Her eyes immediately locked onto the box—and she froze.
“Where did you get the ring, Lily?”
Her eyes filled with tears as she shook her head quickly. “I didn’t take it,” she whispered.
It didn’t sound like a lie. But it wasn’t the whole truth either.
“Then what is it?” I pressed. “How did it end up in your room?”
She hesitated. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you yet, Bree.”
That was when I realized—this was bigger than I thought.
The door opened behind her. Noah stepped in first. Then Jake. Then Maya and Sophie.
“We heard everything, Bree. We were going to tell you,” Noah said.
“Just not yet,” Jake added.
I looked at all of them. “Tell me what? What’s going on?”
Lily took a deep breath. “Mrs. Lewis didn’t lose the ring for long. She found it later. She said it didn’t fit anymore and was going to sell it.”
“So why is it under your bed?” I asked, confused.
She glanced at her siblings, then back at me.
“Because we wanted to buy it.”
That answer still didn’t make sense. Not yet.
“Why?”
Lily hesitated, then looked briefly at Andrew before meeting my eyes again.
“Because he doesn’t have one,” she said softly.
The room went still.
“And you always wait,” Maya added gently.
“For everything,” Jake said.
Noah exhaled. “You never choose yourself, Bree.”
“And we didn’t want you to keep doing that,” Lily finished.
I swallowed hard. “The money… where did you get it?”
They exchanged glances.
“We earned it,” Noah admitted.
“Earned?”
