Chapter71 You Wouldn't Want to Be Called Thieves, Would You?
Downstairs, Ariana was holding a glass of champagne, chatting with people with a beaming smile.
From the corner of her eye, she'd already spotted Miranda hurrying down the stairs. There was no surprise on her face at all. Her red lips curved into an arc of triumph.
That Facebook post was deliberately sent for Miranda to see.
She wanted her to know that the woman standing beside Harrison now was her, Ariana.
Seeing Miranda walking straight toward her, Ariana held Harrison's arm even more intimately, practically pressing her whole body against him, her chin slightly raised like a proud peacock.
"Miranda, what a coincidence." She spoke with feigned surprise, her voice sickeningly sweet. "Oh, and Harrison has agreed to be with me. You'll bless us, right?"
As the words fell, Harrison's expression changed almost imperceptibly.
He hadn't figured out how to tell Miranda about this yet.
After all, back then, he'd sworn to Miranda more than once that he and Ariana were just friends.
But thinking of that night, of Ariana drugged and crying beneath him begging for mercy, thinking that it was her first time, Harrison felt like his throat was stuffed with cotton, unable to say any words of denial.
The man ultimately just pressed his thin lips together and said nothing, essentially acquiescing.
However, Miranda didn't even glance at Harrison. Her cool eyes stared unblinkingly at the shining brooch on Ariana's chest.
"That's a relic my grandfather left me." She addressed Ariana. "Give it back."
Ariana instinctively reached up, smugly touching the brooch on her chest.
As if thinking of something, the smile on her face deepened: "Grandfather was my grandfather too."
"Besides, didn't you give this to Harrison back then? Since you gave it away, it became Harrison's property. Whoever he wants to give it to has nothing to do with you anymore, right Miranda?"
Finishing, she tilted her head up, looking at Harrison with adoring eyes, her voice sweet: "Harrison, you wouldn't take back something you've given away, would you?"
Only then did Harrison notice the brooch on Ariana's chest.
He remembered now. This seemed to be the wedding anniversary gift Miranda had given him years ago.
It was just that the company was in crisis at the time, and his mind was full of how to secure investment. He hadn't paid any attention to this inconspicuous brooch.
A few days ago, when Ariana came to his dressing room saying she wanted to pick out a piece of jewelry to match tonight's dress, he'd casually agreed.
He didn't expect she'd choose this one.
But once something's given away, how could he take it back?
Harrison looked at Miranda, his brows slightly furrowed, his tone carrying a hint of impatience he himself hadn't noticed: "It's just a brooch. You gave it to me back then. However I handle it is my freedom."
He paused, then added: "Besides, Ariana is your cousin, not an outsider."
"Ha!" Miranda let out a light scoff.
She raised her eyes, looking directly at Harrison's handsome but cold face: "Harrison, where do you get the nerve to dispose of my things?"
She stepped forward, her gaze sharp as a knife: "Need me to help you recall exactly how you treated that 'gift' back then?"
Harrison was stunned by her question, frowning. He clearly had no impression of those details from years ago.
Seeing his bewildered expression, the suppressed bitterness and anger in Miranda's heart burst forth like a breached dam.
"On our wedding anniversary," she enunciated each word as if squeezing them through her teeth, "you abandoned me alone at home to accompany Ariana to meet some investor."
"I made a whole table of dishes you loved, waiting from dusk until midnight. What I got was a photo from a friend showing you and Ariana at the most upscale couple's restaurant downtown, having a candlelit dinner, celebrating your 'success.'"
These words were like a key, unlocking Harrison's sealed memories.
He remembered now.
The company's cash flow had indeed been in serious trouble back then. It was Ariana who helped him connect with a crucial investor.
After the deal was done, he was so excited that he took Ariana straight to celebrate.
He seemed to have... indeed forgotten what day it was, and forgotten that Miranda was waiting for him at home.
But even so, he didn't think he was wrong.
"Ariana helped me solve such a huge problem back then. Shouldn't I celebrate with her?" Harrison's tone was righteous. "Just because of this, you're going to be jealous?"
"No." Miranda shook her head. The last trace of warmth in her eyes disappeared completely. "Who you celebrate with and how has nothing to do with me. I just want to remind you that back then, you didn't even open the box with the gift before leaving with her. You never accepted my gift, so ownership of this brooch never transferred. It still belongs to me. You have no right to give it to anyone."
Harrison looked at her eyes that were slightly red from anger, looked at her stubbornly staring at that brooch, and a ridiculous realization suddenly rose in his heart.
He suddenly smiled, his tone softening, carrying a hint of self-assured understanding.
"Miranda, are you jealous?"
Miranda froze. She could hardly believe her ears.
She was clearly talking about Grandfather's relic, about how he trampled on her feelings back then, and he could actually think she was jealous?
Seeing Miranda not speaking, Harrison became more certain.
She really couldn't let him go.
Hearing Ariana say they were together, she deliberately found an excuse about the brooch to make a scene, just to attract his attention.
Having figured this out, the inexplicable irritation in Harrison's heart instantly dissipated, replaced by a sense of satisfaction at being cared about.
He reached out a hand, wanting to grab Miranda's wrist, wanting to soothe her like before.
"Miranda, stop making a scene..."
"Smack!"
Before his hand could touch the hem of Miranda's clothes, it was fiercely swatted away by another hand that appeared out of nowhere.
The force was so great that the back of his hand instantly turned red.
Harrison frowned, looking to the side in displeasure.
A woman in a sharp business suit with a bold demeanor had somehow appeared beside Miranda and intimately linked arms with her.
It was Castillo, Miranda's best friend.
"Harrison," Castillo sneered, her gaze sharp, "since you already have a new girlfriend by your side, please refrain from getting handsy with other people. Show some restraint."
"This is between Miranda and me. It has nothing to do with you." Harrison's face darkened.
Hearing this, Castillo's temper flared instantly. Her volume rose several notches, drawing curious looks from people around them.
"You and Miranda are divorced. You have no relationship now, understand?"
"And," Castillo's gaze turned to Ariana, pointing at the brooch on her chest without courtesy, "if you took Miranda's things, give them back now!"
"What, has Harrison's company gone bankrupt to the point where he needs to steal relics left by his ex-wife's grandfather to help his new flame save face? You wouldn't want tomorrow's headlines to be about Whitmore's CEO and his new girlfriend being publicly identified as thieves, would you?"