Chapter 688 Birthday Present (4)
Mrs. Livingstone looked at Cherry with a big smile after she spoke.
Louis had resolved the trouble with Lisa’s gift just now, so she couldn’t attack Cherry with that. But the next moment, a so-called grandaunt had arrived.
Mrs. Livingstone was waiting to launch into face-slapping mode after she took a look at the gift!
She stared hard at the gift, her gaze so scorching that it was as if it could set the box on fire.
At the side, both Ian and Justin narrowed their eyes. They glanced at Mrs. Livingstone, neither of them speaking.
Both knew very well that Nora was no ordinary woman, and that the people she knew in the past were all very impressive. However, everyone seemed to be at a consensus that Nora had lived in tough circumstances in the past.
In fact, they had even spun a dramatic story in their heads about how a poor girl had survived after her stepfather robbed her of the only financial assets that her mother had left behind.
Therefore, even though they all knew that Nora’s medical skills were fantastic, the moment they thought of her past, they kept feeling pity and sympathy for her.
There were even families that said that it was a pity about Ms. Smith; that if she had grown up in New York, she would most certainly have become even more outstanding than Yvonne Smith, yet she was just a doctor now… Nothing else about her seemed that great.
Moreover, what people of social status like theirs were particular about were social connections and their social circle.
If the friends one hung out with were impressive, then they would also be very impressive.
Nora was already a full-grown adult. On top of that, she didn’t have any appropriate girlfriends among her peers in New York. This made her social circle even smaller.
Nora would probably just be the young lady of the Smiths and Mrs. Hunt in the future. Apart from holding the occasional medical consultation, she would probably just stay at home, lead a stable life, and be a good wife and mother to her husband and kids, right?
People like that were sad and pitiful.
She obviously had a good family, yet she hadn’t received the education and opportunities that her family background could have given her when she was a child.
Come to think of it, the story was worthy of being extolled, yet also lamentable.
That was why Justin and Ian wanted to give Nora the opportunity to set an example and establish prestige among her peers during the occasion today so that everyone would know that she was no ordinary person!
Thus, neither of them interrupted Mrs. Livingstone’s nonsense, but merely lowered their gazes.
At the same time, the two big bosses also thought to themselves: “It’s about time that the Livingstones go bankrupt!”
Of course, Mrs. Livingstone, who didn’t know that she had already become a thorn in the Smiths and the Hunts’ sides, was still digging her own grave.
Even John was a little dumbfounded when he heard Mrs. Livingstone.
How could she force someone to open their gifts when they hadn’t decided whether to open them or not?
John looked at Cherry a little hesitantly and asked, “Cherry, should I open it?”
Before Cherry could speak, Mrs. Livingstone said, “Yes, open it and impress us! Since it’s a gift for Cherry, then it must be very extraordinary!”
The people around them were speechless.
Mrs. Livingstone’s behavior was simply too unsightly!
To attend someone’s birthday party and then attack them, she was really just so… Everyone stepped away from Mrs. Livingstone, making her stand out like a sore thumb.
However, Mrs. Livingstone didn’t realize. Right now, all she wanted was to thoroughly ruin Nora’s reputation.
Cherry looked at Mrs. Livingstone and then at John. There was amusement in her big eyes as she said, “Grandpa John, since she wants to see the gift so much, then let’s open it and have a look!”
When John heard this, he opened the gift box. It was only then that everyone discovered that the tiny little box was actually a safe.
With a smile, John said, “The password is the one you always use, Ms. Cherry.”
Cherry stretched out her chubby little arm and pressed a few numbers.
Click!
The tiny safe opened, revealing the blue gem inside.
At the sight, everyone around them went into a huge furor!
“The Heart of the Ocean?!”
Someone exclaimed abruptly. He suddenly looked at the gift box that Ian had handed Cherry just a few moments ago and exclaimed incredulously, “Two Hearts of the Ocean?!”
He sounded absolutely astounded.
How could he possibly not be, though?
One Heart of the Ocean was already worth more than a million dollars. Unless a family was backed by a solid and robust foundation, who would be able to buy it?
It was not surprising that the Smiths would have one, but how did that grandaunt of hers get that kind of money? For one to be able to afford a gemstone like that and even give it to their grandniece as a gift, they would have to have hundreds of millions of dollars in their pocket!
Everyone swallowed.
Mrs. Livingstone even blurted out, “Surely that isn’t a fake, right?”
But as soon as she said that, she felt that she must be mistaken-because a curious Cherry had already put the two Hearts of the Ocean together. Usually, there were differences in gemstones that ordinary people might not be able to pick out, but when good and bad ones were placed side by side, even with the naked eye, one should still be able to tell the difference. However, there was no difference between these two gems at all. It was as if they had been carved out of the same stone!
And of course, they did indeed come from the same rock.
When Louis saw this, he said annoyingly, “Wow, Cherry, your grandaunt is so rich! To think she can gift you a diamond worth millions of dollars as a gift!”
Cherry grinned at him. “Yeah! My grandaunt is really rich!”
Louis glanced at Mrs. Livingstone.
Mrs. Livingstone pressed the matter and asked, “Who is your grandaunt? We should have more or less heard of someone as rich and influential as her!”
Cherry rolled her eyes. “I’m not gonna tell you!”
Her grandaunt’s business was involved in some shady dealings, so Cherry didn’t want to reveal her identity and occupation.
Mrs. Livingstone, however, misunderstood. She immediately scoffed, “Ha, you’re just afraid that we would recognize her, aren’t you? Well, that makes sense. Since the Smiths can afford one gemstone, they can also afford two.”
Louis went on the offensive at once. “Mrs. Livingstone, what do you mean by that? Are you saying that the Smiths bought this gem too in order to make Cherry look good?”
Mrs. Livingstone had truly shed all pretenses by then. She laughed and said, “Mr. Smith, we are not trying to mock Ms. Smith. In fact, we even find her very inspirational! But aren’t you kinda overdoing it a little, and also being a little too protective?! Even if you’re just acting, can’t you at least give Cherry’s grandaunt a noble identity that commands high prestige and respect?! If she’s just rich, then who knows whose money that is? All the rich people overseas are of high social status!”
Now, that was going too far.
The others were about to tell her to knock it off a little when the butler entered the hall in a panic again. He said, “Princess Lucy from the UK… is here!”