Chapter 21 Cheap Tricks
Olive stammered, unable to get a word out. Her eyes darted between everyone, panic creeping into her face.
Finished
“You didn’t seriously give me a fake, did you?” Eugene asked with a half–smile. He usually didn’t care about much, but now his expression had gone cold.
He returned from his room holding a small, spotless box- clearly something he cherished. Eugene opened it and took out the vintage tobacco tin Olive had given him. He held it next to the others in the cabinet. Identical.
If you looked closely, you could easily spot the flaws. The tin was clearly cheap junk.
Thinking back, this had been the first real gift Olive ever gave him. He’d treasured it, afraid of breaking it, which was probably why he never realized anything was off. Until now.
Eugene picked up the box the tin had come in and examined it carefully. Then he slowly set it down and fixed his eyes on
Olive
Betty looked like she wanted to step in, but Eugene’s rare show of anger held her back. All she could do was shoot Olive a look telling her to say something – fast.
Olive’s eyes darted again. She bit her lip and finally spoke. “Dad. I’m sorry. I didn’t have much money at the time. I really wanted to get you something from a real master, but it was way too expensive. I didn’t want to disappoint you, so I… I just did
M
Eugene didn’t say anything for a long time. It was clear this had crossed a line.
Betty jumped in quickly. She was just a kid back then. We didn’t give her much allowance. It’s not about how expensive a gift is–it’s the thought that counts.”
Quinn nearly laughed out loud. Every gift she ever gave Betty had been full of thought, yet none of them had ever mattered.
Eugene finally nodded. He put the tin back in its box and said stiffly, “Don’t let it happen again.”
Then he turned and left the room.
Olive let out a quiet breath, her whole body relaxing now that the worst seemed over.
But she hadn’t forgotten who brought this up. She glared at Quinn, het anger bubbling to the surface.
Quinn was still holding that outfit from earlier, her tone cold. “What are you still standing there for?”
Betty gave Olive a pointed look. “Did you already forget what we talked about the other day?”
Olive bit her lip hard, furious. “Mom, do we seriously have to suck up to her? I’m doing everything she is!”
Betty was about to speak when Eugene reappeared, his face stern, arms full of boxes.
“Olive, you’ve got some explaining to do.”
He tossed everything to the floor, and the contents spilled out bracelets, figurines, gold bangles. At a glance, everything looked expensive.
But Quinn knelt down to get a better look. Every single piece had something wrong fake gold, knockoff pearls, cheap alloys disguised as antiques.
Betty gasped and scrambled to pick the pieces up, holding them protectively. “What are you doing? These are all birthday gifts Olive gave me over the years!”
Eugene was fuming. His face had turned red.
Chapter 21 Cheap Tricks
called gifts from Olive.
Quinn stood back and crossed her arms. She wanted to see how far Olive could keep up the act.
Finished
What surprised her was that Olive had even dared give fake gifts to her own parents. A girl raised with a silver spoon couldn’t atford a few real luxuries
She had to be hiding something.
Betty kept collecting the mess, but suddenly froze. She picked up a gold bracelet and held it up to the light.
“This This isn’t solid gold”
“Mom. 1- Olive looked like she’d seen a ghost. She stared at the pile of exposed junk, speechless.
Betty picked up a pearl necklace next. Olive had once claimed it was made of rare, hand–picked pearls. But the beads were strung on a nylon thread, round and artificial–looking like they’d come from a cheap costume shop.
Had they really been this blind before?
One by one, they examined the rest. Not a single piece was real.
Betty had always cherished Olive’s gifts, refusing to wear them just to preserve her daughter’s heartfelt gestures. Now, even the sincerity felt fake.
Send Gifts
12:11
The Disowned Heiress: Fire and Ashes
