In fact, it could be considered the most extravagant gift of the entire evening.
But no matter how much she boasted about the value of the jewelry set, Brianna's expression remained indifferent. She even let out a bored yawn while Isabella was in the middle of her speech.
She looked like she had absolutely no interest in hearing her drone on.
Isabella felt a surge of resentment.
This Brianna was becoming more and more unlikable.
She was completely ungrateful!
Isabella had given her such an expensive gift, and she was still no better than Elara Hale, an outsider?
For so many years, she had at least held the title of her brother’s future wife, hadn't she?
How much time and money had she spent trying to get on Brianna's good side?
But Brianna had never been willing to treat her as her brother’s wife.
And now, Brianna had never even met Serena and had no idea who she was. Yet, she was publicly calling Serena her "her brother’s future wife," so easily acknowledging her status.
What did all of Isabella's previous efforts count for, then?
Was it just because Serena was the true heiress of the Lancaster family?
Did Brianna accept Serena so easily just for that?
It was one thing for the Lancaster family to be biased toward Serena because of blood ties. But for the Blackwood family to also place so much importance on the Lancaster family's bloodline—what was that about?
Isabella glanced at Nicholas, who was looking down at his phone, and forced herself to suppress her anger, squeezing out a smile. "To celebrate Brianna's birthday, I've also prepared a piano piece. I composed it myself specifically to celebrate Brianna's coming of age."
"Miss Hale's performance just now was passionate and unrestrained, but she seemed to forget who the star of today's party is. I'll offer my humble performance now, and I hope Brianna can feel my sincere blessings."
Smiling graciously, Isabella slowly sat down at the piano.
The lighting, which had been specially adjusted beforehand, cascaded down on her, making her look like an angel bathed in light—holy and pure. It was an incredibly beautiful sight.
Meanwhile, in a corner, Serena was lazily sipping lemonade while tapping on her phone.
Serena finished the last sip of her lemonade before lifting her hand and typing with her slender fingers: [You said it yourself, it has many flaws. How could it be something I taught?]
An ecstatic series of exclamation points came in reply, but it was quickly followed by confusion.
[Then… if you didn't teach her, how could she create a design like that?]
[Wait! No one in the world can imitate your style! Even I can't begin to replicate your unique flair! If that woman has the ability to imitate you, doesn't that mean her own design skills must be incredible?]
[No, no, that's not right. If she really had that level of design skill, how could she turn such an exquisite necklace design into such a mess? The handling of the details is just atrocious. For example, the cut of the diamonds and the design of the chain. If you had…]
Ms. Rainsford was on a roll, her typing speed so fast it was hard to believe she was a woman in her late forties. It was a skill she had specially honed just to pester her Mentor.
Serena rested her chin on her hand, her finger hovering over the screen to reply when she heard a slightly exaggerated voice beside her. "Oh? This young lady looks unfamiliar. I wonder which family's daughter she is? I don't think I've seen her in our circle before."
Three socialites, holding wine glasses, were walking toward Serena. Serena's gaze fell on the one on the left—Hailey. She narrowed her bright eyes.
The second socialite chimed in with a seemingly friendly smile, "A young lady this beautiful, I'm sure I would remember her if I'd seen her before!"
"Exactly. If there was a girl this gorgeous in our circle, wouldn't her reputation have preceded her by now?" the first socialite said with a broad smile, leaning closer to Serena. She held out a glass of wine to Serena and said with a grin, "Care to make a friend?"

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