Chapter 28
10 minutes later, Mabel and Rhea came back from the bathroom
Finally, it was time to cut the birthday cake. Watching the 6.5–foot–high cake being slowly pushed into the center of the ballroom, Rhea felt so bitter
It was a customized cake to celebrate her return to the Harper family. It cost Dale and Beatrice 150 thousand dollars, which could pay for a car.
She told Beatrice she didn’t want it, but deep down, she was beaming, as her vanity was largely satisfied.
Yet now, the sugar figure on the cake was with Mabel’s face, and the words “Happy Birthday, Mabel” stung her eyes.
She picked the cake for herself, which turned out to be Mabel’s. The thought alone pissed her off utterly.
Everyone gathered around Mabel to wish her a happy birthday and sing Happy Birthday to her. Meanwhile, she stood in the center, accepting everyone’s blessings just like a pampered princess; seemed she was the only daughter of the Harper family.
Rhea couldn’t take it anymore. With great hatred, she thought, I must ru
All of a sudden, there was a scream from the crowd.
“Oh, no! Where’s my bracelet?”
Mabel totally! It’s the only way to vent my anger!‘
Startled, the crowd looked at Rhea, knowing she was referring to the heirloom Beatrice had just given her.
Rhea looked at her wrist without any accessories in panic, her eyes red. “What should I do? I lost my bracelet!”
“Are
you
sure? You’ve been wearing it the whole time. How come it’s gone?” someone asked.
“I saw it on your wrist a minute ago,” another chimed in.
Someone speculated, “Perhaps it slipped because it was too big for your wrist.”
Some comforted her, “Chill, Rhea. See how thick the carpet is? Even if you drop it, it won’t break.”
“It’s the Harper family’s heirloom! Guys, let’s help!” someone suggested.
Upon hearing this, everyone looked down and began to search the huge banquet hall.
Almost 20 minutes passed.
But of course, no one found the bracelet.
Frowning slightly, Dale looked obviously displeased. “Rhea, you were so careless. How could you lose the bracelet? It was on your wrist, wasn’t it?”
He wasn’t that nice to her anymore. After all, she embarrassed him in front of so many friends and business partners of his tonight.
Teary–eyed, Rhea looked so anxious like a cat on hot bricks. “Dad, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I… didn’t go anywhere. How come it’s just gone? That’s so weird.”
She looked genuinely annoyed and upset, like an innocent little girl who had accidentally lost her treasure.
Standing aside, Mabel couldn’t help but marvel at Rhea’s superb acting skills, thinking, ‘What a waste of talent. Rhea should have become a movie star. Perhaps she could make it to the best actress. Even showbiz has a place for her.
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Only Beatrice felt bad for Rhea. “Dale, stop blaming her. Maybe she took it off for car of breaking it, and she just forgot where she had put it. The banquet hall isn’t that big, and the guests present are all friends. I’m sure we’ll find the bracelet. Let’s keep looking.”
A woman next to them echoed, “She’s right. Rhea, think about it Where did you put it? Anywhere you can remember?”
In the next second, Rhea shed a tear. “No… I… I can’t think of anywhere. I didn’t remember taking it off… What should I do? Dad. Mom, I’m so sorry. I’m so stupid. You should have given me the bracelet. I… feel so guilty. If I can’t find it, I’ll be too embarrassed to stay with you… I might as well leave and go back to where I belong.”
Her line sounded nothing but familiar to Mabel, and she knew Rhea wanted another gift again.
But this time, Dale didn’t indulge Rhea. He scolded sternly, “Nonsense! You’re our daughter. Now that you’re finally back, how could you say that? Are you not attached to us at all?”
Beatrice echoed, “He’s right, Rhea. It’s just a bracelet. If we can’t find it, then so be it. Don’t say things like that again.”
Yet, of course, Rhea wouldn’t give up till she had her way. She cried her eyes out, saying in a broken voice, “No! It’s a greeting gift from you guys. Now that it’s gone, it means I’m not qualified to be a Harper. I should leave… I don’t belong here.”
I should le
The onlookers, till this point, had all sensed something off. Dale and Beatrice had made themselves clear, but Rhea kept crying on and on, which annoyed them a bit. Tonight wasn’t about her, yet she kept trying to steal the thunder. Was she suspecting that one of them had stolen her bracelet?
“Rhea, it’s just a bracelet. Besides, Dale and Beatrice already said it was fine. Don’t cry anymore, OK?”
“Indeed. A bracelet is nothing compared to blood relations. They spent years looking for you. Are you really going to leave them for a bracelet?”
“Everyone is in the banquet hall tonight, and no one has been out. I’m sure we can find it. No more crying!”
“No one took it off your wrist. Now that you’ve lost it, it’s got nothing to do with either of us. Just stop crying. Or do us to chip in and get you a new one?”
you
want
Obviously, some guests had already become impatient.
Mabel stood aside in silence, admiring Rhea’s act while realizing the change in the onlookers‘ attitude. Unlike before, they didn’t join Dale and Beatrice and comfort Rhea; instead, it sounded like they were accusing her of making a scene.
While crying, Rhea paid attention to the crowd’s discussion, sensing something off. She was supposed to be the victim, and everyone was supposed to feel sorry for her. How come they were condemning her?
A few minutes had passed, but neither Dale nor Beatrice suggested buying Rhea another gift. Choking up a few times, Rhea said bluntly, “I don’t care. Now that I’ve lost the bracelet, I’m too ashamed of being part of the Harper family. Dad, Mom, how about you buy me another gift? I mean, the bracelet is very important to me, and no other gift can be a match, but I hate to put you in a difficult position. You can just buy me anything. I’m not picky. A gift similar to the one you gave Mabel will do.”
The atmosphere became even weirder at once.
Everyone knew the bracelet had significant meaning because it was the Harper family’s heirloom, but in terms of monetary value, it wasn’t exactly valuable. After Rhea lost it, she demanded a gift worth over 6 million dollars? What she was thinking was quite obvious.
Dale and Beatrice were surprised to hear such a demand. Dale pulled a long face instantly, and Beatrice came over to soothe her, “Rhea, we’ve bought you several hundred thousand dollars‘ worth of gifts recently already. What do you say we buy you another greeting gift sometime later? Today is Mabel’s birthday. Why don’t we talk about it when it’s your birthday?”
But Rhea wouldn’t accept it. She sobbed, saying, “Dad, Mom, sure enough, you love Mabel more. I should know my place
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Chapter 28
and leave…”
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Flustered, Beatrice glanced at Dale’s sullen face. She then turned around and pinched Rhea’s arm a bit angrily and scolded in a low voice, “Be sensible! Stop crying!”
While saying, Beatrice thought, ‘It’s not that we want to buy Mabel the earrings. Only if she’s happy will she sign the share transfer agreement. Rhea knows nothing!”
Rhea’s tactics all failed, and she was so mad. She thought, ‘You all favor Mabel. Then don’t blame me for doing this. As long as Dad and Mom are completely disappointed in Mabel and kick her out, everything she has will be mine.
She looked up and gave a waiter in the crowd a look.
She had already bribed the waiter, who understood her intention immediately and bumped into Mabel’s direction with a plate of food.
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