My Bratty Wife

{ ELIAS BACKSTORY }

The market buzzed with a gentle hum, the scent of spices and freshly baked bread hanging in the air. Elias, a young man of sixteen years, stood behind the polished wooden counter of his father’s small artisan shop. Sunlight streamed through the open doorway, illuminating the carefully crafted jewelry and ornaments displayed within. Elias, though still an apprentice, had a keen eye and a steady hand, a skill inherited from his father, a man known throughout the city for his honesty and craftsmanship.

A shadow fell across the doorway, and Elias looked up to see Lord Collin, a nobleman known more for his dealings than his noble spirit. He was a tall man, his clothes rich and his face set in a sneer. He often visited the market, not always to buy, but to be seen, to remind the common folk of his status.

"Let me see that ring," Lord Collin said, his voice smooth but cold. He pointed a gloved finger at a gold ring with a deep blue stone set in its center. It was a new piece, one his father had acquired from a new supplier. Elias’s father, a trusting man, had been pleased with the quality and the price.

Elias carefully picked up the ring. "It is a beautiful piece, my lord. The stone is a sapphire of the finest quality."

Lord Collin took the ring, holding it up to the light. He squinted, turned it over in his fingers, a smirk playing on his lips. He knew, with a certainty that sent a thrill through him, that the ring was genuine, a rare find, worth far more than the price Elias’s father would ask. But an idea, wicked and opportunistic, began to form in his mind. He saw a way to acquire the ring for a pittance, or even better, to benefit in a far grander way.

"A sapphire, you say?" Lord Collin chuckled, a dry, unpleasant sound. "This bauble?" He dropped the ring back onto the counter with a dismissive thud. "I can’t buy this ring for that amount, reduce the price. It’s not worth it at all."

Elias’s heart sank a little. He had hoped for a good sale. "There’s nothing I can do, my lord," Elias said, his voice polite but firm. "It’s an authentic sapphire gold ring, definitely worth it and that’s the best price I can give. My father set it, and he believes it is fair."

Lord Collin raised an eyebrow. "Fair? For a piece of colored glass and poorly worked metal? Your father is either a fool or a charlatan." He paused, letting his words hang in the air. "I will not be swindled. Keep your trinket." With another disdainful look, he turned and swept out of the shop.

Elias watched him go, a knot of unease tightening in his stomach. He knew the ring was real. His father had been so sure.

A few days later, the marketplace was unusually crowded. A paper boy was shouting, his voice echoing off the stone buildings. Elias and his father, Michael, were arranging their wares when they heard the commotion.