Avery locks eyes with Jackson. He runs his hand through his curly hair, and his blue diamond earrings winked in the sunlight. He smiles knowingly at her, and Avery's palms itch with the desire to slap him. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.
"I'm surprised to see you here," Avery says. She turns and looks at Fiona, "Why did you ask him to co? He's not part of the yer family."
Fiona presses her dark red lips together and shakes her head. She and Jackson shake hands warmly, and Jackson leans down and kisses her on the cheek.
"Co with , Jackson," Fiona says. "Unfortunately, I have so ugly business to deal with, but it shouldn't take long. Would you be kind enough to wait for in the conference room?"
Fiona leads Jackson out of the room, shooting a nasty look at Avery over her shoulder. Avery sighs cross her legs and sinks back into the plush sofa. If Fiona is going to make her wait, she might as well be comfortable. In a few minutes, Fiona returns. She checks her watch and paces up and down the room.
There's a knock at the door and an elegant woman in white bursts in. She's wearing a large floppy hat and a dark pair of sunglasses. She pulls the sunglasses off and glances between Avery and Fiona. Avery almost gaspsshe and Charles have the sa eyes, though she looks a bit young to be his mother.
"Where's the ring?" Mrs. yer asks.
Fiona passes her the ring and says, "I found it on that woman. She had quite a story to tell about it too."
Mrs. yer barely even glances at it before turning to Avery with a questioning look. Avery stands and offers her hand to Mrs. yer, but Charles' mother refuses to take it.
"Hi, Mrs. yer," Avery says. "My na is Avery, and I'm friends with Charles."
"Why do you have a family ring?" Mrs. yer asks calmly.
"Charles asked to keep it for him," Avery says. "But I accidentally chipped the stone. I didn't want to return a damaged ring, so I was trying to have it repaired. I know it's a priceless family heirloom, and believe when I say I'm incredibly sorry about the damage. Mrs. Sumrs refused to repair it for , but perhaps she'll be willing to do it for you. I promise to cover any costs."
"Can you believe her?" Fiona asks. "She thinks that money can buy anythingshe has no respect for your family or your ring. She broke a priceless family heirloom and is offering money in return. I'd be furious if I were you."
Mrs. yer runs her fingers over the chip in the ring, and her expression looks pained. She lifts it up to the light and looks at the damage from different angles. Avery's palms start to sweat. If Mrs. yer is upset about the broken ring, it'll be even easier for Fiona to blow the situation out of control.
Fiona sneers at Avery and continues talking, "Who knows why she even has the ring. She claid Charles gave it to her, but why should we believe her? Why would a married woman have sothing that should belong to the future Mrs. yer, hmm?"
Avery twists her fingers. I knew I should never have accepted the ring, she thinks. I should have returned it to the yer family the second I found out how important it is. I was so stupid to let Charles give it to .
"Her silence is suspicious, don't you think?" Fiona asks. "Mrs. yer, I'm telling you, she stole the ring. You need to go to the police at once and report her. She needs to be punished for what she's done."
"Hmm, yes, of course," Mrs. yer says distractedly, still holding the ring to the light and touching the chipped gemstone.
"I'll call the police right away," Fiona says, smiling a huge toothy smile.
"Wait; what?" Mrs. yer asks. "One minute, I have so questions for Avery."
Fiona scowls at Avery, but she puts the phone down and walks back toward Mrs. yer. Mrs. yer touches Avery's arm and looks up into her eyes. It's eerie to see Charles' eyes in soone else's face, Avery thinks.
"So you're Charles' friend?" Mrs. yer asks.
Avery nods.
"And he gave you this ring?" Mrs. yer asks, tightening her grip on Avery's arm.
"Yes, he did," Avery says.
"Why?" Mrs. yer asks.
Avery chews the side of her cheek as she thinks about how to answer the question. He gave her a ring so she could monitor the toxin in her blood and check to see if her food had been poisoned, but it seems like a bad idea to explain that to Fiona and Mrs. yer. How can she tell them sothing Evan doesn't even know?
"Don't trust her, Mrs. yerthat's my advice," Fiona says. "She's clearly trying to think of so lie to tell us right now. Besides, even if she didn't steal it, she could have gotten it from him in other ways. She's married to Evan Howel, but everyone's saying that she made Andrew Cliffords fall head over heels in love with her. She could have used so sort of sick seduction on your poor son, too."
"So, you're Mrs. Howel?" Mrs. yer asks. She looks at Avery as if seeing her for the first ti.
"I am," Avery replies.
"Oh, it's nice to et you, dear," Mrs. yer says.
Mrs. yer's eyes look terribly sad all of a sudden. She passes the ring to Avery and folds Avery's hand closed around it. Avery holds the ring nervously. Before she can ask Mrs. yer what she's doing, the woman squeezes her arm urgently.
"If you want to return this to our family, you need to give it back to Charles," Mrs. yer says. "It's the only way."
"Mrs. yer, what are you doing?" Fiona screeches. "She tricked Charles into giving her a ring, and then she broke it! She needs to be punished."
"I'm grateful that you called , Fiona," Mrs. yer says cooly. "But surely you have sothing better to do that mind another family's private business."
Avery can't believe her ears. It would be so easy for Mrs. yer to believe Fiona's story. Charles is the only one who can confirm the truth, and he's missing. Avery was sure that the won would drag her down to the police station.
Mrs. yer slips her sunglasses on and walks out without another word. Avery hesitates and then chases after her, calling her na.
Mrs. yer turns slowly and asks, "You want to know why, don't you?"
Avery nods.
"It's because Charles was in love with you," Mrs. yer says.
"No, no, that's impossible," Avery says, feeling her blood go cold. "Charles and I were just friends."
"Oh no, dear," Mrs. yer says. She smiles sadly and shakes her head. "He loved youa mother always knows. Of course, I should have put a stop to it, but well, Charles and I weren't really on speaking terms. He's a stubborn man, and he refused to forgive for an old misunderstanding.
"One day, he ca to I thought he was finally going to forgive , but all he wanted was the ring. I should have warned him. I should have refused to give it to him, but he seed so happy, and I just couldn't bring myself to hurt him like that."
Avery feels as if she's been punched in the stomach. She squeezes the ring so hard the sharp edges dig into her palms, and she shakes her head back and forth.
"I swear, I had no idea," she says. "If I'd known I would never have"
"I don't bla you," Mrs. yer says slowly. "But my son gave you this ring as a symbol of his love. If you want to return it, you need to do it properly. He won't give up unless you reject him yourself."
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