Unedited. Previous chap already edited.
…………..
When Zhou Jingren saw the contempt in Rafa’s eyes, he immediately wondered if this man was somehow related to the Order. He was sure that he never met Rafa before, so the hatred in the man’s eyes makes little to no sense. “It is real, Mr. Neeson.” Zhou Jingren said. He owned this jewelry for years now. However, when he first showed it to Lily, the latter said it was too big. How could she wear something even bigger than her engagement ring?
Moreover, she thought the events that they attended so far were not the right place where she could wear something as huge as the ring.
“Do you really think Lily would wear a fake, Rafa?” It was Eliza who was already glaring at her maternal cousin. How could this man be so stupid to assume that someone like Zhou Jingren could not afford such jewelry? “Do you really think Mr. Zhou would allow his wife to wear something that would embarrass her?” she asked.
“I — That… It’s just that the ring disappeared in the public eye for — for— “
“Eight years…” Harringfort chimed in. “My dear young princess, the ring disappeared for over eight years in the eyes of the public. Of course, it is only natural for Mr. Neeson to doubt the authenticity of the ring.” He knew that Zhou Jingren would not be this stupid to let Lily wear a fake, or if he is… then that could only mean he is not qualified to become Lily’s husband.
As expected, Eliza frowned at Harringfort. This man… seemed to come here to ruin her night! “Still, saying that he will call the authority with no proof is quite illogical!” So what if Rafa is her maternal cousin? First and foremost, she was not very close to the man. Second, she found Rafa too arrogant and sometimes tactless. And third, and the man is older than her and Levi for more than two years. Because of this, he used to bully them when they were kids.
This only stopped when Levi had grown taller than him, his height seemed to have intimidated Rafa. “It is very thoughtless of you to assume that my paternal cousin would wear something that is not real!” Eliza added. The fiery Eliza could not stop herself from defending Lily in front of everyone.
However, Eliza’s high-pitched voice was enough to attract the attention of the surrounding guests. Many of the nobles immediately pretended not to listen, however, they have moved a little closer towards the group. Their eyes may be focused on the people that they are with, but their ears are perked towards Lily and the others. How could they miss a wonderful show like this?
“Eh… Cousin… why are you taking this seriously?” Eliza’s reactions also surprised Rafa. She had never expected Eliza to come to Lily’s defense. He immediately wondered if Eliza was this stupid. Even Leandro and Mikaela didn’t include themselves in the conversation because they also wanted to see if Lily was wearing the real thing! In short, the two wanted to embarrass Zhou Jingren too! So how could Eliza intervene and act like a fucking heroine?
However, what he didn’t know was that Mikaela and Leandro didn’t intervene, not because they wanted to embarrass Lily and Zhou Jingren, but because the two agreed not to involve themselves with Lily. After a couple of minutes of discussions — which involved Leandro trying to convince his sisters to stay away from Lily. He was only able to succeed in convincing his sister that Lily is indeed dangerous. Eliza on the other hand insisted that they are too stupid to even think that Lily is a danger to this country.
Eliza had been pointing out that Lily only looks fierce and cold on the outside, but she is kind and generous on the inside. She also insisted that Lily was not a threat as she would not want a country to hold her back. However, the trio’s conversation was interrupted when Lily started showing her jewelry.
Nevertheless, Mikaela already decided not to involve herself with Lily. On the outside, she agreed to her brother’s words. However, on the inside, Mikaela knew that Lily was nothing like the woman that Leandro described her to be. But this does not matter anymore. Mikaela’s opinion of Lily does not matter as she is a married woman — and she chose to stand by her husband.
Lily already embarrassed Pierre, not once but twice. How could she pretend that this did not hurt her? True, her husband was a little out of line yesterday, but this does not give Lily the right to call him out in public in front of the Grand Duke and Duchess. It only made Pierre look like he was disrespectful.
“I was only saying that wearing a fake in an event like this could get them in trouble. Of course, I see anyone else here who would wear a fake, I would gladly call the authorities and have them arrested. After all, this is a blatant disrespect to the Grand Duke and Duchess.”
“Stupid,” Eliza muttered under her breath. Another thing that he hated about Rafa is his way with words. The latter was extremely good at dodging insults and making himself look like the victim when he was the one who instigated this whole thing.
“It’s alright, your highness.” Lily joined the conversation. She sent Eliza a smile of assurance. “The ring… was something that Zhou Jingren bought when he first saw me years ago.” She shrugged. “Love at first sight.” She giggled. “When he saw the ring in an auction, he immediately thought of the woman that he saw… in a shopping mall. And thought… ‘hey, this ring would really look good at my future wife.’ And so…. He bought them.” Amused at Rafa’s reaction, Lily continued. “Of course… if you are looking at the authenticity card… “She made a deliberate pause. “We can call the person who made this just to verify.”
“You — “Rafa frowned. “Do you personally know the person who made this?”
“No.” Lily beamed. “But I’m sure his highness Harringfort knows the person who made the ring.” Lily met Harringfort’s eyes. “Surely, his highness would not mind calling the jeweler who crafted the diamond, right?”
