Jasmine held out Thorne''s gift, then quickly pulled it back, grabbing Charlene''s hand with a yful pout. "Open mine first!"


    "...Okay," Charlene agreed.


    She carefully opened the box. Inside was a framed oil painting of herself. In the bottom right corner, in a child''s careful script, were the words: *To my Mommy, Happy Birthday.*


    Something clenched in Charlene''s chest, and her hands stilled on the frame.


    Jasmine bounced on her toes. "I finished it two weeks ago! Do you like it?"


    Charlene blinked, pulled back to the present by the hopeful look on her daughter''s face. Her emotions were a tangled mess, but she answered honestly. "I love it, Minnie. Your painting skills are getting better and better."


    Hearing that, Jasmine beamed. "If you like it, I''ll paint you another one!"


    "...Okay."


    Only then did Jasmine press Thorne''s gift into her hands. "I have to go to school or I''ll bete! Can Ie over for dinner tonight to celebrate?"


    "...Of course."


    Helena and the others hade outside at some point. Jasmine, seeing the time, waved a quick goodbye and hopped back into the car.


    After she was gone, Charlene turned to go back inside. The gift didn''t change the fact that Thorne could still call to finalize the divorce today. No one said a word.


    "Breakfast is ready," Maisie announced gently. "Come eat, Charlene."


    "Alright."


    Charlene went inside and ced both gifts on a side table without a second thought.


    Helena picked up Jasmine''s painting, studying it with a look of genuine appreciation. "She really is quite talented. So thoughtful."


    Carl, on the other hand, red at


    Thorne''s gift as if it were a


    snake. He wanted


    venomous


    nothing more than to toss it in the trash But since Charlene hadn''t, he, Charlene hadn''t couldn''t take it upon himself to do so. He nced toward the dining room where she was eating. "Cousin, can I open this?"


    Charlene had no interest in what Thorne had sent her. She assumed it was just a token gesture to keep up appearances for Jasmine. Nothing more.


    "Go ahead," she called back.


    Even from the quality of the gift box, Carl could tell its contents were expensive. When he picked it up, it was heavier than he''d expected. He lifted the lid.


    Helena, standing beside him, gasped.


    Carl knew nothing about jewelry. "Is this... a red diamond?" he asked, stunned.


    Maisie, who knew a thing or two, came over for a look and froze. It was a red diamond, and it was massive-well over a hundred carats. A stone thatrge, and of such a rare color, was unimaginably valuable.


    Carl remembered Charlene


    auctioning a diamond to pay for


    Sybil Ross''s medical treatments, but he still didn''t grasp the scale of what he was holding. Seeing the shocked expressions on his mother''s and grandmother''s faces, he realized this was something extraordinary.


    As if sensing his confusion, Maisie found her voice. "This stone... it''s purer and rarer than the one Charlene auctioned. And it''s nearly twice the size. A conservative、 estimate for a diamond like this would be three hundred million, dors."