My mother, Maeve Nelson, made significant contributions to the Academy of Sciences and was awarded a special national medal of honor. After her death, I, Anna Nelson, also a researcher at the Academy, concealed the news of her passing and personally escorted her belongings to Chicago, planning to discuss engagement matters with Ivan Lewis, my childhood friend. However, the moment I stepped out of the train station, I was knocked down by Ivan’s assistant, Lucy Watkins. Watching the velvet box containing the medal fall open and seeing the medal’s edge crack from the impact, my heart sank. Yet Lucy had the audacity to blame me: “Don’t you watch where you’re going? You broke my bracelet!” I was stunned and tried to reason with her: “Miss, please get your facts straight. You’re the one who crashed into me first and damaged my mother’s belongings. How can you turn this around on me?” She acted as if she’d heard the most ridiculous joke: “Some dead person’s junk—who cares if it’s broken? This bracelet is a custom designer piece worth ten million dollars! Do you think you can afford to offend the wife of the Lewis family heir?” I was taken aback and immediately pulled out my phone to call Ivan’s mother, Camila Lewis: “Mrs. Lewis, since when does Ivan have two potential wives?” ***** When we were children, Ivan’s parents and mine arranged our engagement. I never really took it seriously, but Maeve kept bringing it up on her deathbed. She said Ivan was handsome, tall, successful, and that the Lewis family had helped us before, urging me to settle the marriage soon. But since he moved away as a child, we hadn’t seen each other since. So my return this time was less about getting engaged and more about clearing things up and giving each other our freedom. What I didn’t expect was for Camila, who I remembered as gentle, to get angry over one simple question. She said: “What business is it of yours? Who do you think you are to meddle in our family affairs?” Before I could respond, she hung up. I was stunned, then realized that in my rush to leave, I hadn’t switched back to my original phone number. Camila’s voice had been loud enough for Lucy to hear everything clearly. Now Lucy stood with her arms crossed, looking at me with complete disdain: “And here I thought you were actually somebody important. Turns out you were just bluffing.” Lucy let out a cold laugh, her voice dripping with mockery: “This bracelet is the latest limited edition—only five exist worldwide, priced at ten million dollars. But…” She smirked coldly, looking me up and down: “How about this—get on your knees and lick my shoes clean with your tongue, and I’ll give you a discount on what you owe me.” She raised an eyebrow, looking smug, as if certain I’d do it to save some money. More and more people gathered around, and hearing Lucy’s arrogant words, murmurs began to spread. “Ten million dollars! I could never earn that much in my lifetime!” “Who is this person? She damages someone else’s property and then demands compensation?” “Keep your voice down! Didn’t you hear her say she’s the wife of the Lewis family heir? In Chicago, who else would dare be this arrogant besides the Lewis family?” The crowd’s chatter made Lucy puff out her chest even more proudly. She said: “You hear that, you broke loser? You’d better wise up before Mr. Lewis gets here.” “Why should I listen to you?” My words made Lucy’s face stiffen. She gritted her teeth and slapped me across the face. Her sharp nails scraped across my cheek, leaving a bloody scratch. She sneered: “You pathetic loser, those jeans of yours are practically falling apart from being washed so much, aren’t they? Even if we sold you, you couldn’t afford my bracelet. I’ve changed my mind—I don’t want you licking my shoes anymore. I want Mr. Lewis to sell you into slavery.” Her tone was incredibly arrogant, making my eyes well up with tears of rage. My gaze fell on the cracked medal on the ground, heartbroken that Maeve’s life’s work was being treated so callously, and furious at this person’s complete disregard for others. I took a deep breath, and as Lucy leaned in to continue her taunts, I suddenly raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face. Before she could react, I followed up with a second slap. I said: “This is a train station—there are cameras everywhere. The surveillance will prove that you hit me first, causing me to drop and break what I was holding. And you still want me to apologize first? I’m telling you—no way!” I put my hands on my hips, my anger nearly overwhelming my reason.
