“Where did you get that ring?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t steal it,” she whispered.

It didn’t sound like a lie… but it wasn’t the full truth either.

“Then explain it,” I said. “How did it get there?”

She hesitated. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you yet…”

That’s when I realized—there was more to this than I thought.

The door opened behind her. One by one, the others walked in.

“We heard everything,” Noah said. “We were going to tell you… just not yet.”

I looked at them, confused. “Tell me what?”

Lily took a breath. “Mrs. Lewis found her ring. She said it didn’t fit anymore and planned to sell it.”

“Then why is it here?”

“Because… we wanted to buy it.”

That still didn’t make sense.

“Why?” I asked.

Lily glanced at Andrew, then back at me.

“Because he doesn’t have one,” she said softly.

The room went still.

“And you always put yourself last,” Maya added.

“For everything,” Jake said.

Noah looked at me. “You never choose yourself, Bree.”

“And we didn’t want you to keep doing that,” Lily finished.

My chest tightened.

“The money… where did you get it?”

They exchanged looks.

“We earned it,” Noah admitted.

Jake had been mowing lawns. Maya walked dogs. Sophie helped neighbors. Noah babysat. Lily worked with Mrs. Lewis.

They had been saving… for me.

The note finally made sense.

“Just a few more days… and it’ll finally be ours.”

Not something hidden.

Something they were building.

Something they wanted to give me.