CHAPTER 39: MISSING RING

Alexia POV:

I froze, the glass of juice halfway to my lips, as Aiden’s sharp question hung in the air. My mind scrambled to recall where I might have put the ring. Panic set in as I stared at my now very naked ring finger. No way, I didn’t lose it... did I?

"Well?" Aiden prompted, leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed. His casual appearance in that white t-shirt and grey sweatpants should have made him look approachable, even human, but the cold, calculating glare he leveled at me was straight out of his robotic-suit-wearing repertoire.

"Uhhh..." I began eloquently, my brain spinning like a hamster on a wheel. "It’s... safe?"

His eyes narrowed. "Safe where?"

"On my finger?" I tried weakly, holding up my bare hand for him to see.

"Clearly not." His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it that made me want to bolt from the room.

"I...uh..." My brain scrambled for an answer, but all I could think of was how shiny, big, and adorable the ring had looked when I last saw it. "It was here...earlier...I think."

"You think?" he repeated, his voice dangerously low. "You think?"

I frantically replayed the day’s events. I’d been wearing the ring all morning, too enamored by how it sparkled to take it off. I wore it during the shoe shopping trip, then... then... Oh no. My heart sank. The boutique.

"I think I left it in the dressing room," I blurted, feeling a cold sweat break out on my forehead.

Aiden’s eyebrows shot up, and for a moment, he just stared at me as if I’d confessed to a murder. "You think? You left a seven-figure ring in a dressing room?"

"Relax!" I said, trying to sound confident but failing miserably. "I’m sure it’s still there. Who would even take it? The attendants saw me wearing it. They’re professional. I’ll just... I’ll call the store."

Aiden pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "This woman will be the death of me."

Aiden handed me his phone with a stern look that said, Fix this now. I dialed the boutique’s number- that I took after googling the boutique name and finding their contact- with trembling fingers, silently praying that someone had found the ring and turned it in.

"Hello, this is Serene Boutique. How may I assist you?" a chirpy voice answered.

"Hi, um, I was in earlier today, and I think I might have left something in one of the dressing rooms," I said, forcing my voice to sound calm.

"Of course, ma’am. What did you leave?"

"A ring," I said, glancing at Aiden, who was watching me like a hawk. "A diamond engagement ring."

There was a long pause. "Oh," the attendant said, her tone suddenly less chirpy. "One moment, please."

I looked up at Aiden, offering him a reassuring smile. "See? They’re probably checking lost and found right now. It’s going to be fine."

"Let’s hope so," he said, though his tone suggested he wasn’t optimistic.

The attendant came back on the line, her voice apologetic. "Ma’am, we’ve checked the dressing room and the surrounding areas, but we haven’t found a ring. Are you sure you left it here?"

My stomach dropped. "Yes, I’m sure," I said, trying not to sound as panicked as I felt.

"We’ll keep an eye out and contact you if it turns up," she said.

I thanked her and hung up, avoiding Aiden’s gaze as I set the phone down on the table.

"Well?" he asked, his voice low and deadly.

"They... didn’t find it," I mumbled, staring at the glass of juice like it held the answer to all my problems.

"Okay, okay!" I said, my hands flying up defensively. "Don’t go all Hulk on me! I definitely had it when I was upstairs...probably."

"Probably?" Aiden repeated, his tone icy.

Aiden stood up so quickly his chair scraped loudly against the floor. "Do you have any idea what you’ve done?" he demanded, pacing the length of the dining room. "That ring was to represent our engagement.

And you lost it on day one?"

"I didn’t lose it on purpose!" I snapped, standing up to face him. "It’s not like I threw it out of a window. It’s just a ring—"

"Just a ring?" His voice rose slightly, and I could practically see the vein in his forehead popping.""Do you know what that ring costs, Alexia?"

"No," I said honestly, folding my arms. "And I don’t care. What matters is that it was on my finger, and now it’s not. Do you think I misplaced it on purpose?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering something under his breath. "Unbelievable."

