Chapter 4
751 Words
When I arrived, I immediately realized something was off. The entire room was packed with people. This was definitely a trap set to humiliate me.
I had only dressed in a plain hoodie and jeans, but that was still enough for her friends to mock me.
"Isn't this hoodie a limited edition? There's only one in all of Veridon. I heard it was bought by a real estate tycoon… so where did you get yours?"
After saying that, she covered her mouth and snickered.
"If you need clothes, you can just ask Emily. She's always been so generous."
Jason stared at me with a dark expression, then drawled slowly, "Vanessa, you haven't changed a bit. You're still just as vain as you used to be, so desperate to keep up appearances that you'd even buy a fake.
"On this point, Emily is so much better than you. She grew up poor, so she never cares about brand names when she buys clothes. She only cares if it's comfortable."
I looked at Emily, who was decked from head to toe in luxury designer brands, and thought to myself: he really is easy to fool.
Seeing I didn't say anything, Emily quickly put on the airs of the legitimate wife to smooth things over.
"Don't just stand around, everyone, please sit down. Something came up on our wedding day, so none of you got to enjoy a proper meal. This time Jason and I are properly hosting all of you again. You are our most important friends. Especially you, Vanessa. I'm really happy you could come."
I had no interest in listening to her hypocritical nonsense, so I cut her off.
"I came here to get my bracelet back. When are you two going to give it to me?"
Seeing I wasn't giving Emily any soft response, her friend immediately stepped in to defend her.
"What kind of attitude is that? Do you still think you're the CEO's untouchable wife? You're living worse than my best friend's dog now. What gives you the right to put on airs here? We even invited you to dinner. That's doing you a favor. Otherwise, you'd never get to eat food this expensive in your whole life."
I didn't want to waste words on a small-time lackey, so I turned directly to ask Jason.
"Fine, you're all elite. I know you wanted to humiliate me, and you've achieved your goal now. Can you just give me my bracelet back?"
"Emily loves this bracelet very much. She says it suits her well. I invited you here today to give you a house as compensation. You're having a hard time getting by right now. A house is what you need most."
They really knew how to rig everything in their favor. This bracelet could easily be resold for tens of millions, enough to buy ten houses. Giving me just one. Did they think I was a beggar?
Besides, this was something Grandma left me. Even if I starved to death, I would never sell it.
"So it looks like I can't get my bracelet back without paying up. Name your price. How much do you want? I'll transfer it to you. After all, it's just a hunk of jewelry to you anyway. You're pregnant too. Do a good deed and return the bracelet to me."
Jason gave me a half-smile, as if trying to gauge whether I was telling the truth.
Emily, however, did not believe at all that I could come up with that amount of money.
"Fine, I want fifteen million dollars. As long as you can pay it, I'll give you the bracelet."
That was a truly outrageous asking price, but I agreed to it.
"Okay, give me your account number. Banks are closed today. I'll transfer the money to you tomorrow."
Before I finished speaking, everyone present burst out laughing.
"Did I hear that right? She's such a shameless blowhard. Fifteen million dollars. Does she think it's ghost money she can just pull out of thin air?"
"That's right. Even our Mr. Payne, a big CEO, probably only has a few million in liquid capital. She's just a street vendor. This is hilarious."
I had put up with these ignorant, petty people all night. I was just about to open my mouth and give them a piece of my mind.
The tightly closed door suddenly swung open, and a familiar voice rang out immediately after,
"Are you saying that Evan Gray's wife doesn't have money?"
- Writer
