Love Ring
Chapter 2
I stared at my sister’s now emotionless face. She just sat there, eyes unblinking, staring into nothingness.
“Uhh, Jen?”
No answer.
“Hello? Jennifer?” I waved at her. “A-Are you okay?”
Still no answer.
Starting to get worried, I raised my voice, “What the hell, Jen? You’re scaring me. Say something, will ya?”
Upon hearing me, her fingers started twitching a little. Her eyes suddenly returned to life.
She replied in a high-pitched voice, “Hey Jason! What would you like me to say?”
“What happened? You blanked out there for a second,” I asked while laughing nervously.
“I don’t know what you mean, Jason, I’m fineee.”
“Right… okay,” I replied, still puzzled by what had just happened.
We continued breakfast as though nothing had happened.
“Put the ring on her, and she will be yours.”
I thought of the old woman’s words once more. What did she mean? Other than my sister’s sudden blanking out, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
She was already my sister. She was already mine. I kept replaying her words again and again in my head, trying to understand what she meant.
I was done with breakfast at that point. Because I was still too sleepy to do any work, I asked Jennifer, “Hey Jen, could you please do my dishes for me?” I’m still kinda tired.”
I asked, but I was expecting her to reject me, because usually we would alternate between who did the dishes and who prepared breakfast. And since she prepared breakfast today, it would have been my turn to do the dishes.
“Of course, Jason!”
She immediately got up to take my dishes, bringing them to the sink.
Eh?
I couldn’t believe it. That was way too easy.
Jennifer would have usually rejected me. Why is she suddenly so willing to do the dishes for me? Was it because of her engagement to Mark?
As she started doing the dishes, I went back to my room to freshen up.
While brushing my teeth, a thought came into my head.
“Hey Jen, could you come here for a minute?” I called out to her.
Immediately, I could hear the clattering of plates and utensils as she put the dishes down, along with her footsteps approaching my bathroom.
“Yes, Jay?” she asked expectantly, poking her head through the door.
“Uhh, could you brush my teeth for me?” I asked her. My eyes automatically squinched a little upon realizing what I had just asked her to do.
There was ABSOLUTELY no way she would agree to do this. It was such an absurd request.
Jennifer raised her hand towards my face. I closed my eyes further, instinctively expecting a slap.
Instead, her hand gripped the toothbrush that was in my mouth, and with the sweetest smile, she said, “Of course, Jay!”
She then positioned herself behind me and started brushing my teeth with soft strokes. I could feel her soft breasts pressing against my back.
But my mind was too ablaze.
What??? Why is she willing to brush my teeth for me? I had assumed that she was willing to do the dishes because she was in a good mood, but to brush my teeth?
The old woman’s words echoed loudly in my head.
“Put the ring on her, and she will be yours.”
The sudden realization hit me.
Is this what she meant? Once Jennifer had put on the ring, she would do anything that I tell her to do?
There is no way this is real, I thought.
She set the toothbrush down and turned on the tap.
“Come, rinse your mouth Jay,” she said, flashing that picture perfect smile once again.
I decided to test my theory out once more.
With my mouth still full of toothpaste foam, I managed the words out. “Help me do it.”
“Of course I will,” she whispered into my ear.
The scent of her shampoo drifted to my nostrils.Roses. I loved that smell.
She cupped her hands together under the running water to make a makeshift cup and raised it towards my face. I took in a mouthful of water to rinse my mouth.
Jennifer went to get a cloth and started drying my face.
She really was doing anything I told her to do.
“Jen, can you show me the ring I gave you?”
Lifting her right hand, I saw the ring still in place on her ring finger. I noticed something on her left hand.
Raising my right hand, I asked her. “Jen, can you give me your left hand?”
Upon placing her hand on mine, I noticed the ring Mark had proposed her with. It was not a diamond gemstone which I had first thought. Instead, a brilliant sapphire stone was held between silver claws.
The ring must have cost Mark a fortune. He was not rich. He was barely above middle class.
This ring represented Mark’s love and commitment towards my sister, the depths and suffering he would go for Jennifer.
I was sure he must have worked hard to have saved up for this ring. He must really love Jennifer.
“Take it off,” I told her, eyeing her engagement ring, feeling myself brimming with jealousy.
Jennifer was mine.
“Okay Jay,” she says, removing the ring and handing it to my open palm.
I pocketed the ring.
“Jen, can you show me my ring again?”
Once again, she placed her right hand on mine.
I wanted to confirm it really was the ring that was allowing me to control my sister.
I wrapped my fingers around the ring and proceeded to take it off her finger. There was resistance, as though something was keeping it from being taken off.
Her bright smile faded. Instead, her eyes met mine, pupils filled with genuine confusion.
“J—Jason? What am I doing here?”
“Uhm, you were helping me brush my teeth. Don’t you remember?”
As I was speaking, the ring began vibrating, and I automatically dumped it into my pocket too.
“N—No,” she stammered. “Weren’t we having breakfast?... Wait, what? What do you mean, I was helping you brush your teeth?”
“Yeah. You came in here and offered to brush my teeth. I was surprised too.”
“Huh? No, no… You were showing me the ring you got m—” She glanced down at her empty fingers.
“Where are the rings?!”
She held both of her hands up high and began frantically patting all over her body to find them.
