The Price of a Promise

"That's it?" Tiffany, his childhood friend, snickered as I stood there, blushing, while Liam confessed his feelings. "Those limited-edition sneakers he's wearing could cover your rent for a year. You really think he's serious?"

I did believe him, or at least, I wanted to. I was too naive then to understand that Liam and I lived in completely different worlds.

That all changed when Tiffany's bracelet went missing.

Liam, along with everyone else, turned their accusatory gazes on me. His voice was dripping with sarcasm: "If you needed money, you could have just asked. Why the dramatics?"

My eyes stung, and my hands shook uncontrollably.

When I transferred schools, I blocked Liam on every platform, leaving without a word.

But what I never expected was Liam, the golden boy, to spend seven years trying to find me.

Part 1: Accusations

It was after gym class when Tiffany, the school's queen bee, discovered her expensive charm bracelet was gone. While I was in the bathroom, she had rallied her posse to tear through my backpack.

When I arrived at my desk, it was a mess.

She leaned close to Liam, pouting. "Liam, honey, Jasmine's your girlfriend, right? Can you get her to give back my bracelet?"

Liam and Tiffany had been inseparable since kindergarten. Everyone knew that Liam treated her differently than others. Even I had to admit that they just clicked better. I could never contribute when they discussed designer brands or limited-edition drops.

But this time, Liam didn’t jump to her defense.

Instead, he calmly cleaned off my desk before finally looking up at her. His tone was casual, but it wasn't a denial. "What bracelet? I'll just buy you another one."

The class exploded with whispers. The rumors grew louder, crueler with each word.

"What does that mean? Does he think she took it?"

"It’s totally possible. Isn’t she, like, on a full scholarship and eats ramen every night?"

"Ugh, that bracelet could probably pay for a few months of her life!"

"Yeah, and didn’t her dad get busted for shoplifting?"

…

I froze in the doorway, suddenly feeling as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head. I never realized how much these people, who were so polite to my face, truly felt about me behind my back.

Someone noticed me at the entrance. "Uh, Jasmine?"

The atmosphere instantly turned icy. Dozens of eyes turned toward me. I felt an overwhelming sense of shame.

I clenched my fists, my gaze meeting Liam's. For a brief moment, I thought I saw a flash of mockery in his eyes.

Part 2: No Trust

My explanation went unheard. It just seemed to make things worse.

“It’s fine,” Tiffany said, her voice sweet. “It was probably just a simple mistake. I don’t really need that bracelet anyway.”

Tiffany made a big show of telling everyone that she probably just misplaced it. Case closed.

But I couldn’t just let this accusation slide.

I grabbed her arm to demand that we look at the security footage.

I expected her to resist, but what I didn't expec...