<b>Chapter </b><b>69 </b>
Ara’s POV
For a second, the room fell into a total silence.
Then, whispers and murmurs broke from everyer, with guests eyring Jace suspiciously.
Jace’s face turned red with rape. “You’re so full of shit, All That ne is real, damit I spent almost a million on it What does a smattor girl like you know about jewelry anyway?!”
“That’s right,” Delh chimed in, standing next to her husband, ring at me. “People like us don’t wear fakes you idiot. We have all the money in the world! You are just trying to make Jace look bad in hont of everyone. I’ll have you thrown out of this party right now!”
She waved at the guards.
But
gave! her a cold smile. “Not so fast, Delh. I came here with an invitation. You can’t kick me out. And if you’re so confident that ne is <b>real</b>, why don’t we get it tested?”
I caught a flicker of panic in Jace’s eyes.
Delh frowned. “Tested? You mean send it to a gemologicalb? There’s no need for that. I already told you it’s real.”
“What, are you scared?” I taunted. “Scared it’ll turn out to be fake? Scared your family will be a joke in front of everyone?”
Just as I predicted, she exploded. “Scared? Are you fucking kidding me? I’m Delh Hart. I don’t even know what fear means
“Then why not test it?
“Fina! Let’s fucking test it!” she snapped. “Let’s show everyone <b>who </b>the real joke is. You’ll regret this, Aria Collins!”
Exactly the result I wanted.
But Jace didn’t look so thrilled. He leaned toward her and whispered anxiously, “…<b>There’s </b>no need for that kind of mess, babe. Let’s just kick her out<b>.</b>”
“No!” she cut him off sharply. “I won’t let her smear your <b>name </b>like this. I’m sick of everyone painting her as some poor little victim and make you the bad guy. Tonight, we show people who the real liar is!“.
Yet <b>Jace’s </b>face turned pale. He forced a smile. “Seriously babe, I don’t <b>care </b>what anyone thinks. It’s my birthday, I don’t want the entire night to be about her-
“Oh don’t <b>worry</b>,” she patted his hand sweetly. “It’ll be over in a minute. I didn’t know what to get you <b>as </b>a gift, but this is actually perfect! Didn’t you always say she was a maniptive little witch? Let’s prove it. Publicly.”
“Yeah! Listen to your wife, son” Mrs. Carter barked.
Ever since Delh showed up, she had gotten bolder, like Delh empowered her <b>or </b>something. “You basically own half of Red Stone Pack, son You’re practically the <b>Alpha</b><b>! </b>Don’t let that bitch walk all over you!”
“Yeah! Teach hor a lesson Mr. Carter cheered<b>, </b>pupping his <b>fists </b>up in <b>the </b><b>air</b>.
But Jace didn’t look happy.
“Enough! Stop stirring shit, Mom, Dad,” he hissed under his breath.
I gave him hall smile. “What’s the matter, <b>Jaco</b>? I thought this is your golden chance to humiliate me. Or are you nning to go easy on me now?”
He red at me, his jaw clenched. “Bullshit! Anyone with a functional brain can tell who’s <b>lying </b><b>here</b>. I just…I just don’t want to waste any of my time on
you! The best will take forever, and I’ve got better things to do on my birthday
“Actually, there’s no need to wait,” a woman’s voice rang out from the crowd.
A beautiful and graceful womals in an elegant gown stepped forward. She gave us all smile. “I’d be happy to examine the ne night has have the results immediately.”
She looked oddly familiar. I probably had seen her on a magazine cover
Delh’s eyes lit up instantly. She grabbed Jace’s arms, beaming “Oh, Jacel Meat Lady Sabrina. She’s a world renowned jewelry designer. She <b>designed </b>many of my favorite pieces. We can totally trust her to test that ne?
<b>Jace </b>said nothing. His face was stone cold. But I noticed a thinyer of sweat on his forehead.
Lady Sabrina walked up to me and offered a small smile. “Miss Collins, may I borrow the ne <b>for </b>just a moment?”
“Of course.” Thanded it to her.
“Be careful with that!” Mrs. Carter shrieked by the side. “That ne is worth nearly a million! And it was a gift from my son. Don’t you dare drop it.”