I kept my hands in my pockets. The ring was still vibrating.
“Oh my god, Jay.” Her voice was quivering. “I lost the rings!”
Tears started falling down her cheeks.
I quickly placed my arm around her to give her a small hug. “Hey, hey, don’t cry.”
“You had them earlier on. Maybe you placed them somewhere before coming in here,” I told her.
“Are you sure you didn’t see them anywhere, Jay?” she sniffled between her words.
“No, but I’ll help you look. Why don’t you go check the dining table first?”
The vibrations of the ring were getting stronger, warming up my pockets.
“Go Jen, I’ll join you after I’m done washing up.” I rushed her out of my room and closed my door.
The ring was hot, and I grimaced as I felt stinging against my thigh.
“I cursed under my breath and scrambled to get the ring out of my pocket.
I threw the ring onto the floor. The inner part of the ring was glowing amber.
Bending down, I took a closer look at the ring. The Chinese characters were the ones emanating the amber glow.
I noticed that there were three characters written. However, the glow on one character was fading out.
Gingerly, I reached for the ring. It was no longer hot. I expected burn marks on the ground, but there was none of that either.
Scanning the inner part of the ring, I noticed that there were only two characters. Where the third character used to be, is now just smooth silver.
I needed to find out more about this ring. I had to check if the fortune teller shop was still there.
I changed out of my sleepwear and got ready to head out.
Leaving my room, Jen was turning the furniture upside down, looking for her rings.
“I can’t find them, Mark…” Jennifer’s voice quivered.
She was on the verge of tears.
“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll come over after work to help you look for the rings, okay?” Mark’s voice responded over her phone’s speaker.
“Hey Jen, I’m going to head out for a bit, okay? I’ll be back soon to help you look for the rings too”
With a defeated sigh, she said, “Okay Jay, but please hurry back.”
I regret putting Jennifer into this situation, but I just couldn’t bear to see Jennifer wear Mark’s ring.
I went back to the alley beside the seven-eleven to look for the shop.
But there were no signs of any shop being here.
It really was just an empty alleyway.
Wanting to inspect the ring again, I reached into my pockets.
Shit.
I couldn’t find either ring in my pockets. I must have left them in my sleepwear.
Shit shit shit!!!
I sprinted back home.
Jennifer spun around violently as I entered the apartment.
“What the fuck Jason—” she hissed.
She held up the two rings on her palm.
“—Why the fuck were they in your pants?!”
All the blood drained from my face. I stood there frozen, unable to speak or move.
“I—uhh I—,” I couldn’t get words out of my mouth.
Jennifer interjected, “I—what Jason? I thought I lost them, but they were in your pockets the whole time. You lied to me!”
“N—No Jen. It’s not like that.”
I stared at the floor. I couldn’t face Jennifer.
“Then what is it, Jason? Why did you hide them AND lie to me?!”
“It’s… it’s be—because…” My hands were trembling.
What do I even tell her? What could I possibly tell her in this situation.
I looked up at her. Her hands were on her hips, nose flared up, her eyes piercing mine.
She looked as though she wanted to kill me. Yet, she was so beautiful.
“It’s because I love you Jen.”
“Huh??” Her expression changed from fury to confusion.
Her tone softened. “I know you love me Jason, I love you too, but why did you hide the rings from me? Taking back the ring you gave me is one thing, but my engagement ring?”
I looked back down in shame.
“I didn’t want you to marry Mark. I didn’t want him to take you away from me.”
Jennifer let out a small sigh and giggled.
“Wha—c’mon Jay, I’m your sister.”
She took a step towards me and held both my hands.
“Even though I’m marrying Mark, he will never take me away from you. Nothing will ever stop me from being your sister.”
My heart melted at her words. Her soft hands caressing mine.
Her small face looked up at me.
“Just don’t do that again, okay?”
She took a step back.
“If you have any problems, we can always talk about it, like how we always have while growing up.”
“Do you really love Mark, Jen?” I asked her.
“Yes, I do.” She fixed her engagement ring back on her left ring finger.
“He’s like you, Jay.”
She looked up at me.
“He’s always been there for me, even at my worst moments”
She continued, “He’s always patient with me. And he promised to work hard to take care of me.”
She held up her hand; the ring glistening on her finger.
“You know, he saved up 2 years of his salary for this ring.”
She smiled.
“I told him he didn’t need to. But he insisted. He said he would give me the world if he could.”
“And what about me?” I asked.
“I love you too, Jason.”
Hearing that, I walked closer to her.
“But you’re my brother. I want to have my own family one day. Be the parent that we didn’t have.”
I stood in front of her.
I took my ring from her palm.
She’s happy with Mark. And I want her to be happy. I shouldn’t interfere.
I hugged her, my arms enveloping her waist.
She hugged me back.
“I love you, Jen.”
“I love you too, Jay.”
I leaned in to smell her. I could smell the faint aroma of…
...Roses.
I hugged her tighter. I wanted to feel her breasts on my chest.
I pulled my head slightly away and looked at her, still embracing her.
How could anyone look so beautiful?
Her gray eyes were now locked with mine.
Our eyes locked.
I gazed at her inviting lips.
There was no way I could resist her. Not like this.
Placing my hand behind her head, I leaned in to kiss my beautiful sister.