Chapter 430
But now, Darwin realized just how brilliant his late wife had been. If she hadn’t intervened, who knew whose hands the bracelet would have ended up in?
Refusing to give Camilla an out, Leah took the bracelet and slid it directly onto her wrist. “Perfect,” Leah beamed. “It fits you like it was custom-made p>
As they chatted, none of them noticed a car pull silently into the driveway. Tessa stepped out, her eyes locking onto Camilla’s wrist. She must have caught the tail-end of Leah’s comment, because her tone was immediately dripping with venom. “Leah, you always know exactly what to say. It’s a standard-sized band. Anyone who wants to wear it can fit into it p>
Leah’s smile froze. She offered a stiff greeting before falling silent. Oscar, stepping out of the driver’s side, scolded Tessa. “We’re all family. Why do you have to be so abrasive p>
Ignoring Oscar completely, Tessa glared at the bracelet on Camilla’s wrist. Her expression was violently sour.
She knew that piece of jewelry intimately.
When she first married Oscar, she had heard whispers of a Charles family heirloom. As the sole daughter-in-law, she had waited years for Lance’s grandmother to pass it down to her. She waited and waited, but even as the matriarch drew her final breath, the bracelet never came to her—it went to Leah instead.
That profound slight fueled a long-standing grudge. Whenever Tessa saw Leah, she rarely missed a chance to hurl thinly veiled insults. In truth, avoiding Tessa was one of the main reasons Leah rarely visited.
Tessa’s burning glare on Camilla’s wrist was making her acutely uncomfortable. Unfortunately, Lance had taken Jasper out to walk the dog, leaving her without her usual shield.
Bathed in Tessa’s intense hatred, the gemstone felt as if it were heating up, threatening to burn right through Camilla’s skin.
Darwin’s patience wore thin. “Since you’re here, just come inside p>
Her face tight, Tessa muttered under her breath, “Who says everyone is here? Sarah is still alone in a foreign country, while random people get paraded into our home p>
She hadn’t kept her voice down. The remark echoed clearly across the courtyard.
Darwin stopped in his tracks. When he looked back at Tessa, his eyes blazed with anger. “I’ve let your tantrums over Sarah slide these past few days.
Do not push your luck with me today.
It’s a day for celebration, and I don’t want to argue. If you want to spend the holiday with us, stay. If not, turn around and leave. Do not ruin the atmosphere p>
Darwin rarely lost his temper to this degree. To Tessa, the words felt like a physical blow.
Her eyes instantly reddened, and a bitter, self-deprecating smile touched her lips. “Letting my tantrums slide? Be honest, Dad. You never saw me as family anyway, did you?
First Mom, and now you. My opinions have never mattered to anyone in this house, have they p>
She was referring to Sarah, but her eyes kept darting back to Camilla’s wrist. The sheer jealousy radiating off her was palpable.
For a grown woman—an elder, no less—to stand in public and fight for dominance over a piece of jewelry was embarrassingly pathetic.
But Tessa was far past the point of caring about her dignity.
Darwin looked exhausted and severely annoyed. Leah sighed. “Tessa, you’re crossing a line.
When have we ever treated you like an outsider p>
“Oh, please,” Tessa sneered. “Have you ever actually treated me like family?
Your mother completely bypassed me to give you that bracelet, and now you bypass me to give it to this woman.
If someone didn’t know better, they’d think Lance was your biological son!
Is that your definition of treating me like family p>
Every word Tessa spat was laced with poison, leaving Leah completely speechless. As a look of profound grievance washed over her mother’s face, Jeniffer finally snapped. “Tessa, why don’t you look in a mirror for once? If you hadn’t been such a terrible mother to Lance, why wouldn’t Grandma have trusted you?
Furthermore, Grandpa already gave Lance and Camilla his blessing. What’s wrong with my mom passing the heirloom down?
Or what, were you planning to give it to someone else p>
Jeniffer was even more ruthlessly blunt than Tessa. Choking on her fury, Tessa stubbornly fired back, “I am Lance’s mother! Whoever he marries needs to get through me first! You all stepped completely out of line, and you think you’re in the right p>
“He doesn’t need to get through you,” Jeniffer scoffed. “You never gave a damn about Lance growing up. My mom practically raised him. If you want to call it stepping out of line, fine—we own it.
Tessa, everyone here tip-toes around you to save your fragile ego, but I won’t.
The moment you started shoving Lance aside for your precious adopted daughter, you lost all right to dictate his life!” Jeniffer unloaded on her like a machine gun, refusing to let anyone else get a word in edgewise.
Only when she finally ran out of breath did Leah manage to squeeze in, sharply calling her daughter’s name and shooting her a look that demanded silence.