Back inside the private room, Devon thought back to the conversation they had a couple of years ago regarding the ring on Demi's hand.
At that time, Demi had simply glanced at her finger before shrugging her shoulders.
"Oh this? Don't mind it." She stated upon noticing their curiosity.
"My parents are just worried that I would be harassed by some sleazy man at work." She explained why she had suddenly begun wearing her ring to work.
These words implied that the ring was nothing but a prop she could use as an excuse when she found herself in sticky situations.
Seeing such a big rock on her finger would surely deter those men who had unwelcome intentions towards her.
The group did not think that her actions were excessive as they had witnessed firsthand just how persistent some men could be.
Thanks to the industry they worked in, most of their client meetings were at bars where encountering drunk and troublesome men was not too uncommon for them.
These men would try to hit on her and despite giving them a cold shoulder, they would stick around and pester her.
'No' was never an answer for those men who would continue to strike up a conversation even when she expl icitly explained that she was not interested in talking to them.
Rather than leaving her alone, they worked harder to approach her and try to change her mind.
Therefore, her reasoning for wearing that fake engagement ring made sense to their group as many would maintain their distance after catching a glimpse of the ring on her finger.
After all, men often respected the presence of another man more than a woman's words of rejection.
To them, the woman's "no" only meant that they needed to work harder to convince her to change her mind but a man's presence meant they had to back off since she was already taken.
The woman's words were casual but a mere ring from a man was to be taken seriously, even if he wasn't around.
Her "no" was just a disclaimer but his ring on her finger was a warning.
Thus, the group, though felt unfair for this flawed way of thinking, decided it was better than letting such men approach her in the first place.
Having understood her reasoning, they were not bothered when they found her wearing the ring every day.
---
This conversation had taken place around two years ago and ever since, they had never doubted her reason for wearing that ring.
In fact, they even felt glad that she wore it whenever she went out.
After all, they had witnessed how that ring and the excuse of being engaged had helped her avoid difficult situations in the past.
Though there were also instances where not all of the men believed her, even ignoring her explanation of being engaged to someone else.
At such times, Jamie and the rest would step in to put an end to their annoying advances towards Demi.
However, tonight they realized that her words from the past weren't just an excuse.
By now, everyone in the room had already deduced that Demi's words of dismissal towards the ring's origin and her reason to wear it every day was just a ruse to conceal the truth.
The intruder's accusations and the conversation that took place over the phone call had completely changed their opinion about the ring.
Nevertheless, Devon had asked this question because he wanted to hear what Demi had to say about the ring and this engagement that they had heard about for the very first time today.
Jamie, who had stopped pacing around the room, stood with his back resting against the wall as he watched her with a troubled gaze, waiting to see how she would respond.
Scanning the room and noticing everyone's complicated yet serious expressions, Demi let out a sigh as she could no longer avoid the truth.
"Yes and no." She began her explanation, causing confusion to appear on their faces.
"While it is true that I am engaged..." She raised her hand and stared at the big and beautiful stone on her ring.
"It was something that was decided by the elders." The defeat in her tone revealed that she was speaking the truth.
"So... We are free to do whatever or whoever we want and the other person cannot interfere." She added, scoffing at the idea of being tied down to that man who brought her nothing but troubles.
To Devon and the rest who had never seen another man close to her, they concluded that this decision must have been made by her fiance.
After all, they had seen that woman who had burst into their room, demanding that Demi break off ther engagement since he did not love her.
She had practically announced that she was together with that man and wanted Demi to let go of him so that they could be together.
Just thinking about the man who was playing around while being engaged to their friend made the group have a terrible impression of him.
They had just heard that their good friend was engaged and now to realize that she wasn't even happy with this engagement made them want to curse the man who was betrothed to her.
He was clearly involved with that other woman yet acted so high and mighty with her during their phone call.
Therefore, most of the men in the room with her had decided to teach this unknown fiance a lesson if they ever met him.
Demi, who had no clue that they had decided to beat up her fiance in the future, turned to face Devon.
"And after everything that happened tonight, who even knows whether this engagement will ever turn into a marriage?" She shrugged her shoulder as though she wasn't speaking about herself.
Everyone had already guessed that the woman who had appeared was connected to her fiance, but to hear Demi's uncaring words as though she was speaking about someone else's engagement only made their group further distressed for her sake.
They wanted to console her but did not know what to say and hence decided that it would be best to not say anything at all.
Demi felt as though they were more bothered by her situation than she had ever been when she noticed the heartbroken look on Devon's face which made her smile.
'Such a cute puppy!' She could not resist the urge to pat his head and did just that in an attempt to console him instead.
Just when she was about to speak up again, a loud scoff echoed from a certain corner of the room.