Ditching Me for His 'Soulmate'? His Loss. Next Stop: My New Life novel Chapter 89

Chapter 2

Half a million dollars? How could she even say that?

Ever since my fallout with my father, I had poured every penny I had into paying for Reed’s so-called “treatment.” I’d already pawned off every single item my mother had left behind, yet I couldn’t even scrape together five hundred dollars, let alone five hundred thousand.

I stared at Sage’s smug, triumphant expression, then glanced over at Reed. His eyes avoided mine, and his silence felt like silent approval of Sage’s relentless torment.

A cold, crushing weight gripped my heart, squeezing it mercilessly. Any lingering illusions I’d held about our past, about Reed and me, shattered completely, turning to dust in that moment.

“Fine,” I said, my voice low but steady. “I’ll buy it.”

All I wanted was to reclaim the last piece of my mother’s legacy—and then disappear from their lives forever.

Sage’s laughter rang out, sharp and mocking. “You’ll buy it? That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day!” She covered her mouth, pretending to stifle her amusement. “Look at what you’re carrying—premium sushi worth two thousand five hundred dollars! Have you ever even tasted food like this? Or seen it up close? You don’t deserve to touch it.”

Before I could react, she suddenly lunged forward and snatched the sushi delivery bag from my hands. With a cruel grin, she slammed it down hard on the marble floor.

CRASH!

The wooden insulated box hit the ground with a harsh thud. The lid popped open, and the artfully arranged, outrageously expensive sushi spilled out—sashimi, caviar, wagyu beef—scattered across the cold floor.

Sage sneered at the mess, her lips curling into a mocking smile. Then, with deliberate cruelty, she pressed her delicate Chanel heels down onto the scattered delicacies, grinding the tuna repeatedly beneath her shoe.

The scene was almost theatrical in its cruelty—luxury food destroyed under the heel of someone who clearly enjoyed wielding power.

“When Reed told me your ring was valuable, I couldn’t believe it. You’re broke as hell, so no matter how expensive it looks, it’s probably just cheap junk.”

“Only you would treat that thing like a treasure,” she sneered.

With that, she pinched the ring between her fingers. Before anyone—Reed included—could react, she yanked open the glass door and flung her arm outward, sending the ring flying into the stormy night.

The ring traced a glittering arc through the rain before landing with a splash in the rushing river beside the mansion.

“No!” I gasped, my eyes wide with fury and despair. That ring was the last keepsake my mother had left me.

Without a second thought, my heart pounding wildly, I dashed toward the balcony like a woman possessed, ready to climb over the railing and plunge into the icy river below.