Chapter 29
Mabel had seen it coming, so she cooperated. The second the waiter bumped into her, she tossed her purse onto the floor. Everything inside fell out, including her phone, the cardholder, and a wad of something wrapped in tissue.
Rhea instantly exclaimed, “It clicked! Before I went to the bathroom with Mabel, I had the bracelet on my wrist. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen it after we came back from the bathroom…”
She pointed to the tissue on the floor, looking sad and surprised. “Mabel, you stole it? I respect you so much and always let you have your way at home. How could you? Mom and Dad gave you such an expensive pair of earrings already. Why did you steal the bracelet they gave me?”
Hearing this, everyone looked at Mabel.
Meanwhile, Mabel calmly picked up the things on the floor, stuffed them back into her purse, and slowly asked Rhea, “Who told you it was me?”
In the next second, Rhea strode over, snatched the tissue, and raised it up. “Everyone, look! It’s my bracelet inside!” She yanked the tissue away and was dumbfounded to see a familiar gift box with Mabel’s pink diamond earrings inside. There was no sign of her bracelet at all.
“What? No! This isn’t happening…” she mumbled in disbelief, taking a few steps back.
“My, my. Rhea, since when did you have X–ray vision?” With a half smile, Mabel took the box from Rhea and unhurriedly put it back in her purse. “I was worried I’d break the box, so I wrapped it in a tissue. You glanced at it from a distance and instantly knew it was your bracelet? That’s impressive.”
None of the guests were stupid, and upon hearing Mabel’s words, they realized instantly what Rhea was up to.
So, they deliberately asked Rhea, “That’s right, Rhea. What makes you think it was your bracelet inside?”
Rhea didn’t know what to say. She hemmed and hawed for a long time but could not come up with an answer. Of course, she couldn’t tell them the truth, which was she had wrapped the bracelet with the tissue and put it in Mabel’s purse.
Naturally, another question popped up in everyone’s mind. Now that the bracelet wasn’t in Mabel’s purse, where was it? Right at this moment, Mabel said, “Rhea, at first, I didn’t want anyone else to know, but… When we went to the bathroom together, you told me that you felt so unfair. Mom and Dad gave me the valuable earrings even though I’m just their adopted daughter, and what they gave you, their real daughter, was just a crappy bracelet. Remember? You also said that they looked down upon you, which was why they brushed you off with the crappy bracelet. You complained about how petty they were and wished you hadn’t come back at all…”
While saying so, Mabel thought, ‘This is called an eye for an eye. After all, you smeared me first, Rhea.
Rhea lost it at once. She rushed over, wanting to cover Mabel’s mouth. “What are you talking about? When did I ever s.
that?!”
To her surprise, Mabel grabbed her arm, yanked off her handbag, and took out a wad of something wrapped in front of everyone. Inside was no other than that bracelet, the Harper family’s heirloom.
Everyone was shocked, for the bracelet had broken into several pieces.
As Rhea looked at the pieces of emerald, she was too stunned to say anything.
say
tissue tightly
Almost at the same time, Beatrice rushed over and snatched the bracelet from Mabel that she had cherished for so long. Dale’s mother gave it to her when she married into the Harper family, and she always treated it like a treasure and cared for
- it. However, only a few hours after she gave it to Rhea, it broke into pieces.
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Trembling all over, she looked at Rhea, feeling both furious and disappointed. “Rhea, the bracelet was a gift of my love for you. How… could you…”
Rhea widened her eyes in panic, knowing Beatrice suspected that she despised the bracelet and broke it intentionally.
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Taking a few steps back, Rhea denied it, “No! It wasn’t me. I didn’t… It was Mabel. It must have been her! She was greedy and jealous that I got the family heirloom, so she stole it, broke it, and stuffed it in my handbag…”
The more she spoke, the more she found her words ridiculous, and her voice trailed off.
“You’re lying again,” Mabel interrupted her with a righteous expression. “Rhea, you just said that you liked my pink diamond earrings and wanted to exchange your bracelet with me. Don’t tell us that you smashed it just because I refused to.”
If it were in the past, perhaps no one would take Mabel’s words seriously.
After all, Rhea was always so sweet, harmless, and innocent. Who would have thought she was so scheming?
But her behaviors tonight were nothing but suspicious. Everyone could tell that she wasn’t as innocent as she looked; she tried to frame Mabel over and over again, and she was so greedy
Even though Rhea didn’t break the bracelet, she could no longer defend herself, for no one would believe her anymore.
Both Dale and Beatrice were extremely disappointed in her, and the onlookers all side
with Mabel, condemning her.
“You’re such a snob. It was a gift from your parents after all. No matter what, you shouldn’t have smashed it.”
When Mrs. Harper put it on you, I thought you looked weird. You didn’t seem happy at all. It was almost as if you hated it. Why? You didn’t want it because it wasn’t worth much?”
“It was a gift from your parents and couldn’t be measured by money. I’m so surprised a young woman like you is actually so obsessed with money.”
“It’s not like Dale and Beatrice treat you unfairly. Look at yourself. The clothes and jewelry on you are worth at least millions of dollars, right?”
“If I hadn’t known any better, I might have thought you were back to the family for their money!”
“You’re such a liar. Did you think that by smashing the bracelet and blaming Mabel for stealing it, you could keep her pink diamond earrings for yourself?”
“For someone your age, you’re so good at pretending. It makes me dread to think what you’ll become when you grow older. Dale and Beatrice really need to be tougher on you.”
Everyone was pointing fingers at Rhea.
Dale and Beatrice held the party, and they couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, too. To put an end to it, they had to step up to smooth things over, giving Rhea a way out though they were still very upset with her. Beatrice said, “Rhea, it’s not a big deal that you broke the bracelet. No one will blame you. But you shouldn’t have pinned it on Mabel.”
Dale said impatiently, “Apologize to Mabel, and we’ll call it a day. It’s her birthday today. I’ll deal with you later.”
Meanwhile, Rhea glared at Mabel with huge hatred, thinking, ‘Mabel, you bitch! You set me up!
I know what you did. You found the bracelet in your purse, so you took it out, broke it, and stuffed it into my handbag while I went to the bathroom.
Noticing Rhea’s gaze, Mabel raised an eyebrow at her and smiled contemptuously, her gaze seeming to say to Rhea, “You’re
no match for me at all.”
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Under the pressure, reluctant as Rhea was, she had to apologize to Mabel again. She said through gritted teeth, “I’m sorry, Mabel. I shouldn’t have broken the bracelet on purpose and tried to frame you for stealing it. Please forgive me…”
Smiling coldly and aloofly, Mabel spoke, “Rhea, it’s not the only thing you have to apologize to me for. Don’t you think?”
Confused, Rhea blurted out, “What?”
She couldn’t think of anything else she needed to apologize for; in her eyes, she had made every possible compromise.
Mabel leaned over to her and whispered in her ear, “As your sister, I don’t have much to offer as the gift to greet you now. that you’re back. Well, you like Matthew so much, don’t you? I’ve decided to give you a hand.”
Even more puzzled, Rhea looked into Mabel’s brown eyes, enveloped by a wave of fear slowly.
Her face turned ghastly pale. “What… do you mean?”
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