I don’t care how others bully me, but I absolutely won’t tolerate anyone insulting Maeve! “You bitch! How dare you hit me!” She lunged at me, raising her hand to slap me again. I dodged to the side and kicked her in one swift motion. Lucy fell to the ground, her palm pressing against the medal fragments. She screamed, “You bitch! I’m telling you, Mr. Lewis bought me this bracelet specially yesterday, and you’re not getting away with this! When Mr. Lewis gets here, you’ll be sorry!” Despite her disheveled state, she remained arrogant and domineering. I frowned. These past few years, I’d been staying at the country’s secret base for research, rarely interacting with the outside world. Because of this isolation, I was almost completely cut off from society and knew little about current affairs. But due to the marriage arrangement made in childhood, even though I hadn’t deliberately followed news about the Lewis family, I could still learn bits and pieces from Maeve. According to Maeve, Ivan was no longer the chubby little boy who used to cry and follow me around years ago. He had not only become successful in his career and strikingly handsome, but was also the dream man of countless women. However, coming back this time, I didn’t want to get too involved with him. I only wanted to fulfill Maeve’s wish and personally deliver her belongings back home. I never expected that right after getting off the train, I’d witness such shamelessness. I’d never heard of any family daring to be so brazenly arrogant. It seemed some people really needed to be put in their place. I was about to take out my phone to make a call when Lucy suddenly knocked it out of my hand. “Even if you call for help, you’ll only get a bunch of poor country folks, right? Mr. Lewis will be here soon, so I suggest you don’t waste your energy.” Lucy looked down at the blood on her palm, glaring at me viciously. I had just bent down to pick up my phone when someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed, “Mr. Lewis is here!” I looked up. Surrounded by the crowd, a tall, well-proportioned man in a tailored suit stood at the center. His gaze was cold and distant, and when he looked at me, I could hardly believe this was the Ivan from my memory. It wasn’t that he bore no resemblance to his childhood self—he was completely transformed. “What happened?” His tone was calm, but as soon as he saw the injury on Lucy’s hand, he immediately became concerned. Ivan quickly stepped forward, pulling her into his arms. “What’s going on?” He frowned, scanning the crowd of onlookers before his gaze finally settled on me. The warmth in his eyes instantly turned cold, even showing a hint of anger. He asked, “Did you do this?” I had opened my mouth to explain, but forced myself to swallow the words. My initial thought of greeting him was completely extinguished by that cold question. Seeing Ivan’s arrival, Lucy’s arrogant demeanor instantly softened, replaced by a pitiful expression as she nestled into his arms. “Mr. Lewis, you’re finally here! Right after I got off the train, she knocked me down. Not only did she verbally abuse me, but she also broke the bracelet you gave me. You know how much this bracelet means to me—if I weren’t meeting you today, I wouldn’t even have worn it out. And now, just a few hours later, look what happened.” Her eyes reddened as she put on a pitiful act. Lucy’s distressed appearance made Ivan look at me again. “You’re Anna Nelson?” “So what if I am?” I replied. His tone, flat yet contemptuous, instantly ignited my anger. From birth until now, regardless of my character or status, no one had ever dared speak to me this way. “How do you plan to compensate?” He merely glanced at the medal fragments on the ground, his voice low. “This bracelet is worth ten million dollars. If you don’t believe me, I can show you the receipt.” His condescending attitude made my blood boil. Maeve’s life’s work lay shattered on the ground, yet he wouldn’t even spare it a glance, only caring about some broken bracelet. I took a deep breath, trying to maintain my last shred of rationality as I attempted to reason with Ivan. “Ivan, your assistant knocked over my suitcase, and the medal fell out and broke. That was my mother’s—” “Enough.” He raised his hand to cut me off, his tone clearly impatient. “Here’s what we’ll do—the bracelet cost ten million dollars. You can pay half. I can see this bracelet is beyond repair.” The last thread of rationality in my mind snapped. I had originally thought about leaving some dignity for both of us, but since Ivan didn’t want it, there was no need for me to show him any courtesy either.
