Chapter 77

Thea looked around coldly, her expression unchanging. Jake caught her gaze and frowned, assuming, like the others, that she either didn't have a gift or had brought something unimpressive. Regret washed over him. "This is embarrassing. I shouldn't have come," he thought. Thea sneered inwardly. "No matter. I never planned to rely on this useless man," she mused.

Lifting her dress slightly, Thea gracefully walked forward. Though her gown was simply designed, she wore it with the elegance of couture. Her eyes shimmered as she glanced at Emmalie; her poised yet understated look exuded more presence than Emmalie's.

Emmalie despised that feeling—the sense that, no matter how hard she tried, she could never match Thea's effortless grace and refinement, the true heiress's bearing. Emmalie deliberately waved the gift box, her seemingly innocent eyes brimming with challenge.

"Thea, if you really didn't bring a gift, it's no big deal. I can always tell Max that you helped me pick out this watch. That way, it'll be like we gave it to him together. But next time, don't do this, okay?" she said sweetly. Thea slapped Emmalie's hand.

With a yelp of pain, Emmalie dropped the box to the floor. Thea lifted her foot, her stiletto heel crushing the finely wrapped box.

"You and I giving a gift together?" Thea scoffed. "Emmalie, don't you feel any shame? This watch was custom-made for Max by Richard at my request. I'm curious how you had the nerve to pass it off as your gift."

Her words caused an immediate stir. Most people didn't believe Thea. Whispers rippled through the crowd: "Has she lost her mind?" "She's not crazy. She's just used to throwing her weight around at home. Now that Emmalie's given such an extravagant gift, she's upset." "Exactly. There's no way someone could be that shameless."

Emmalie bit her lip, glancing down at the box before lifting her tear-filled eyes to meet Thea's. "If you want the gift, I'll give it to you, but you didn't have to ruin my gesture. You claim this watch is yours? Do you mean that you know Richard personally?" Laughter broke out among the crowd. "Yeah, right. Richard is such a prestigious artist. He'd probably be embarrassed just to see her." "Exactly. There's no way someone like her could meet Richard. She's completely delusional."

Ivy stormed over, catching sight of Thea's half-smiling face. Feeling a little less confident, Ivy scolded, "Do you know what kind of occasion this is? If there's a problem, we can discuss it in private. Must you make everyone unhappy?"

Max frowned in disapproval. "Thea, I thought you'd matured a little, but I guess I overestimated you. You're my sister. Even if you didn't bring a gift, do you think I'd be mad? There's no need to try and steal Emmalie's."

Thea ignored him, keeping her eyes locked on Ivy. "Mom, I was wondering why you called me specifically to come back and help with Max's birthday preparations. With so many servants, the Rowland family doesn't exactly need my help. But I couldn't make it at the time. Today, when you insisted on holding everyone's gifts, I realized you had a surprise for me. And for you too."

The final sentence is incomplete and needs further context to be fully corrected. The "www.www" and timestamp are extraneous and have been removed.