The Billionaire's Pretend Wife (Isabella)

Isabelle looked at the sapphire ring on her finger and shook her head. "No, I'm not."

"Are you sure? I can give you two million for it," the pawnshop owner told her.

"Two million?" she asked, unbelieving. Was the ring really worth that much? And that was just the price she was getting at a pawnshop. What was its real value? How did Jacob get his hands on such an expensive ring?

"Yes," the owner confirmed. "We can pay for it right away."

Isabelle gnawed on her lip. Two million was more than enough to pay for Ruth's surgery. If she sold this ring...

She shook her head, ridding the thought from her mind. No. She couldn't sell Jacob's gift to her.

"It's my wedding ring," she told the owner, "I'm not selling it."

"Are you sure?" the woman asked as she got ready to leave again. "You look like you could use the money."

Was that why they had offered her such a poor price for the bags? They must have thought she was so desperate.

She shook her head again. "If you're not going to give me a better price for the bags, I'll get going."

"I understand," the owner said, and then fixed her gaze on her ring again. "Before you go, I could give you a quick maintenance service for the ring. It's so beautiful, but it could look better with a little maintenance. It looks like it's seen better days."

"Uh, no, thank you," Isabelle told her, noticing the greedy look she was giving the ring. She obviously wanted it so badly. What if she gave it to her and she refused to give it back? Or exchanged it with a fake one?

"If you're worried about losing your ring, we have surveillance cameras you can check. You'll be able to see the entire process if you want," the owner assured her, pointing to the cameras in the shop. Isabelle looked at the cameras and pondered the issue. With surveillance, they wouldn't be able to sneakily steal her ring, right?

"We understand if you're not comfortable giving it to us," the owner said, giving her a warm smile. "I just looked at it and imagined how much more brilliant it would look with a little maintenance. It'll only cost you a few bucks to have it cleaned and polished, but if you're not-"

"Fine," Isabelle agreed finally, deciding she had nothing to lose. "I'll give it to you."

"Once we are done with it, you'll like it even more," the owner promised as she took the ring from her.

Isabelle nodded and sat down to wait for them to be done with the process. About two hours later, the owner returned with the ring. Isabelle noticed that it looked more shiny and newer than it originally had. "We have cleaned it and polished it to restore it to it's original appearance," the owner explained. "When these rings stay for long without proper maintenance, they lose their initial lustre and shine."

"It does look new," Isabelle said, slipping the ring onto her finger. She marvelled at how bright it looked, and then gave the owner an appreciative smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

After that, Isabelle left the shop and went to see if there was another shop she could find to sell the bags on her way home.

***

By the time Isabelle got back to the apartment, it was already dusk. The house was quite but Jacob's shoes were at the door, so she knew that he must be in his room. After changing in her room, she went to the kitchen to get started on dinner.

Jacob heard the sound of the front door opening and came out of his room. He found Isabelle in the kitchen, peering into the refrigerator.

"Where did you go all day?" he asked, yawning mid-way as he walked over to her and stood behind her.

She had left at noon and it was already past six o'clock in the evening. It was the weekend so she didn't have work. He had stayed around hoping to spend some time with her, but she had stayed away all day. "Around," she replied, turning her head to look at him over her shoulder. "What do you want to have for dinner?"

He looked down at her, got distracted by her soft pink lips for a few seconds, and then finally found her gaze. Was 'you' on the table?

"Jacob?" she asked, waiting for his answer. She turned back towards the refrigerator. "Anything you fancy?"

He was going to take a look inside the fridge when his eyes landed on the hand that was holding the door open. The ring on her finger shone in the light, brighter than it had the previous night when he had given it to her.

His face fell as he took a step back. "Did you sell the ring I gave you yesterday?" he asked coldly.