The look on Ashley's face, which was a mix of the number of emotions she was feeling in the moment,
suddenly dissolved, and it was replaced by a serious look as she gazed intently at Teresa. She said
softly but firmly, "Give me my stuff back."
Teresa raised her eyebrows slightly at Ashley and responded, "Your stuff? Why would I? And look!
What's this? Oh, I know! It's Lena's ring! The ring she said she didn't take. But it's here. So what does
that mean?"
She had a lot of evidence now. There was no way for Ashley to deny it, because no one would believe
her.
All the girls looked contemptuously at her, and people around her kept their distance.
"Ah! That's my ring! You found it! Thank you so much Teresa!" Lena exclaimed, walking up to her and
taking the ring from Teresa. Between the ecstasy of getting her ring back and the remorse she felt at
losing it in the first place, her expression was like a wild roller coaster ride.
"Ashley, why did you take my ring? You know it's very important to me. Anyway, I am glad I have it
back, or I don't know what I would have done," said Lena. She look at Ashley tearfully, looking like she
would burst out in tears at any moment.
As Lena approached Ashley, Johnny walked up to stand in front of Ashley and spoke stiffly to Lena.
"Miss, I think you might be mistaken. I have been with Miss Mu the whole time. How could she take
your ring? Also, the ring on your hand is the one my boss gave to his wife. Why are you saying that's
yours?"
Johnny obviously wasn't holding back, and it looked like he didn't care to do so. He looked straight into
Lena's eyes and made up these lies. He had been warned by his boss to not let anyone stigmatize
Ashley. Andrew would kill him if Ashley was hurt.
Johnny knew Lena was not as innocent as she looked. She was known for making trouble for Ashley.
Johnny had already gleaned from the gossiping an idea of what was going on. He had a good memory
for faces, and when he saw the waitress in the crowd, he was sure who she was.
Johnny's explanation brought panic to Ashley's insides. She couldn't help but think, 'What are you
talking about Johnny? That's definitely not my ring!'
Ashley was about to intervene, but Johnny stopped her. He looked at Ashley and shook his head just
enough for her to get the message.
The sound of a door opening made sure that Lena didn't talk any further.
Clyde and his wife, Cora, walked in, followed by Spencer and Peggy. They tried to remain calm but the
furrowed brows and pursed lips didn't help the matter.
Questions began to plague the people in the room. Everyone was wondering why they were here.
Some of them assumed that they were here for Lena.
They looked furtively at Lena, starting to think that she might not be as innocent as she looked if she
could let Clyde and Cora leave a room full of guests for such a tiny matter.
Lena noticed the newcomers too, and her eyes lightened up. No one had noticed the change in her
expression, but that was probably because of how quickly it had faded away.
"Father! Mother! Mr. and Mrs. Luo! Why are you here?" Lena walked up to them and asked smilingly.
Clyde had to stop as he replied, "Lena, here you are! You need to come with us! Quick!"
Lena suddenly realized that they were not here for her. Nevertheless, she joined them and asked with
confusion, "What's going on? Why are you rushing to the front door?"
Peggy pulled Lena over and whispered something into her ears. For the second time that evening,
Lena's face lit up and she beamed.
"Mother, is that true?" she asked.
"Definitely. I heard from Mr. Luo," replied Peggy.
Peggy looked at Ashley as if it was the first time she was seeing her at the party and asked disdainfully,
"What are you doing here? Why is Ashley here?"
Lena scrambled for a coherent thought. When she couldn't come up with an explanation, she looked at
Ashley for a few seconds and then looked back at Peggy.
"Mrs. Luo, Ashley took Lena's ring and lied about it. We found the ring in her purse, but she said it was
hers. That is so unbelievable!" Teresa piped up. The moment she saw that Lena was dumbstruck, she
spoke up. There was no way she would let go of the chance to stand up for Lena in front of everyone.
Lena was happy with what Teresa had said.
"How is that possible?" Peggy asked, frowning and looking up at Teresa.
"It's true, Mrs. Luo. The ring that Lena is holding is the one we found in Ashley's purse. She kept saying
it was hers," Teresa said earnestly.
"Clyde, you go ahead. I will stay here with Peggy to look through this. A ring isn't worth much, but we
can't allow a thief in our house. We have to be responsible for our guests.
No one will want to attend parties at our house otherwise!" Cora said to Clyde.
There was a collective sharp intake of breath.
What Cora was saying that the ring wasn't worth much was an eyebrow-raising statement.
It was not so expensive that the people in the room would never be able to have it, but it was expensive
enough. Cora made it sound like it was nothing. Yet, no one dared to disagree with her. Compared to
the other people in the room, the Luo family was very powerful.
Accompanied by Spencer, Clyde nodded and kept walking. He was excited, but was also nervous.
Once they had left, Cora turned to look at Ashley, but she frowned and looked away quickly, as if
sparing Ashley another look would be a waste of her time.
Peggy acted differently. She never liked Ashley in the first place. She could barely conceal the hate in
her eyes when she heard that Ashley had stolen Lena's ring and refused to give it back.
She would regret it to the end of her days that she took such an ungrateful girl into her home.
Peggy was ready to teach Ashley a lesson, but Lena pulled at her hand and stopped her. She said,
"Mother, let it go. I don't think Ashley meant to do any of this. I've got my ring now."
Peggy shook off Lena's hand and looked at her angrily. "You are too soft and too kind!" she hissed at
her. "People keep walking all over you, but you still try to take their side and speak for them."
Lena was about to stop Peggy again, but Teresa walked in and said, "Lena, she is not worth your
kindness."
Peggy walked up to Ashley and sneered, "I am ashamed for having considered you as my daughter.
How could you do such a thing? You shamed not only yourself but our entire family! Today is Mr. Luo's
birthday party. How could you steal from your own sister at such an event? How do you think the Luo
family will look at us? And what do you think the guests will feel about us?"
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