Judgment in Glass

Chapter 1 Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

The diamond ring gleamed underneath the glass. Serafina Todd placed her own hand over the clear case. Then, she closed her eyes and imagined the jewelry around a finger. It did not take long – this daydreaming. She opened her eyes, annoyed with herself. Of course, she did not really like trinkets and gems; she was not that kind of girl. She just needed what it represented. Wealth. Security.

“Hi, may I take a look at the ruby ring? The one with the butterfly at the center?” asked a woman with what Rafina thought to be a cultured voice. What did she know about such things, anyway? A long time ago, that dream was within reach until everything around her changed.

The woman was beautiful. At first glance, Rafina thought that she was in her late twenties. A closer look showed that she was much older, her skin too tight in places. Her mouth was fixed in an eternal pout. Her lashes were far too thick and curly to be real, and her blonde curls reached her waist. The twenty-three-year-old sales clerk tried her best not to pull at her black hair, tied in a simple, neat ponytail. She only had pink lipgloss on. The rest of her face was cosmetic-free, even though she worked for a luxury goods store, selling high-end products: branded cosmetics, perfume, jewelry, leather bags, and more.

“Sure, ma’am,” Rafina said in her most polite voice, taking a key to open the glass and take out the ring in question. So, this woman was also thinking about rings today, huh? The woman put the ring on and started admiring her hand. Rafina could not help but notice the woman’s well-manicured nails: long, sharp, and shiny. It took all her strength not to roll her eyes.

“How much is it?” the woman asked in her melodic voice.

“It’s a one-carat ruby with small diamonds on each side. The butterflies are also made of diamonds. It’s $2500,” Rafina enunciated with a wide grin on her face. Her cheeks hurt.

“Oh, wonderful,” the client crooned, taking out her credit card and sliding it towards the salesgirl.

“We need an ID, ma’am,” the over cheerful salesgirl declared.

“Don’t you all know me already by now?” The cracks were starting to show. The poised, wealthy woman was beginning to show who she was, which was just like most of the wealthy clients that passed by Fortuna’s Luxury Goods – arrogant snobs.

Rafina kept her smile, holding her breath. It was all that she could do not to say something scathing at the client. The woman made a show of opening the clasps of her leather wallet to look for an ID. Then, instead of sliding this card, she slammed it.

The salesgirl tried her best to her last shred of humility. She took the card and then swiped it on the machine. She noted that it was a gold card, not a titanium one or even a black. She tried her best not to snigger, mentally hitting herself for being a snobby salesgirl.

Not too long ago, her family seemed to have it all: a corporate lawyer dad, an entrepreneurial mom, and two younger sisters. When her dad died, her mother had lost her last hold onto her sanity. She had always been slightly unhinged – sorry, troubled – but her father’s death had derailed everything. Her mother had started drinking again until she could not even get up to do any work. Apparently, she had found out that her father had a lot of debts. Everything that they had was just for show. At twenty, so close to her goal of graduating from college, Rafina had to drop out.

“Here is your receipt, ma’am, and your purchase.,” she said, handing the client the ring in a leather jewelry box placed inside a fancy, black paper bag. A red letter F was emblazoned on the paper bag, making Rafina think of a few words that she wanted to shout at the client. Of course, she was meek and mild. The karma police had finally caught up to her, she thought soberly, recalling her spoiled brat days. While she was not as bad as many of the students at her school, she bought everything she wanted.

The woman grabbed her stuff and left without saying thank you. Rafina could only sigh, her shoulders slumping. Her eyes met Leona’s. Leona was in charge of leather goods. She at least looked like a model, with her curly black hair and smooth brown skin. Then, there was Rafina, who always felt like she needed an extra combing. It was difficult to deal when she had lost any hopes of reaching her goals, being the breadwinner to a family of four: a drunk mother and sisters who were only eleven and sixteen years old.

