When she saw me, Emery chuckled and gave me one of the bags of pastries. “You’re always dressed so frumpily. We’re out to shop and have fun, all the more we should dress up and look pretty. With your looks, everyone’s jaws would drop when they see you.”
I smiled faintly. “I don’t want to attract any unnecessary attention.” It was true. Nancy had gotten unwanted attention a few times because of that. I would definitely stand out more if I cleaned myself up, but that was the last thing I needed.
Emery nodded in agreement and didn’t probe further.
The mall was bustling with activity. However, I had gotten used to being alone, that the crowd and noise stressed me out, so I didn’t like it at all.
Emery, on the other hand, was an extrovert. She made sure to browse each jewelry store we came to. Whenever she bought something she liked, she’d be like a kid in a candy store.
Like Macy, she’d get so incredibly excited whenever she got to eat delicious foods or buy her favorite things.
People said that only those with similar personalities could become friends. But Macy and I had known each other since childhood, so we still bonded despite our different personalities.
What I did find weird, though, was how Emery and I became friends.
When she saw that I was in a daze, Emery elbowed me and asked, “Is it so hard for you to pick a necklace? What are you thinking about?”
I looked at the two necklaces in her hand and remarked, “Both of them look good. Just get both.”
“Damn, Scarlett. This is the first time you’re behaving like a rich woman. I’ve always thought you were so timid and precious. Ashton got you the clothes and accessories you have on you now, didn’t he?”
I nodded. “Ashton gets Joseph to buy me new clothes every season. I rarely shop, and I don’t understand much about fashion. So, I wear whatever I have at home.”
Hearing that, she gave me a thumbs-up as she curled her lips. “Spoken like a rich woman. Ashton has really spoiled you. But as a woman who doesn’t like shopping or eating, what do you do in your free time?”
“I read at home!’ I exclaimed. And that was the truth. When I stayed with Macy, I spent weekends going out to eat with her. This all changed when she left because I had no other friends to hang out with during the weekends.
She slapped her forehead and sighed. “I knew it. The only reason someone like Ashton fell for you was because of your looks.”
Then she returned to look at the necklaces in her hand, seemingly deep in thought. “Oh, forget it. I’ll get both. They add up to forty thousand but so be it. I’m the one wearing them anyway.”
Hearing the price of the necklaces threw me off. Once I returned to my senses, I asked, “Wait… How much are these?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Forty thousand.”
“Even if they’re made of gold, do they have to be that expensive?” I was dumbfounded. Even if the property prices in K City ballooned to ten thousand per square foot, that still wouldn’t have seemed as expensive. But a mere necklace for forty thousand? That was outrageous.
Emery hesitated as she glanced at the bracelet on my wrist. “You were the one who suggested buying both necklaces, but now you think they’re too expensive? This necklace was handcrafted by a famous designer in Ustrana and even has a diamond in the pendant. So it’s definitely worth the price!”
Regardless of the design and the material used, a necklace with a price tag in the tens of thousands still seemed too much of an extravagance.
I couldn’t help but sigh. “For the same price, you could get a two-bedroom in the smaller cities. How extravagant.”
Ignoring me, Emery paid for her necklaces and looked at me with annoyance. “What’s wrong with you, Scarlett? The bracelet you’re wearing is worth a few hundred million. So, why don’t you say that for the same price, you could get a villa in K City?”
I was taken aback by that and slowly shifted my gaze to my bracelet. This bracelet was given to me by Louis four years ago when he added me to the Stovall family register. I hardly wear it and had almost forgotten about it until I saw it a few days ago. To be honest, I wore it only because it looked pretty.
After all, I knew nothing about jewelry. I could only determine if I liked something or not based on how pretty it looked. Hence, I definitely wouldn’t be able to tell the good from the bad.
Now that Emery had told me about the bracelet, I felt even more pressure. “A bracelet worth a few hundred million? That can’t be possible!”
No matter how valuable it was, it was still just an inanimate object. If it really was worth a few hundred million, wouldn’t that make it an antique?
Emery rolled her eyes before pulling me away to give me a history lesson. “Your bracelet has quite a lot of history behind it. A hundred years ago after the civil wars had ended, one of the royal family members bought this bracelet and kept it with General Stovall for safekeeping. But General Stovall loved his wife so much that he gifted it to her instead. As time went by, this bracelet was supposed to be added to the museum collection. However, due to the contributions the Stovall family had made toward nation-building, they were allowed to keep it. From then on, the bracelet had been passed down in the Stovall family from one generation to the next.”
After a pause, she continued, “This bracelet was originally meant for the next Stovall family’s daughter-in-law. But I suppose Louis felt generous and gave it to you instead.”
