Chapter 37: Glass

As soon as these words came out, the whole room erupted again.

Everyone had different expressions on their faces, whispering to each other.

Seeing someone doubting her, Vivian silently clenched her fists, suppressing her displeasure, and asked Flora in disbelief: "What gives you the right to falsely accuse me?"

Her eyelashes trembled, tears glistening in her eyes. "Flora, do you really hate me that much?"

This emotional manipulation immediately made everyone side with Flora. They all jumped to the conclusion that Flora was jealous and deliberately targeting and slandering Vivian, claiming her jewelry was fake.

"She's making false accusations because she can't win the argument. That nature of hers really can't be changed."

"Does she even know anything about jewelry? Just talking nonsense. Does she really think everyone will believe whatever she says?"

"I'm so sick of this drama queen. She's ruined the entire charity gala. Can someone just kick her out?"

Seeing everyone taking Vivian's side and criticizing Flora, a friend quietly reminded Gavin: "Gavin, maybe we should let Ms. White leave first."

Looking at the gemstone on the tray, he said with a troubled expression: "This jewelry has pure color and high transparency. It looks genuine. She must have made a mistake this time."

Gavin didn't say anything, just stared at Flora intently and gently shook his head.

No.

He believed Flora.

If Flora was willing to step forward and publicly claim this jewelry was fake, then he believed her judgment.

Seeing Gavin's firm attitude, his friend became even more anxious. "But—!"

Gavin glanced at him coolly. "Stop trying to convince me. I trust that she knows what she's doing."

When everyone was against Flora, Isabella stepped forward: "Ms. White, think carefully before you speak."

"I know you sisters have some misunderstandings and friction between you, but the jewelry your sister brought today is very rare. If she's willing to bring it out, that shows her intentions are good. You shouldn't ruin her reputation because of past conflicts."

She was clearly favoring Vivian.

Seeing this, Vivian looked moved. She sniffled and forced a smile. "Mrs. Taylor, thank you for speaking up for me, but since Flora has said this, I don't want to be vague about it. We need to clear this up."

With that, she turned around, picked up the jewelry from the tray, and handed it to Flora with both hands.

Her face sincere, her tone genuine: "Flora, I have a clear conscience. Since you say this jewelry is fake, take it and look carefully. Make sure you haven't made a mistake."

"Okay."

Flora nodded and reached out to take it. Just as her fingertips were about to touch the gemstone, Vivian suddenly turned her wrist, and the jewelry slipped from her palm.

Flora was startled and instinctively bent down to catch it. But the jewelry was too slippery, and she couldn't catch it at all.

When the jewelry fell to the ground and shattered into several pieces, the scene fell into a brief, eerie silence.

Vivian secretly pinched her palm to keep herself from laughing out loud on the spot.

She put on a shocked and angry expression. "Flora!"

"You resent me for taking your place in the family, and you've been targeting me all along. I didn't want Mom and Dad to worry, so I put up with it. You humiliated me in public, saying my jewelry was fake. I swallowed my grievance and handed you the jewelry to check yourself—so even if you were wrong, it wouldn't be too embarrassing for you. But why did you deliberately destroy it?"

She clenched her fists tightly, her eyes reddening, her thin shoulders trembling uncontrollably as she broke down and questioned loudly: "What grudge do we have? What makes you hate me so much!"

Isabella half-embraced Vivian, patting her shoulder comfortingly. She looked at Flora with displeasure and disapproval: "Ms. White, you've gone too far!"

With Isabella's support, Vivian seemed unable to hold back her overwhelming grievance any longer. She immediately covered her face and started crying. "You have to compensate me, you must compensate me! This is a gemstone I worked so hard to find. What gives you the right to destroy it just like that?"

Faced with Vivian's tearful accusations, the old lady's dissatisfaction, and everyone's criticism, Flora, at the center of the storm, appeared unusually calm. Her expression unchanged, she readily agreed: "Fine, I'll compensate you."

She took out her phone and immediately transferred money to her.

Vivian didn't expect Flora to be so cooperative. When she saw that Flora had transferred ninety-nine dollars to her through WhatsApp, she laughed out of anger.

"Everyone, open your eyes wide and see clearly. Come judge for yourselves—this is the compensation she's giving me!" She turned her phone around so everyone could see the ninety-nine dollars Flora had transferred to her.

The enormous anger made her so mad that she momentarily forgot she was still pretending to be pitiful and seeking sympathy, her tone carrying obvious sarcasm.

"This is so insulting!"

"If it doesn't work out, call the police. I just looked it up, and this jewelry is worth at least several hundred thousand dollars!"

"Is she trying to take an unconventional approach and use this method to attract Mr. Williams' attention?"

Everyone was indignant, and some were already considering whether to call the police directly.

The situation was becoming increasingly confusing. Gavin's friend couldn't watch anymore and advised Gavin again: "Gavin, you should really reconsider your relationship with her."

He actually suspected there was something wrong with Flora's head.

Otherwise, how could she create such huge trouble in such a short time and upset so many people?

"But I think she's kind of cool..." another friend quietly objected.

The friend was speechless. "What's cool about this? Have you lost it too? I told you to read fewer novels."

The two argued back and forth, neither giving in. The commotion they made annoyed Gavin even more. He glanced at them, his thin lips parting slightly: "You two talk too much."

Meanwhile, Flora picked up the gemstone fragments from the ground, weighed them in her hand, then showed them the fracture. "Perfect transparency, no cracks, no impurities. If this were real jewelry, it would indeed be very valuable."

She took out a flashlight and shone it on the gemstone. "Unfortunately, the luster is too cold and harsh, and the weight is too light. This is synthetic crystal, a genuine imitation."

"Impossible!" Vivian flatly denied it. "Don't think you can fool everyone just because you memorized a few technical terms from the internet!"

"Do you dare make a bet with me? If this jewelry is genuine, you'll slap yourself in front of everyone and publicly admit you were wrong!"