Chapter 553

Chapter 553:
Jazlyn wasn’t letting it go. “Why should I? My daughter-in-law likes this one. It suits her! We’re buying it!”
Stella and Sharon, watching this mess unfold, couldn’t help but laugh.
Doreen whipped around and snapped, “What’s so funny? We’re the customers here! Don’t tell me you’re in on some scam with this guy to cheat people!”
Stella honestly wanted to crack open Doreen’s head and figure out what kind of nonsense was spinning in there. Where did she even get this stuff?
Meanwhile, the growing crowd had started whispering. A few clueless bystanders were getting riled up, murmuring that Stella and the vendor might be rigging prices or running some kind of shady deal.
Stella had officially had enough.
She calmly stepped forward, pointed at the necklace Doreen was obsessed with, and said, “This is the one you’re set on, right?”
Doreen gave a small, uneasy nod.
Stella reached over and took the necklace off the mannequin. “This isn’t even made of pearls,” she said, holding it up. “It’s just a plastic sample.”
There was a beat of silence as everyone around them leaned in, surprised. A few people moved closer, suddenly curious.
The shop owner looked like he was about to cry from relief. “Exactly! That’s why I was trying to get you to pick something else. I didn’t mean to offend anyone.”
The crowd, who’d clearly been hoping for some drama, looked disappointed. Realizing there wasn’t going to be a scandal after all, they started to wander off, mumbling that it had just been a misunderstanding.
Stella placed the sample back where it belonged and turned to Doreen with a raised brow. “You seriously couldn’t tell plastic from pearls?”
She could understand someone not knowing the finer types of pearls, but plastic? That one was hard to miss.
Doreen’s cheeks went bright red. She didn’t meet Stella’s gaze as she mumbled, “The lights in here were kind of blinding, and… well, we don’t exactly study pearls at school.”
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Sharon, standing a few steps away, let out a teasing laugh. “What do you study then? Boys?”
Stella couldn’t help but smile, knowing full well Sharon was being cheeky on purpose.
Doreen looked down at her fingers, twisting them nervously. She seemed small all of a sudden, visibly embarrassed, her voice completely gone. Jazlyn, on the other hand, looked like she’d just swallowed something bitter. She had walked in feeling smug, thinking Doreen could finally outshine Stella, but now she just felt humiliated. Doreen had totally flopped.
She shot Doreen a sharp glare before turning on her heel, not bothering to hide her irritation.
Realizing she’d messed up, Doreen rushed after her. “Mrs. Walsh, I’m really sorry—I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
Her voice trembled as she wiped her eyes, then she turned back to Stella. “You’re right. I didn’t grow up around luxury. I know you probably look down on me for that. I just… I haven’t had much experience.”
But Stella wasn’t moved by Doreen’s words. It wasn’t about money or background. She had only spoken up because the vendor had been unfairly blamed. The man was just trying to stop someone from unknowingly buying a fake item, yet Jazlyn had twisted it to make him seem rude to customers without money.
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