Chapter 1816:


    Christina looked her over at once, catching the unmistakable glint of eagerness in her expression. She already knew that Irene and Violette were nning their next move.


    “You were gone quite a while. I was beginning to think you weren’ting back,” Christina said, letting a trace of impatience color her voice.


    “How could I leave? I always keep my word,” Irene answered with a smile, one arm tucked behind her back. “Close your eyes. I brought you something.”


    Her fingers tightened around the bracelet, a brief fear passing through her that it might slip and shatter on the floor.


    “A gift?” Christina closed her eyes without hesitation, entirely unbothered.


    Irene extended the bracelet forward with care. “You can look now.”


    “This jade bracelet is beautiful — it must be worth at least eight figures!” Christina eximed, genuine admiration in her voice as she turned it over in her hands.


    Irene smiled, though the warmth stopped well short of her eyes.


    Christina had no intention of declining something so valuable. Once it was in her hands, it was staying there. If Irene and Violette were willing to use a gift of this magnitude as bait, she saw absolutely no reason to refuse it.


    “Yes, eight figures. Go ahead and put it on,” Irene said, watching Christina fasten it around her wrist with a sharp twist of envy tightening in her chest. A treasure like that should have been hers. What right did Christina have to wear it?


    “It suits me perfectly,” Christina said, holding her wrist up to admire it.


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    The envy gnawed at Irene, but she held herself in check. The bracelet was Violette’s bait — she couldn’t im it without bringing the entire n down around her. The consequences of that would be far worse than losing a bracelet.


    “Consider it an apology for earlier. Do you like it?” Irene asked, resentment simmering beneath the pleasant surface of her words. Why was it that women born into privilege could trample over everyone else without consequence? The unfairness of it burned.


    “I do — anyone with taste would,” Christina said with a smile. “An asion like this calls for a drink.”


    Irene had been quietly searching for a way to bring up the wine. She hadn’t expected Christina to suggest it herself.


    “Of course,” Irene said, signaling a nearby waiter. “You choose first.”


    Christina lifted a ss of red wine, swirled it slowly, and brought it close. A single breath told her everything she needed to know. It had been tampered with — as had every ss on the tray, which was precisely why Irene had let her choose freely. It made no difference to Christina. She had no intention of drinking any of it.


    She was here tonight for one purpose: to watch the Wade and Hewitt families fall. She intended to witness every moment of it firsthand, and nothing was going to pull her attention away from that.


    “Cheers,” Irene said brightly, touching her ss to Christina’s.


    Christina held hers steady, making no move to drink.


    With every passing second, Irene’sposure frayed a little further, the pressure of a shrinking window pressing down on her chest.


    Irene pressed her lips together, irritation gnawing at her as her fingers tightened around the stem of her winess.


    “Why won’t you drink it? Is my apology still not sincere enough for you?” Her voice wavered, tears threatening to surface.


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    Message from Noa: Today we have two new novels, hope you like them dear readers. God loves you and Noa wishes you all the best. (─??O)


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    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!