From a personal standpoint, I’ve known him longer. Regardless, even if he didn’t want to honor our past, he should at least investigate the truth before passing judgment. From a professional standpoint, this medal is a specially crafted national honor, created solely to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to the country. Yet he jumped to conclusions without getting the facts straight, instinctively assuming I was in the wrong. Was it simply because of these cheap clothes I’m wearing? Or perhaps Lucy’s alluring figure? I gritted my teeth, about to explain, when he cut me off again: “It’s just a medal. If you like it so much, I can have someone make you a hundred of them.” “Of course,” he paused, his gaze falling on me as if Christian were looking at a complete stranger, “you must first apologize, pay compensation, and earn Lucy’s forgiveness.” Seeing my slightly stunned expression, a flash of impatience crossed Ivan’s eyes: “Don’t think you can keep pestering me just because of your relationship with my parents. And that childhood engagement between us was just our parents joking around—you don’t need to take it seriously.” As soon as he finished speaking, the murmur of the crowd grew louder. “No way? Those two don’t look like they belong together at all.” “Looking at it now, that assistant beside Mr. Lewis seems like a much better match for him.” “Exactly. Look at her, making such a big fuss over a broken medal. Meanwhile, the rich guy doesn’t even bat an eye at millions in losses.” The crowd’s chatter seemed to fuel Ivan’s arrogance. A cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth: “Since we’ve come this far, let me make things crystal clear today.” Ivan stepped closer, looking down at me with a cold tone: “From today forward, our engagement is officially null and void. As for my parents, I hope you’ll come with me to explain things to them. After all, you’ve been living in the countryside and don’t understand the rules of my social circle—marriage requires matching family backgrounds.” He casually slipped one hand into his pocket, his tone mockingly gentle: “Of course, I’m not looking down on you. I just think I deserve better.” “Mr. Lewis, I don’t necessarily need her to pay me back. I just feel we can’t let your gift to me go to waste,” Lucy chimed in, adding fuel to the fire. Seeing my cold expression, the last trace of patience vanished from Ivan’s eyes: “You don’t seriously think that with your current shabby appearance, you’re worthy of me, do you?” The surrounding chatter erupted again. “Come on, no matter how successful Mr. Lewis is, he shouldn’t treat a girl like this, right?” “You don’t get it. Mr. Lewis is doing this to cut ties with her and prevent her from clinging to him later.” “But I still think he’s being a bit too condescending toward poor people.” The crowd split into two camps. One side thought Ivan was going too far—not only bullying a girl but also discriminating against the poor. The other side believed he was doing the right thing, that people like me who try to climb the social ladder should be cut off completely. I looked up at Ivan’s impatient expression, my fists gradually clenching. Truth be told, the Nelson family and the Lewis family—one in business, one in politics—had grown distant by our generation. Moreover, Ivan and I had never had any real feelings for each other. I came back this time specifically to break off the engagement. But not only was he arrogant and domineering, allowing Lucy to destroy that medal representing my mother’s lifelong honor—a specially crafted national award—he also humiliated me repeatedly, even worrying that I might cling to him. I took a deep breath, my gaze falling on Lucy, who was hiding behind Ivan: “I believe that regardless of anything else, this lady should compensate me for the damaged medal.” “That piece of junk?” Before Lucy could respond, Ivan scoffed, “Fine, no problem. A hundred bucks each—I can make you a hundred of them.” He paused, his gaze sweeping over me with contempt: “For old times’ sake, since we were once engaged, I’ll throw in an extra hundred dollars. Pay for Lucy’s bracelet, and we’ll call it even.” “Even?” I couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “I’m afraid even if you sold the entire Lewis family, you couldn’t afford to compensate for this medal!” Ivan froze, then burst into laughter as if he’d heard the joke of the century. The people around us also showed sympathetic, even pitying expressions, as if Christian believed I’d suffered a mental breakdown under enormous pressure. Lucy crossed her arms, her face full of disdain and disgust. Ignoring the stares and whispers around me, I pulled out my phone, switched to another system, and dialed Kane Schmidt’s number. The call connected quickly. Before he could speak, I said first: “Mr. Schmidt, the Skyward Medal has been damaged.” There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by an elderly, shocked voice. Then came a series of clattering sounds, as if something had been knocked over. He asked: “Where are you right now? I’m coming over immediately!”
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