"Fake?"
Miranda looked down at the choctes. The box was devoid of any fancy branding, but the texture of the packaging and the rich, distinct aroma of the chocte itself were unmistakable.
She had been eating this exact brand for years. She wouldn''t mistake it for anything else.
"I think you''re mistaken, Ms. Yardley," Miranda said, her tone cool but retaining a sliver of polite restraint. "There are no fakes here. I appreciate your concern, but why don''t you go grab a drink and rest?"
Sheryl stiffened.
Did Miranda really not recognize it was a knockoff, or was she just trying to cover for Juniper to save face?
"I''m only thinking of your health," Sheryl pushed, setting her own box of choctes down with a pointed look. "But of course, as long as you''re aware."
It was a tant move to corner Juniper. She wanted everyone in the room to know that the future daughter-inw was handing out cheap counterfeits.
"Ms. Yardley-"
Miranda''s patience officially snapped. Her face hardened, the polite veneer vanishing entirely.
But before Miranda could unleash her fury, Juniper''s calm voice cut through the tension.
"The chocte is indeed fake."
Miranda choked on her words, whipping her head to stare at Juniper.
The surrounding guests gasped, their eyes darting to the girl in shock.
She was actually admitting it? Was she forced into a corner because she knew she couldn''t keep up the lie?
"I knew it."
Sheryl hadn''t expected Juniper to fold so easily. She casually flipped her perfectly styled hair, lifting her chin with aristocratic pride. "It makes sense. You''ve never had the real thing before, so it''s easy to get scammed into buying a knockoff."
"Miranda, please don''t be angry with her. She didn''t know any better."
Miranda''s eyes darkened as she stared at Sheryl in sheer disbelief.
This was the Schwartz estate. Since when did some arrogant little girl have the right to dictate the room? And she dared to throw thinly veiled insults at Juniper-the futuredy of the house?
Who gave her the audacity?!
"Heh."
Juniper let out a low chuckle. Without warning, she stepped forward, grabbed the three boxes of chocte Sheryl had brought, and dumped them straight into the nearest trash can.
"What do you think you''re doing?!"
Seeing the luxury choctes she
had fought so hard to acquire unceremoniously tossed in the garbage, Sheryl''s poised facade nearly shattered. She quickly reeled herself in, forcing her eyes to well with tears again, looking more victimized than ever.
"What is her problem?" the guests murmured, the gossiping intensifying. "Is she throwing a tantrum because she got caught?"
"That is incredibly out of line! Just because her gift was called out as a fake doesn''t mean she gets to destroy someone else''s real one!"
"She''s just abusing her status as the future daughter-inw to throw her weight around."
"The Schwartz family actually paraded her out here as thedy of the house?" "Well, this certainly opened my eyes!"
Hannah and Miranda exchanged a brief look, both fighting back proud smirks.
Juniper was usually so calm,pletely indifferent to drama. But today, she was actually fired up.
Was it because... she was jealous?
Either way, they knew their girl wasn''t going to let anyone walk all over her.
Amused, the two matriarchs settled back into their chairs, perfectly content to sit back and enjoy the show.
"Ms. Payne, you owe me an
exnation for throwing away my property, Sheryl demanded, raising her voice just enough to ensure the entire room heard her. "I was only trying to protect Miranda from eating something harmful. I wasn trying to humiliate you."
"Didn''t you just say fake products are bad for your health?"
Juniper let out a dry, mockingugh at the girl''s self-righteous speech She gave the trash can a light kick hericy gaze pinning Sheryl down as she spoke with chilling precision.
119
"Since they''re fakes, the trash is exactly where they belong. Right?"
Sheryl froze.
Did she hear that correctly?
Juniper was actually trying to flip the script and im *her* choctes were the fakes?