The Billionaire's True Heiress: From Fake Jewel to Real Crown novel Chapter 354

Cindy went straight upstairs. When her daughter disappeared from view, Octavia finally looked over at her son.

“That bracelet… you bought it for Claire, didn’t you?”

She knew her son too well. He had left a gift for Cindy already, so the second one had to be for Claire. Otherwise, why hand it to Cindy outside the room instead of just leaving it with her things?

“She didn’t want it?”

So her son had run straight into a wall with Claire, hadn’t he? Claire leaving the James family hadn't led to the disaster everyone expected. She was doing fine on her own. More than fine, really. She was happier and even bolder than before.

“Yeah.” Lance’s expression grew stormy as soon as Claire’s name came up.

“If she won’t take it, stop buying her things. No sense in wasting your time,” Octavia said.

Lance just shrugged. “After all these years, I buy her things out of habit.”

“Then just shop for Cindy from now on. Claire, she doesn't see us as family anymore.”

Lance agreed out loud, but his thoughts were clearly somewhere else.

Upstairs, Cindy stared at the gifts Lance left for her. There was another bracelet, almost the same as the one he’d just handed her, except this one was green instead of red. In a flash, she realized the truth. The bracelet he put on her wrist earlier wasn’t really meant for her at all. It was a leftover. A substitute.

Her face grew hot with anger. She yanked at the red four-leaf clover bracelet, so hard the chain snapped.

It took her a second to realize what she’d done. Now how was she supposed to explain this to Mom and Lance?

Panic fluttered in her chest. She stashed the broken bracelet away in her jewelry box and put on the green one, the one that was really for her. She rehearsed the excuse in her head. She’d just say she switched because she liked the green one better.

Claire never took Lance’s gift. Instead, she spent her afternoon driving out to visit Pandora, arms full of country treats. Unlike her son’s family, Pandora always recognized good stuff when she saw it. She absolutely loved the things Claire brought. That night, Pandora told her housekeeper to stew a quarter of a tender little chicken, using the wild mushrooms Claire gave her.

The mouthwatering smell drew in the neighborhood cats and dogs, who circled the house hoping for scraps.

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