I pulled out the silver thing, revealing it to be a silver flying fish necklace.
“Is something that only costs a hundred or so worthy of you to dig through the trash?” Ashton’s icy voice reached my ears.
I completely ignored him and focused on using a tissue to wipe away the cream on the necklace. His guess was spot on. The necklace was indeed not very expensive.
Back when I was fourteen years old, I was at the age where appearances were starting to matter. This was a sentiment that most girls in my class shared. Though our grasp of what construed as beauty was still shaky, a lot of them still tried to imitate the older women in their lives. It became a trend to accessorize themselves with necklaces or bracelets.
In truth, these accessories could be rather cheap. Some were maybe over ten or so, while others were a little pricier. At the time, an accessory that cost ten was already considered quite expensive to me.
Despite how much I wanted to wear such pretty things as well, I refused to ask Grandma for money to buy them. In the end, I went behind her back to work for one of our cafeteria staff. I would help him move and carry stuff, and in return, he would pay me five each time. I continued working for him for a month before an accident happened and I injured my leg. Worried that Grandma would find out, I stopped helping out.
My one month of effort led to me saving up close to two hundred. I spent a hundred buying this flying fish necklace made of pure silver while I used the leftover money to buy a belt for John and a thimble for Grandma.
Since it was my first time wearing something so expensive, I lost the necklace within a few days.
That caused me to feel I was not suited for wearing such extravagant items. To this day, I still do not wear accessories because I subconsciously feel like I am not worthy enough to do so.
I never expected that this necklace would ever be found, especially not after so many years. To say that I was delighted would be an understatement. If John actually returned this necklace to me, I wonder…
At that thought, I looked at the scowling Ashton. “Where’s the outer box for the cakes?”
He frowned at my question, his displeasure evident. “In the garbage bin!”
I disregarded his unhappy expression and searched through all the garbage bins in the villa. Finally, I spotted the box in the kitchen garbage bin.
I crouched down to rummage through it when Ashton seized my wrist. “You really care so much for what he gives you?”
Prying his fingers from my wrist, I couldn’t be bothered to explain to him. All I said was, “It’s not what you think.”
I finally managed to dig out the outer box and opened it. As I thought, a well-kept belt was inside there. Since he had given me the belt and the necklace, it made sense that Grandma’s thimble would be here as well.
I continued to search the box but it was empty, I even went as far as to tip it upside down.
Straightening from my crouch, I went back to the cakes by the door. Fed up by that point, Ashton shoved me down on the couch. “Scarlett, that’s enough!”
My brows furrowed in annoyance as I snapped impatiently, “Ashton, just go busy yourself with work or something. I’m not in the mood to argue with you right now!”
A terrible scowl twisted his features. When he spoke, it was in a glacial tone, “You’re not in the mood to argue with me? Hah! What are you in the mood for then? Admiring all the precious trash that John gave you?”
The force with which he held me down was immense due to his anger. I was in so much pain I could hardly breathe. “Ashton Fuller, you’re hurting me!”
He did not release me, but his grip loosened slightly. “Oh, so you can feel pain.”
This man is just ridiculous! Infuriated at his actions, I shoved him away from me. “Ashton, these items might be trash in your eyes, but they’re incredibly precious to me!”
Not wanting to waste any more time on him, I continued my search for Grandma’s thimble.
As expected, John had hidden the thimble in the cakes. I carefully washed the three items clean.
Feeling a lot calmer now that I had found them, I noticed Ashton was fixing me with a cold stare from the living room. I knew he was furious at me, so I opened my mouth to explain, “These items-”
He did not even wait for me to finish before he placed his phone against his ear and ordered icily, “Joseph, buy all the gold, silver, and jade accessories you can find in K City. Also, bring all of this year’s newest jewelry designs to the villa.”
Joseph said something on the other end of the line.
Ashton’s voice grew even more frosty as he spat, “Just do as I say!”
Then, he ended the call.
For a moment, all I could do was stare at Ashton. I could not even come up with an adjective to describe him. At last, I walked over to sit down opposite him. Giving him a thumbs up, I complimented, “Mr. Fuller, you are a wealthy man indeed!”
At this rate, he should switch jobs instead of working as an acquirer!
He arched an eyebrow at me. “Throw away all that trash John gave you. Just tell me what you want and I’ll buy it for you!”
I pursed my lips, not sure what to say to that. In the end, I settled with, “Mr. Fuller, that’s very generous of you!”
I gazed down at the items in my hand. Monetary-wise, they really weren’t worth that much. However, to me, they were extremely precious.
Not wanting to get into another fight with him, I tried to explain again, “Back when I was in high school, my allowance was only fifty to spend on my food. At the time, a lot of the girls in my school would doll themselves up with necklaces or bracelets. Yet, I had nothing.”
Here, I paused and sighed. “Since I really wanted to be like them but couldn’t ask for money from my Grandma, I decided to work for it. I helped one of the cafeteria staff in our school and earned a few hundred for my efforts. After that, I bought this necklace for myself, this belt for John, and this thimble for my Grandma.”
