for the necklace to be stolen? How is it your fault?" I groaned.
"I shouldn’t have asked you to wear it; I made a mistake. And I also dragged you to this event; it’s totally my fault," she said.
"You don’t have to do this; what’s happened has already happened. We can’t change things; we just have to accept it. Besides, I didn’t buy it with my own money."
"I can’t let it go," she whispered.
"What are you trying to say?" I looked at her.
"I can’t let the necklace go," she repeated.
I frowned. "What do you an?"
"I... I texted Bryce," she confessed.
"You did what?" I snapped.
She swallowed. "He was the one who got you the necklace; I texted him about this."
"Why would you do that?" I groaned, getting annoyed.
"Because it’s my fault," she retorted.
"Who said it’s your fault?"
"It is; I’ll keep feeling guilty until we get it back. I’ll never be at peace if we don’t find your necklace."
"How did you get Bryce’s number? How were you able to text him?" I asked.
"You gave his number. I have all their numbers; don’t you rember giving their contacts?"
"But... I’m sure I didn’t give you their numbers for this purpose."
"I’m sorry, I had to; I can’t let it go. You can do that, but not ."
I breathed out and relaxed against the car. My head felt like it was about to split in two. I felt even more terrible now.
"And what did he say?" I murmured, closing my eyes.
"He said he’ll resolve the issue," she whispered.
I took another deep tired breath.
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