I was genuinely surprised by Ashton’s attitude today. Was he really changing? Was he finally not going to protect Genevieve?

Whether she liked it or not, they took her prints.

It didn’t take long for the results to come back. There were no traces of my fingerprints on the ruby—but Genevieve’s were all over it.

“It seems it was you all along, Miss,” the assistant said, a hard edge to his voice. He clearly didn’t appreciate being used.

Mr. Howard glared at Genevieve. “Thank goodness Mr. Laurent had the presence of mind to suggest this. Otherwise, we might all have been fooled. You stole the ruby and tried to frame Mrs. Laurent.”

“I… I didn’t! This is a setup! I don’t know how my prints got on there—maybe she planted them! You’ve got it all wrong!” Her excuses sounded weak and desperate. No one was buying it.

“Still making up stories? Pathetic,” Naomi said with a satisfied smirk.

“Mirabelle, I knew you wouldn’t do something like this,” Rhys said, stepping closer with a tender look.

“Mrs. Laurent, I sincerely apologize,” Mr. Howard addressed me formally in front of everyone.

“It’s alright. It was just a misunderstanding.” I was offended by the accusation, sure, but it wasn’t his fault, and there was no need to make a scene.

“Is there any form of compensation that would be acceptable to you?” The man seemed intent on making amends.

“That won’t be necessary.”

“That’s very gracious of you, Mrs. Laurent.” He turned to Ashton. “When I first heard you were married, I wondered what kind of woman could possibly be worthy. Now I see—she’s truly exceptional.” He was really laying it on thick.

I felt myself blush.

“Mr. Laurent, what can we do to make it up to Mrs. Laurent?” Howard asked earnestly.

“Sell me the ruby,” Ashton said. “She has an appreciation for fine jewelry.” I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

“That’s really not necessary,” I said quickly. Pieces like that were usually family heirlooms, not something you just sold off.

“Who knew he could be so sweet underneath all that ice?” Naomi whispered in my ear.

“Mr. Howard, I’ll offer one and a half billion for that ruby,” Rhys said quickly, stepping forward as soon as Ashton had spoken.

Howard glanced at him. “And why would you want to buy it?”

“To give to the woman I love. I want to make her the happiest woman in the world.” Rhys looked pointedly in my direction.

I couldn’t believe he’d say something like that in front of everyone—and with that look in his eyes. There was no mistaking who he meant.

Where would he even get that kind of money? Was he just trying to rile up Ashton?

Around us, the party guests began to murmur.

“I didn’t see that coming.”

“Who is this Mirabelle? What does she have that makes men like Rhys and Ashton throw around billions just because she likes jewelry?”

“All that money, just to impress a woman…”

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