Dumping Him for His Uncle (Natasha and Zachary)

Nicole was on the verge of lashing out, but she knew she wasn't in a setting where she could not lose her temper.

"What do you mean by that?"

When Hayden put the necklace on, she did not notice anything strange about it. Given her experience appraising gemstones, she had never misjudged anything before.

"If you don't believe me, I can show you by removing the color from the gem's surface."

It was but a simple little chemical reaction for Natasha. The hard part was whether or not they would believe her.

"Mom, let's not ruin such a perfectly fine necklace. By the time we prove it's the real deal, it won't be the same anymore, even if we get someone to fix it!"

Matthew had a vague feeling of uneasiness about the matter based on what he knew about Natasha.

He knew she would not say something so bold before a crowd unless she were 99% certain about it.

Nicole wanted to fight back, but Matthew shot her a look to tell her to stand down.

Unable to hold herself back, Nicole threw Natasha's gift onto the ground and stomped on it a couple of times. "My gift is still way better than your ragged, used scarf."

It was supposed to be a gift from Natasha to Hayden. Nicole's actions and behavior regarding something unrelated to her were clearly out of line.

Natasha did her best to suppress her anger. She had already given the gift to Hayden, and whatever happened to the gift afterward was not her concern.

Hayden explained, "I'm actually interested in knowing whether the necklace is real or fake. Since Natasha knows how to prove it, I'd like her to show me how it works."

Repair costs were no issue for Natasha regarding the necklace; however, its authenticity was crucial. She dreaded the prospect of wearing it with pride, only to have others expose it as a fake.

Matthew's grip on Nicole's hand tightened as his expression turned grim.

Just then, Molly's voice rang out from the doorway and instantly drew everyone's attention. "What's going on? Isn't this supposed to be a birthday banquet? I would've thought that I walked into the wrong place if I didn't know any better."

One of the guests quickly summarized the situation for her. She then looked at the necklace and said, "This necklace is real. I've been in the jewelry business for a very long time. Don't you at least trust my judgment?"

With that, the commotion quickly came to an end as everyone's focus shifted away.

Natasha let out a sigh of relief. She did not want to run a science experiment during the banquet.

She couldn't imagine just how hard Xavier would laugh at her about it if she did.

"Who was it that claimed that the necklace was fake?"

Molly was smiling as she spoke, but her eyes were sweeping through the crowd with a threatening glare.

Nicole immediately stepped forward and pointed at Natasha. "It was Natasha. But it's just a common occurrence for her to misjudge the value of things. It's just a misunderstanding."

With that, Molly decided to finally drop the matter.

But Nicole was not yet satisfied. She still had to maintain her appearance and reputation.

"You shouldn't have said that, Natasha. Even if you dislike me, you shouldn't just slander me."

She even wiped away imaginary tears on her face. She looked so pitiful that Molly could not help but feel sorry for her.

"You poor girl, you don't have to take the blame for everything. It was Natasha who made such bold claims without any proof!"

Natasha did not really care about the words Molly spoke to console Nicole.

After all, what was genuine cannot be faked, and what was fake cannot be made real.noveldrama

Suddenly, a man's voice rang out from behind Natasha. She subconsciously found it rather annoying. "It's understandable that you don't know just how important Ms. Spencer is. But it's going to be hard for you to stick around after what you've done."

"Vernon?" Natasha did not expect him to appear at the banquet as well.