Winnie was so furious that her head began to throb. She spun around and was ready to snatch the emerald from Kate's hand.
"Taking without asking is stealing! Put it back!"
"Put back what?"
Kate, though chubby, was surprisingly quick. With a deft flick on her wrist, she left Winnie grasping at thin air.
"If it's in my hands, it's mine now!"
"You… you're so…"
Winnie had been raised to be a well-mannered young lady. No matter how outrageous Kate's behavior was, she simply couldn't bring herself to call an elder "shameless" in front of her friends.
"Fine, fine! Just consider it my gift to her!"
Seeing that Winnie was on the verge of tears, Sharon quickly stepped in to diffuse the tension.
The emerald had originally been a gift from Yolanda to Sharon, now Yolanda's aunt had taken it, and it didn't seem like a huge deal in the grand scheme of things.
Sharon didn't think much of Kate or Eddie, but regardless of how close she was with Winnie and Yolanda, it wasn't her place to openly confront their family elders.
"I'm so sorry…"
Winnie clasped her hands together in an apologetic gesture toward Sharon.
"I'll go to the jewelry store tomorrow and buy you two identical ones!"
She knew Sharon came from a wealthy family, and these emeralds probably hadn't come cheap.
But with relatives like hers, there wasn't much Winnie could do except dig into her savings to make things right with Sharon.
"You don't need to. That emerald was originally a gift from Yolanda. Giving it to your aunt now seems reasonable enough. Besides, if I want it, I'll just go get it back from her myself. You don't need to buy me anything," Sharon said.
"Yolanda?"
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