"I can't calm down. It's my engagement ring. I can't believe I lost it..." It looked like Lena was about to burst into tears.
She seemed to hardly be able to keep the tears from flowing down the corners of her eyes.
"Don't worry. It might have just dropped on the ground," said someone.
"No, no, no! I looked everywhere. It's not on the table or the floor," said Lena.
"Wait, is it possible that someone might have picked it up? Perhaps someone has taken it?" one of the girls suggested.
Immediately, a few of them started to agree with her. One echoed, "That's very possible! One of the service staff might have picked it up and given it to the manager. We can check with the manager to see if someone handed a ring in."
A girl sneered, "Who would be silly enough to hand an expensive ring from the ground to someone else?"
The girls around looked at each other and agreed with her. It was an expensive ring. It was probably worth millions of dollars. No one would be able to resist the temptation of keeping it. It was highly unlikely that anyone would return it to its owner or hand it to the manager.
Caroline glared at Lena who was very distressed and sneered, "I think you might have lost it yourself. Why don't you check the surveillance videos rather than make such a big deal right now."
Lena was worrying about her ring. She didn't have the spirit of starting a fight with Caroline, so she ignored her.
However, Teresa couldn't stand her taunting. She wasn't pleased with Caroline's attitude toward Lena.
"Caroline, can you just shut up for a minute? For goodness sake, can't you see that Lena is worrying herself half to death over losing her engagement ring? We don't expect you to have the heart to help. But, can you at least just shut up and leave us alone?" said Teresa.
"This is a free country. I can do whatever I want. What I do is none of your business. Oh, and for your information, I was trying to help! Staring aimlessly at the ground and crying isn't going to make your ring magically appear. So quit weeping. For crying out loud, go and check the surveillance videos!" argued Caroline.
"Checking the surveillance videos will make it into a big deal. Lena is trying to solve the problem efficiently! Why do you care or worry? It's not your ring. You can at least respect others and keep your suggestions to yourself?" bickered Teresa.
"Teresa, just who do you think you are? How dare you talk back to me! Let me remind you! You are nothing but Lena's little bitch," barked Caroline. She glared at Teresa with extreme hatred in her eyes.
Caroline couldn't stand Lena's pitiful expression. She knew it was Lena's way of drawing sympathy and attention to herself in particular from men. In Caroline's eyes, Lena would barely live through the day without having a man's attention.
Lena and Caroline had two completely different personalities. Caroline was stronger in character and way more independent than Lena. It wasn't hard to understand why they didn't get along with each other.
Teresa didn't expect that Caroline would be so blunt. She sat rigidly and was rendered speechless.
It was true that she came from a middle-class family and followed Lena everywhere. However, what Caroline said was just awful and had hurt her deeply.
"Her little bitch? What the hell are you talking about? Lena and I are best friends! You think everyone treats their friends as you do. Don't you? Look at the girls behind you! They're your little bitches, aren't they?" Teresa pointed her finger at the girls behind Caroline and fought back.
The girls that Teresa was rudely pointing her finger at didn't appreciate her comment. They glared at her with daggers in their eyes.
Lena cursed how stupid Teresa could be under her breath. She was glad that she never told Teresa anything important, otherwise Teresa might have ruined everything for her.
"All right, everyone! Just calm down! The most important thing right now is to help Lena to look for her ring!" a girl spoke up and made a point. The tense atmosphere had gradually eased off.
"Lena, who did you last see before your ring went missing?" one of the girls asked.
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