Phoebe reached out, trying to place the hairpin in her own hair. Something that had already been touched by someone else, how could I give that to Mom?
“Give it back to me!”
In the struggle, Phoebe turned her back to Claudia and gave me a faint smile before letting go. My years of quick reflexes kicked in, and before the hairpin hit the ground, I caught it.
“I’m really sorry, Freya. I accidentally lost my grip…”
Before she could finish, I slapped her hard across the face. She fell to the floor, a tooth flying out.
Now, she truly couldn’t smile anymore.
Claudia lifted her hand to defend Phoebe, but I pushed her down onto the sofa. “It’s just a hairpin. What’s wrong with your sister wearing it? It was meant for me anyway. What’s mine is also Phoebe’s!”
She completely lost her usual composure, shouting at me in anger.
I took the silk cloth the manager handed me and gently wiped the hairpin. “Is your name engraved on it? Yet you still claim it’s yours. How self-centered.”
Claudia stared at me, taken aback. “Didn’t he say it was custom-made for your mother? If not me, then who else could your mother be?”