Chapter 67 Simple Wishes
Their families couldn't compete with the Smith family's influence, so they were content to sit back and watch the drama unfold. But Amelia was particularly skilled at calling people out, especially when it came to calling out Emily's pretenses.
"Emily, you've just demonstrated your ignorance and stupidity with every word. Your brain isn't worth as much as that necklace around your neck. That's an Elysian Gems design from two years ago, retail price 3 million dollars. But yours isn't even authentic—it's a knockoff that stole Elysian's design and used inferior quality diamonds. I'd estimate it's worth around 1 million dollars at most. Five million dollars? How did you even have the audacity to quote that number?"
"You're lying! This was a gift from Dad! The Smith family isn't short on money. Why would I be wearing a fake?" Emily glared at Amelia indignantly, suspecting she was deliberately trying to humiliate her on Sophia's behalf.
"Don't believe me? I have an authentic one. I can bring it to school tomorrow so you can compare them side by side. The difference in brilliance between authentic and fake is immediately obvious." Amelia spoke with casual confidence, as if stating a well-known fact.
This made Emily even more uncertain.
The necklace hadn't actually been a gift from her father—she'd bought it secondhand online. The seller claimed it was a designer piece worth 5 million dollars, only selling it cheap because they needed quick cash.
She'd paid 1.5 million dollars for it!
Now she was being told it was a fake worth only 1 million dollars—she'd been scammed out of half a million dollars! And she was being humiliated in front of all her classmates!
To avoid making the scene too awkward, Clio smoothed things over, "Emily, it's fine. Maybe Mr. Smith just isn't familiar with diamonds and got deceived. The Smith family isn't short on money, so don't worry about it too much. You wouldn't want Mr. Smith to feel bad if he found out."
In reality, everyone knew that even if they could see the fake, George, who had been in the business for decades, could never be fooled. George would never buy a fake necklace for Emily to wear around and embarrass herself, so this necklace definitely wasn't a gift from George.
This explanation was simply giving Emily a graceful way out while protecting their relationship with the Smith family.
Emily forced a stiff smile. "Maybe Dad really did get fooled. But it doesn't matter—I love any gift from him."
"Exactly, it's the thought that counts with gifts." For once, Amelia agreed with Emily, then immediately continued, "Since it's Ms. Smith's birthday is today, how can we not drink? Someone open all the champagne—let's all toast to Miss Smith's birthday!"
The waitstaff opened all ten bottles of champagne on the table, and everyone raised their glasses to celebrate Emily's coming of age.
Only Emily felt her heart bleeding. Those bottles cost 200,000 dollars each. She'd only displayed so many to show off—who could have predicted Amelia would have them all opened?
How much was this dinner going to cost her?
...
Unlike the awkward atmosphere at Emily's birthday party, the Johnson family's small home was warm and lively.
Mary had prepared Sophia's favorite fish and Evelyn's beloved herb-crusted chicken. After the family enjoyed dinner together, it was time for the wish-making and cake-cutting ceremony.
Evelyn had made the cake herself, spending the entire afternoon on it. She'd used only natural cream and fresh fruit, keeping the sugar content low, delicate yet healthy.
Lucas was even more excited about the cake than the birthday girl herself, as children could never resist the temptation of sweets.
After lighting the "18" candles, Ray urged Sophia to make a wish.
Sophia clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and thought for a long time without coming up with any particular wish.
Finally, she settled on something refreshingly practical, hoping to double her assets this year.
The moment she opened her eyes, something cool and creamy touched her face.
She looked confused as she touched her cheek, only to discover James had smeared frosting on her.
"It's a blessing!" James hadn't laughed this heartily in ages. Sophia's bewildered expression struck him as absolutely adorable.
"Oh," Sophia responded flatly and bent down to cut the cake.
Everyone assumed she was upset.
Sophia had been back with the Johnson family for over a month, and she'd never engaged in such intimate gestures with them. Perhaps she really disliked having her face touched like that.
The atmosphere grew tense for a moment, then Sophia suddenly grabbed a small bit of frosting and smacked it right onto James's face.
"Return blessing!"
The awkwardness shattered as everyone burst into laughter.
Taking advantage of the moment, Sophia dabbed a bit of cream on Evelyn's nose.
"Evelyn gets a blessing too!"
Evelyn was slightly stunned, but couldn't suppress her smile.
She remembered last year when she'd also made Emily a birthday cake by hand, only to have Emily dismiss it as pathetic and knock her afternoon's work straight to the floor.
"What's there to celebrate? Don't think you can make up for your mistakes with this garbage! If you hadn't provoked people you shouldn't have, would our family have gone bankrupt? Did my birthday really have to be this shabby?"
That day had ended in disaster.
She'd cleaned up the cream from the floor while crying, guilt wrapping around her heart until she could barely breathe.
But Sophia, pampered for seventeen years, didn't disdain her handiwork at all. She laughed happily and said she wanted Evelyn to receive blessings, too.
Evelyn's nose tingled as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Evelyn, what's wrong? It's just a little frosting—surely that's not worth crying over?" Sophia felt confused and quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe the cream from Evelyn's nose.
She'd never been good at comforting people and had never encountered such an easily emotional girl before.
Whenever she saw others crying, she usually kept her distance, refusing to let such thankless tasks fall to her.
But Evelyn was her sister—she couldn't exactly avoid her, could she?
"I'm fine." Evelyn smiled through her tears. "Sophia, you don't blame me? If it weren't for me, the Johnson family wouldn't have gone bankrupt, and you wouldn't have had to suffer after coming back."
"It has nothing to do with you." Sophia pulled out another tissue for Evelyn to wipe her tears. She understood the real reason behind the Johnson family's bankruptcy better than anyone, but couldn't explain it clearly.
Instead, she said, "Don't I know John's character well enough? This isn't your fault—he's just a scumbag."
Evelyn broke into a smile through her tears, the massive weight on her heart instantly crumbling to dust.
"No more crying, no more crying. Today is Sophia's birthday—everyone should be happy." Mary smiled soothingly.
Sophia made the first cut into the cake, officially ending the wish-making ceremony.
Ray presented Sophia with his gift. "Here, this is from Mom and Dad. We wish our darling a successful new year of studies, good fortune in all things, health, and happiness."
Sophia stared in shock as she accepted the gift. In seventeen years, this was the first time she'd heard anyone call her "our darling."