"Alexia, that ’just a ring’ costs more than a sports car. You don’t just misplace something like that!"

I swallowed hard. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t just a ring. But still, the way he was glaring at me, you’d think I’d lost a national treasure.

"Well, maybe you shouldn’t have given me something so ridiculously expensive!" I shot back. "Who even needs a ring that big? It’s like wearing a disco ball on my finger!"

"You didn’t seem to mind it this morning," he said, glaring at me.

"That was before I realized it came with this much stress!"

We stared at each other, both fuming, until William the butler appeared in the doorway, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Sir, if I may suggest, perhaps retracing your steps to the boutique could yield better results?"

Aiden turned to him, visibly trying to calm himself. "That’s exactly what we’re going to do," he said.

"We?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Yes, we," he said, grabbing my arm and pulling me out from the dining chair. "You’re coming with me, and you’re not stopping until you find that ring."

"Fine," I said, standing up and brushing past him. "I’ll go look for it, Mr. Perfection. But for the record, it’s not like I lost it on purpose!"

"Make it fast," he shot back. "We’re not spending all night playing hide-and-seek with a diamond."

I retraced my steps like my life depended on it—which, judging by the way Aiden was looking at me, it probably did. I searched the couch cushions, the bathroom, even the pocket of my hoodie, but the ring was nowhere to be found.

"Any luck?" Aiden called from the dining room, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"No," I snapped, crawling on all fours under the coffee table. "But if you keep hovering like a buzzard, I’ll never find it!"

He appeared in the doorway again, his arms crossed and his face a mask of impatience. "This isn’t exactly inspiring confidence."

"Oh, for crying out loud, Aiden!" I stood up, glaring at him. "Do you think I’d lose it on purpose? What would I even do with it, pawn it for snacks?"

"Honestly, with you, anything’s possible," he muttered.

The next hour was a whirlwind of chaos. I searched high and low, flipping couch cushions, checking under furniture, and even digging through my hoodie pockets. Aiden followed me everywhere, his presence like a dark storm cloud hovering just out of reach.

"Found it yet?" he asked for the tenth time.

"Do I look like I’ve found it?" I shot back, crawling under the coffee table. "Unless you want me to actually lose my mind, stop asking!"

He huffed but said nothing, his frustration palpable.

I opened my mouth to retort, but just then, something shiny caught my eye. There, wedged between the armrest and cushion of the couch, was the ring.

"Aha!" I exclaimed triumphantly, snatching it up and holding it out for him to see. "Found it! See? Crisis averted."

Aiden snatched it from my hand, inspecting it like it was a priceless artifact. "You’re lucky it’s not damaged," he said, slipping it back into its box.

"Oh, please," I said, rolling my eyes. "It’s a ring, not the crown jewels."

He gave me a look that could have frozen lava. "You’re not wearing this again until it’s resized. Period."

"Fine," I grumbled, flopping onto the couch. "But next time, maybe don’t buy something that requires a whole safety manual to wear."

"Noted," he said dryly. "Now, can we eat? Or are you planning to lose your fork next?"

With a groan, I followed him back to the dining room, determined to at least salvage the rest of the evening—and my appetite.

"Fine," I grumbled, "But don’t think I’m letting you off the hook for treating me like a criminal. I didn’t lose it on purpose, you know."

"Noted," he said dryly, heading back toward the dining room. "Now, can we please eat before the food gets cold?"

By the time I sat back down at the dining table, my appetite had returned with a vengeance. Aiden kept glancing at me as I loaded my plate like a kid at a buffet for the first time.

"You’re seriously going to eat all that?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Watch me," I said, smirking as I shoveled a forkful of mashed potatoes into my mouth. "And don’t even think about lecturing me, Mr. Fancy Suits. You’re the reason I’m starving in the first place."

He sighed and shook his head but didn’t argue.