If Jessamine could move, she would have flinched when Liliana squeezed the bracelet tighter, threatening to break it into pieces, but instead the young girl was stuck watching in horror as she pondered all of her options. She should have known that her lie was flimsy, but she was desperate because she knew that if anyone hated her enough to ruin her life by telling everyone about this so-called boyfriend of hers, it was Liliana. Her words left a perfect opening for Minnie to mock her, to tell her she wasn’t that smart, but those awful words were locked in her throat and all she could do was whine, “Please, Mrs. Parkinson, Liliana, sister, please give my bracelet back. I’ll do anything, just don’t break it.” Her words felt like poison in her mouth, as she never would willingly refer to her as any of those things, but she didn’t know what else she could say now.