A Life Is Worth Less Than Her Smile

Dad and I moved out of our old home overnight. I also changed my number and found a new job as a waitress in a cafe.

One afternoon, I was wiping glasses behind the counter. There weren't many customers in the cafe that day.

The windchime on the door suddenly tinkled.

Reflexively, I lifted my head and said, "Welcome."

The glass slipped from my hands when I got a good look at the newcomers. It fell to the floor and shattered into a million pieces.

Julian stood at the entrance of the cafe with Rachel standing right behind him.

He was dressed in an expensive tailored suit while I was wearing a cheap uniform with coffee stains.

It was as if there was an unsurpassable rift between us.

Julian swept his gaze over the name tag that was pinned to my chest. His lips curled up into a mocking smile as he sneered, "I was wondering how capable you were, Cecilia. So, you can only wait tables in this sort of place after leaving me?"

Meanwhile, Rachel locked arms with him and shot a sympathetic look at me. "Why are you working here, Cece? You must be having such a tough time. Why don't you help her, Julian? You could assign her to an easy position—"

"She doesn't need it!" Julian snapped while keeping his eyes trained on me, interrupting her before she could finish her sentence. "She's stubborn to a fault, isn't she? Well, I'm curious to see just how much she values her stubbornness."

I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my palms.

The cafe manager hurried over to us when he heard the commotion. He immediately nodded and greeted Julian when he spotted him.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Luther? Please have a seat!"

Julian didn't even spare him a single glance. Instead, his eyes were trained on a small, porcelain cat figure that was placed on the shelf behind me.

I had personally made the cat figure during my spare time. It looked identical to the one that I had given Jillian Luther, Julian's younger sister, years ago.

Julian's eyes widened, and he began breathing heavily. He pointed at the cat figure and hissed with barely-contained anger, "Who does that belong to?"

My heart plummeted into my gut.

The color drained from the manager's face. He pointed at me and hastily explained himself. He was firmly drawing a line between himself and me. "Cecilia was the one who brought it here, Mr. Luther! It has nothing to do with my cafe…"

Julian stepped forward and grabbed the porcelain cat figure. Ignoring the shriek I let out, he didn't hesitate for even a second before he hurled it to the floor.

The cat figure that held the last memories that I shared with Jillian shattered into a million pieces. It would be impossible to piece it back together.

Julian's chest heaved. He picked up a broken shard of porcelain from the floor and stalked toward me.

I subconsciously backed away, but it didn't take long before my back hit the wall. I was trapped with no hope of escape.

"Why do you have to keep reminding me, Cecilia?" Julian roared.

His warm breath fanned across my face, but I couldn't help but feel as if I was facing the icy pits of hell.

"Your face constantly reminds me that my sister is dead while you, her murderer, are still alive and well!"

"Murderer…" I repeated over and over again. The unbearable pain numbed my heart.

"Tell me. How should I punish you?"

Julian suddenly whipped his head up and coldly barked his orders at his two bodyguards, who were standing behind him.

"Keep her in place."

The bodyguards stepped forward and grabbed my shoulders, immobilizing me.

My eyes widened in fear. I could only watch as Julian pressed the broken shard into one of the bodyguard's palms.

"Use this. Carve the word 'murderer' into her arm."

"No!" I screamed hysterically.

The cafe manager and the other staff members were cowering in fear in a corner and trembling violently. None of them dared to step forward to help me.

The color had drained from Rachel's face. It seemed that she hadn't expected Julian to do something so insane.

The bodyguard emotionlessly raised his hand.

The sharp edges of the broken porcelain shard glinted blindingly in the light.

I watched as the shard was brought closer and closer to my arm.