Whispers of the Pearl Curse

I took my sweet time admiring the green bracelet on my left wrist.

Then I turned my attention to the white bracelet on my right, which had an even more impressive sparkle.

"You're always begging to borrow my bracelet for a day or two. Just wear this one at ease!

"And hey, when you swiped my bag and slathered on my skincare without asking, did you ever stop to think if you should?

"We're like sisters, right? That's your line!"

My family was relatively on par with Sophie's once upon a time. However, after we struck it rich from a demolition deal and my dad's business took off, making millions, she started being jealous of me.

I used to think she was all talk. It turned out she was dead serious about wanting me gone.

Sophie lost her mind, her hand slamming down as she tossed the bracelet onto the table with a vengeance. "Yasmine, cut it out with the accusations, okay? I'm not some freeloader like you. I'm a strong, independent woman!"

Jeffrey snapped out of it and stormed over, red-faced and fuming. "Yasmine, what the heck are you doing?!"

He swooped in, snatching the bracelet off the table and inspecting it like it was a fragile relic.

Seeing that it was undamaged, he gave me a serious look. "I get that you and Sophie are close, but if you start giving away my stuff, I'm about to get really mad!"

I had not realized it at first.

Jeffrey had only shown interest in me, the girl with a few extra pounds, because he had heard about my family's fat bank account. Sophie, with her so-so background, was not exactly his top pick.

I used to be terrified of making Jeffrey mad.

However, as I watched him silently, he thought he had me wrapped around his finger, and a smug grin spread across his face.

He slipped the bracelet onto my wrist with a flourish, his eyes twinkling with excitement.

"Yazzy, you haven't made your birthday wish yet. Come on, wish for a fifteen-million-dollar jackpot.

"This pearl bracelet from my family is like a magnet for money, you know?"

I could not help but let out a snort. Nonetheless, I pretended to close my eyes and made a wish.

The moment my eyes fluttered open, before I could even puff out the candles, Jeffrey's hands clamped onto my shoulders, his voice urgent. "So, Yazzy, did you make that fifteen-million-dollar wish?"

I could not help but giggle. "No way, it's my birthday. Why would I need to win that?"

Jeffrey was caught off guard. He did not think I would shrug off his advice.

Three seconds of silence passed.

Then he smacked the table hard and jumped to his feet, yelling at me so loudly that it was almost a scream, "Yasmine, you're such a fool! Do you even realize what you've just passed up?"

His sudden outburst left everyone around us stunned. "Jeffrey, are you okay? Why are you flipping out?" they asked.

However, seeing him so worked up just made me more relaxed.

I blew out the candles with a slow, easy breath.

I grinned at him and gave a cheeky wink. "Honey, if your family's pearl bracelet is supposed to bring in the bucks, why aim for fifteen million when I could go for one hundred fifty million?"

"One hundred... One hundred fifty million dollars?!" Jeffrey gasped.

My laughter seemed to snap him out of his rage. His face went from furious to shocked, and then it lit up with greed and sheer delight.

As the crowd kept fussing at him, Jeffrey seemed to snap back to reality. He quickly sat back down and started apologizing, "Yazzy, I'm sorry, I just got carried away. Don't take it personally, okay?"

I was not about to take it personally.

After all, what I really wanted was not his apology—it was his life!

After the party was over, I stumbled upon a woman in the shadow of a dumpster, her legs amputated.

She was infested with fleas and looked up at me desperately. "Could you spare a dollar, or maybe some food?"

A grin spread across my face. "Want a do-over in life? Here's your chance."

The moment I finished my tasks, I bolted home to see my father.

He was taken aback when he saw me. "Isn't it a workday? What brings you home?"

After we got the money from the land being taken for development, he started leasing an orchard in our old neighborhood. Sophie's father was the guy who bought all the bug-killing chemicals.

In my previous life, even when no one else had my back, Dad was there, ready to support me with open arms.

I thought, even without my health or youth, I could at least help Dad with the orchard.

However, the day after I got back, all the seedlings were dead. It turned out that Sophie's father, Daniel, had been buying fake pesticides to pocket some extra cash.

It did not stop there. He wanted to crush our family business to make his own orchard the only game in town, even spreading bugs on purpose. Dad was so stressed, his hair turned white as snow. The workers and loan sharks pushed him to the edge until he jumped off a building.