Queenie was delicate, almost fragile, and Claire was slim too, so the jade bracelet fitted her wrist just right.
Claire pulled her hand back. “Grandma, I really can’t accept this. It’s way too expensive.”
The bracelet shimmered in the light, its color and quality not much different from the one on Pandora’s wrist. The value easily reached into the millions.
Claire wasn’t naive. She wasn’t the kind of person who’d just accept a priceless gift without a second thought.
Queenie gave a gentle smile. “Don’t say no, sweetheart. This is a welcome present from me.”
“You’re still so young, just like a flower bud. Wearing this bracelet makes your skin look even fairer. It really suits you.”
Claire glanced over at Pandora, looking for her opinion.
Pandora nodded. “Take it. It’s from Queenie’s heart.”
Pandora understood Queenie well. With a family background as strong as hers, Queenie never lacked for precious jade bracelets.
A small crowd had gathered. Even though Queenie kept things discreet, the elegance and poise of the two older women drew admiring looks. It was hard not to notice them.
When people saw Queenie giving the bracelet to Claire, there were lots of hushed whispers. The wealthy handed out extravagant gifts as welcome presents like it was nothing, almost like giving away a hairpin in old times. Such generosity was enviable.
A mother who had met Claire and her family just yesterday, the parent of one of Claire’s male classmates, was even more convinced that rumors were just poisonous nonsense after seeing all this.
In her mind, Claire’s grandmother’s family seemed every bit as impressive as the James family. Sure, the James family had done well for themselves over the years, but just looking at Claire’s grandmother, you could tell she was a real society lady from a remarkable family.
Then there was Queenie, who could just take off a jade bracelet and hand it over as a gift.
She remembered how her husband had tried to find a similar bracelet for her own mother’s birthday, searching everywhere, but nothing even came close to this kind of quality.
All around Apex, you’d only ever find two bracelets like that. Both were on the wrists of these two elegant ladies.
Now Queenie had gifted hers to Claire, and it was pretty clear the other one would end up with her too.
“That’s alright. Is there something you need?” Claire thought Wilma seemed friendly, not the pushy type. If she came over, she definitely had a reason.
Wilma smiled. “It’s nothing really, I just couldn’t help but admire the gorgeous jewelry these two ladies are wearing. That looks like vintage craftsmanship, right?”
Now that the ice was broken, she asked straight out.
Pandora, seeing that Wilma was a classmate’s mother, was warm and polite in return.
“They are vintage. Seems like even young people like these styles now.”
Queenie joined in, smiling. “The pieces we wear might be a bit old-fashioned nowadays.”
Wilma shook her head. “Not at all. What you’re both wearing are timeless classics.”
She hesitated before adding, “Would it be alright if I took a photo? And if it’s possible to know where they were made, I’d be really grateful.”

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