Chapter 3 The Real Ring

Yves and Queenie left after the auction came to a close. However, Yves came to my mother before they left and said warmly, "I'm sorry you had to go through that, but that ring's not the only thing we got. Tell me what you want, and my assistant will send them over.

"I'll take Queenie over myself tomorrow. She is the guest, after all. You and Tina should go with the chauffeur."

My mother nodded without hesitation. Yves was looking at her, emotions swelling in his eyes. He wanted to say something, but he went into the car without saying anything in the end.

…

The next evening came without much fanfare.

The Chandlers' estate was brightly lit. Liliana was in the main seat, and Queenie was already there, buttering her up. "I got Ocean's Heart at yesterday's auction for you, Liliana. Surprise."

Liliana took the ring and sighed. "You're so thoughtful." She scanned the entrance and added coolly, "Unlike a certain someone. Dinner began a while ago, but they're still not here. Do our rules mean nothing to them?"

Yves didn't look too happy either.

Queenie jumped at the chance. "She's probably held up by something, but it is a family dinner, and it's not every day that you're here… She'd never dare to be late if she actually cared."

Liliana harrumphed and was about to say something when the door swung open, revealing my mother and me.

I immediately said, "We're very sorry for coming late, great-grandma."

She frowned. She was about to lecture me when I took out the wooden box from behind me. "Mommy went to get you this. That's what held us up." I opened up the box, and a blue diamond ring sat atop the black velvet interior. Everyone froze.

Queenie was in disbelief. "What? But I got Ocean's Heart right here! You shouldn't get a fake even if you want to avoid Liliana's ire because of your lateness."

My mother became flustered by sharp accusations, unable to defend herself, so I helped her out, stating firmly, "Slandering isn't a good habit to have, Ms. Samson."

Then, I held up the ring under a source of light. It shone through the diamond, and a word vaguely showed itself on the bottom—Chandler.

The look on Liliana's face changed, and she quickly held up the one Queenie gave her under the light. There was nothing.

My mother took a step forward and said, "Mrs. Zimmer gave it to me, Liliana. She said you'd love it."

"The Zimmer matriarch did? Erin Lloyd did?" Liliana was stunned.

My mother nodded. "Yes. I helped her out once, and she never forgot about that. Yesterday, she heard that I was going to meet you. So, she gave me this ring and told me that you've been looking for it. I gave her the cloak we got from the auction in exchange.

"The Zimmer family won't be upset by this transaction."

Liliana stared at my mother, clearly somewhat befuddled at what she should feel about her. It was an open secret in the elite circle that Erin could be quite temperamental. So, not just anyone could get something from her and walk out of that exchange unscathed.

Liliana slowly rose to her feet and approached my mother. "I've underestimated you, Yvonne."

Then, she held my mother's hand and slid the ring Queenie had given her onto my mother's ring finger. "Wear this. From now on, you are one of us, the Chandlers. No one is allowed to ever question your position as my granddaughter-in-law."

Queenie had turned as white as a ghost.

Although she refused to accept that she had lost round three, she could do nothing but watch helplessly as the ring she had fought tooth and nail for… found a home on my mother's finger.

I heaved a sigh of relief. The floating comments appeared almost lazily across my vision.

"It's a good thing that Tina noticed there's nothing carved on the ring right after we gave her the hint. Otherwise, all our effort would've gone to waste."

"Yeah. Mrs. Zimmer has had one of the remaining rings in her possession for years, and she rarely showed it to anyone. We got really lucky that Tina and her mother saved her life once. Otherwise, they could never have gotten that ring from Mrs. Zimmer."