“Mom!” Jace growled, clearly mortified.
Sabrina’s expression turned cold. “No need to remind me, Mrs. Carter. I’ve handled pieces far more valuable than this. I know what I’m doing.”
She delicatelyid the ne across a
<b>silk </b>scarf, then examined it under the light, turning it at different angles to catch the fire and color.
Everyone craned their necks to see. No one dared speak. The <b>tension </b>had reached its peak.
After 10 long minutes, she finally set the ne down and locked up at the crowd.
“It’s fake,” she announced calmly.
I smiled as the room went dead silent
Two secondster, the crowd erupted. Gasps,ughter, gossip it all exploded at once.
Jace stood frozen <b>on </b><b>his </b>spot, fists clenched at his sides. His parents and Delh were all shocked with their mouths dropped open.
“Are… are you sure?” Delh stammered after a long p
pause “it can’t be fake. It just..just can’t be-‘
“I’m one hundred percent sure,” Lady Sabrina said without hesitation. “Honestly, I didn’t even need 10 minutes. The imitation is that obvious. This thing is not even <b>a </b>synthetic diamond. It’s just ss. Which means.. it’s worthless. Very sharp eyes, Miss Collim”
“Thank you,” I replied politely
IMPOSSIBLE!!”
Mrs. Carter suddenly screamed. Her voice <b>cut </b>through the noise like a chainsaw. My ears actually hurt.
She was now red faced, her nostrils ring as she red at Sabrina. “You stupid woman What do you even know about jewelry 71 That thing is clearly real! Look how big it ist Look how it shines! You think fake diamonds can sparkle like that?!”
Lady Sabrina’s expression turned frosty. “Size and shine don’t matter in this case. And stop calling me <b>an </b>idiot right now.”
“Oh please.
you are a fucking idiot! You’re probably working with that bitch!” Mrs. Carter screeched. “Delh! Hey, Delh! Are you seriously just going to stand there? Throw both of them <b>out </b>already!”
Sabrina raised a perfectly arched brow. “Lady Delh, is that really your future mother–inw? I can hardly believe this.”
Theughter got louder. Now everyone was snickering and whispering behind their hands.
Delh stood stiffly, her face frozen like a cracked porcin mask. Jace multeted in anger, “Shut up, Mom. Just shut pr
But she kept ranting. “Shut up? Why should I shut up?! These people are treating your family like shit, and you just let them you should <b>be </b>punishing them! <b>Show </b>them the power you got as Lady Delh’s husband,”
“Jace?” Delish finally gritted through clenched teeth. “I think your parents need some air. Can you escort them out?”
“Wait a second…you are throwing us out?” M talk some sense into your woman.”
“Dad!” Jaco roared.
I’d never seen
Mr. Carter blurted. “We’re your husband’s parents. You should be obedient to your husband–and to us Son
Delh look like that. It was like someone had pped her right in the face and she couldn’t even p back. Absolutely precious
Mrs. Carter still hadn’t realized how much trouble she was in, She straightened her back and said proudly to the crowd:
“My son can throw you all out if he wants! He’s practically the Alpha of Red Stone Pack! You all better start showing us some goddamn respect!”
No one responded to that kind of bullshit. Instead, they all turned their heads toward the door
A steady, measured set of footsteps echoed through the room.
Then came <b>a </b>voice as cold as <b>ice</b>:
“No. Your son is no shit.”
A tall man appeared in the doorway.
He wore a sleek ck tuxedo that showed off every inch of his powerful body–<b>broad </b>shoulders, narrow waist, long legs. The chandelier overhead traced the sharp lines of his face in gold. He looked literally godlike.
Grayson stepped into the hall, his eyes locked on me.
And as he walked forward, every guest bowed to him in unison.
Except for Jace’s <b>parents</b>.
They just stood there,
“What
stiff and stupid like two overstuffed turkeys.
t do you mean he’s no shit?!” Mrs. Carter screeched. “Who the hell are you?!”
ed one arm around my waist and shot her a cold, cutting look.
Grayson wrapped
“I’m the one who owns the entire Red Stone Pack,” he said.
?