When she heard the door open, she straightened her back. Chin out, she looked more confident than she felt. However, she felt worse when she saw who came in: Elise and Roberta! Even when Rafina’s family was still rich, these two had been the bane of her existence. They did not like how she dressed in black all the time, with studded jeans and leather. And no wonder! These two girls looked like they had stepped out of a fashion magazine.

Elise had short, curly blonde hair, while Roberta had long, sleek brown hair that reached her hips. Both of them were petite, though, and curvy in the right places. They often compared themselves to Rafina’s tall, slightly boyish frame. But what hurt the most was that these ladies barely passed their classes in college but were now a lot more successful than the intelligent Rafina. Elise was an accountant, while Roberta was a legal attendant at Rafina's father’s old firm. At least, that was what Rafina heard – and she would not be caught dead hearing things through the grapevine. She was lucky she still had Anthea, her friend who was now a medical student.

“Oh, hi, Serafina! I was just telling Roberta here that I know for sure you work here!” gushed Elise.

“Yes, I do. Now, she knows,” Rafina said in a monotone.

“I was just wondering why I haven’t seen you around! After college, I had not seen your shadow at all!” cried Roberta in the same sickly sweet tone.

Rafina cleared her throat. “I believe we never really saw much of each other in college, either. We were working different circles.”

“Oh! But not totally different social classes, as it is right now,” Elise remarked, seemingly unaware that she was being cruel.

“I guess not. But welcome to Fortuna’s Luxury Goods. How may I help you?”

The two looked at each other and giggled. Leona rolled her eyes at Serafina across the room. The jewelry attendant could only give her friend a grateful look for the support, albeit a quiet one. Neither of them could afford to be rude to the clients, even if they were mean to them. That was what you had to do – swallow your pride and move on.

“Oh, I want a necklace. A manly one. You know, for Troy. Troy Atkins!” Elise said maliciously, her eyebrows wiggling at Serafina. Troy was Serafina’s college boyfriend, who left her as soon as he found out that the Todd family’s fortune was all gone. For a time, Troy was everything to her. She thought he saw through her jeans and shirt look and appreciated her for what she was – different. Heck, she lost her virginity to Troy. She started planning their wedding after that. It was a good year and a half, she guessed, until he took off his mask.

Rafina kept her composure.

“There are a few great choices here. Some are in solid gold. Others may have a few little studs of diamonds. Would you want that for Troy?” she asked in her carefully practiced sales clerk voice. Professional. Clipped. Just wanted to sell that darned product.

“Ohhhh. Cold! I will make sure Troy knows you don’t care at all. Not anymore. Isn't that what you want?” asked Elise.

The salesgirl did not rise to the bait.

“Do you – do you get a commission if we buy this from your store?” asked the perpetually breathless Roberta.

“Y- yes, I do,” Rafina could not help but tell the truth.

“Then, I guess we are off somewhere else. You are not getting anything from us,” Elise said, her voice harsh.

Then, the two giggled and left the store. It was like a day for monsters. They started looking nice and everything. Then, they immediately transformed before her eyes. Rafina was thankful that the previous rude client at least bought a $2500 ring. Add the rest of what she had already earned for the month, and she was about halfway to fully earning her monthly salary. It could be challenging, especially since she was not a particularly jolly person. Leona comforted her, saying that at least she could suddenly make it big. She was in charge of jewelry, after all.

“But leather bags sell faster,” Rafina retorted.

“Yeah, I guess. But you know I have hard days, too,” confessed Leona.

That night, Rafina thought of how she could get away from her life. Climbing up out of the hole she was in was rough, considering she lacked support.

As she was about to turn in the dark alley leading toward her tiny two-bedroom apartment, she noticed a hulking figure behind her. She walked fast. It seemed that the man walked faster, as well. Her heart was pounding, but she did not want to run. She made long strides. A man who seemed a lot taller than her must be pretty huge. Rafina was five feet, nine inches tall. Her pursuer seemed to be at least half a foot taller or more.

She turned to her apartment. As she went inside the gate, she saw that the man had stopped at the apartment next door.

It was Dragomir Kulic! What was the bastard doing in her apartment complex?