Chapter 172
Everyone's eyes focused on Charlotte.
Even Alexander looked on with budding interest, waiting to see her attempt to conjure up such a staggering sum. Or would she pull out their marriage certificate in front of everyone and make a fool of herself?
Seeing this, Jenna couldn't help butgrip Charlotte's wrist in worry: "This piece is too delicate for us to enjoy. It’s not worth the constant fear of breaking it, so why don't we just drop it?"
Charlotte patted the back of her hand to comfort her.
She raised her eyes just enough to meet Sabrina’s, a chilling smile forming as if she were daring her to respond."Why should I pay for it?"
Sabrina retreated a step, eyes wide with feigned surprise. "Oh, Charlotte... do you really have no ambition beyond clinging to men for support? I'm so disappointed in you."
Hearing this, a commotion arose from the crowd.
Seeing that her words had done their damage, Sabrina couldn’t suppress the slight, victorious curl of her lips.
"Face it, Charlotte—you’ve got nothing left. You're just a professional dependent, feeding off whatever man is foolish enough to keep you.". Compared to me, you're nothing,' she thought.
Even as Sabrina’s lips curled into a triumphant grin, Charlotte’s face remained a mask of pure nonchalance.
"So in Ms. Spencer's eyes, when a woman marries a man, it's to be a free nanny working 24/7 with no breaks?"
With a look of pure shock, Sabrina gasped, "Oh, I didn't mean it like that. You really shouldn't be so quick to judge me."
Charlotte looked at her with a face full of mockery: "I've been married to Alexander for seven whole years. I've helped him care for his elders, raise his children, manage the household, and had to wake up three hours early every day just to make nutritious soup to nourish his body."
"But in those seven whole years, My only 'income' from him is the hundred thousand dollars he transfers to me on my birthday. The most expensive gift he's given me was a scarf worth four hundred and eighty-eight dollars."
"So, is it too much for me to ask him to buy me a bracelet today?"
Charlotte’s voice rang out with a firmness that commanded the room, her words landing like heavy blows on the conscience of everyone listening.
"Mrs. Forbes only gets a hundred thousand a year?"
"He’s a philanthropist to his workers and a cheapskate to his spouse. It’s pathetic how stingy he is with her compared to them. As a man myself, I don't want to defend him anymore."
"No wonder Mrs. Forbes stayed out of the public eye after marriage. Turns out she worked harder than a servant but got paid less than one."
"He traded a bracelet for seven years of her soul. Talk about a massive return on investment for Mr. Forbes! Truly worthy of being a business elite, calculating down to the penny even with his own wife."
"Exactly! Not just one bracelet - even giving her one bracelet a year wouldn't be too much."
That prying rich woman buried her face in her hands. "Goodness, as a woman, I’m just devastated hearing about such a pathetic 'deal."
"This man has no conscience!"
Jenna stepped in to comfort her, holding Charlotte close by the shoulders. "You don't need to be sad, Charlotte. I'm on your side."
Charlotte felt warmth in her heart and placed her hand over Jenna's: "I'm fine. It's all in the past now."
Struck by the way Charlotte unmasked her true standing in the Forbes household so fearlessly, immediately pulling everyone to her side, Sabrina nearly bit through her lip in hatred.
She finally snapped, leaning in to prod Alexander’s arm. "Alexander," she hissed under her breath, "has she completely snapped?"
But Alexander seemed not to hear, remaining completely unmoved.
Looking at the fearless woman across from him, his handsome features gradually became deep and cold.
Given that Charlotte was now airing every secret they had, people began to wonder if she had already decided that the marriage was over?
For some reason, Alexander suddenly felt a rare sense of panic.
The anxiety he felt now carried a different weight than the frantic care he gave Sabrina; it was a realization that felt far more permanent. It was an indescribable feeling - just an emptiness in his heart, as if something important was quietly slipping away.
Her words forced him to look back at their history; was it possible that in seven years, he hadn't once given her a present that actually mattered?
He finally began to slowly remember.
Despite being married for seven years, he had never bothered to buy her a luxury piece, ignoring even the smaller, domestic labels she might have liked.
Because Charlotte was just too easy to please.
It was pathetic in hindsight—he would toss her a worthless souvenir or a sample from a work trip, and she would act like he’d given her the world.
Over time, he became less and less willing to put any thought into pleasing her.
Because she was always at his beck and call, he grew smug, certain that she was far too "crazy about him" to ever demand a life of her own everything for him, whether it meant giving up work to be a full-time wife or being an unpaid nanny.
Thinking of this, something else suddenly popped into his mind.
While he had pigeonholed her as a simple stay-at-home wife, Charlotte had secretly been excelling, eventually taking home the grand prize at the kindergarten parent-child competition! Later, when the competition video spread overseas, The news was a bombshell—the Dean of Aurora College himself had singled her out, offering to personally oversee her education and growth.
However, he had suppressed that matter in the end.
Because he thought the Aurora College dean must have been mistaken.
He refused to believe it was talent. He told himself she’d just gotten lucky that once, and the Dean was making a massive mistake by noticing her.
She was most suited to staying home and taking care of the family.
The harsh light in his eyes dimmed as a pang of conscience hit him, taking some of the bite out of his frigid demeanor.
"My wife wants to buy a bracelet, so naturally it should go on my account."
While everyone watched in disbelief, he pivoted toward his assistant. "See Ms. Spencer and her party back safely. I’ll be taking the car myself."
The assistant acknowledged and left with Sarah, one on each side of Sabrina.
Before leaving, Sabrina quickly looked back.
After all the talk of separation, Alexander was suddenly buying her luxury jewelry. Was he truly softening, or was this just a desperate move to stop the divorce?
Damn it!
The crowd vanished once the drama peaked, leaving Alexander to stand his ground before Charlotte and Jenna in the now-empty store.
The store manager had also finally packaged up the treasure bracelet and carefully handed it to Charlotte.
Charlotte accepted the gift but offered no gratitude; she simply linked arms with Jenna and marched out, making it clear Alexander no longer held any sway over her.
"Charlotte, can we talk?"