She handed me a jewelry box, her face glowing with an innocence that felt carefully rehearsed. I opened it to find a pair of earrings. They looked familiar, too familiar. So I raised my eyes at Diana. Then I noticed that aquamarine necklace draped around her neck.
I froze for a while. That wasn’t just any piece of jewelry. It had been custom-designed by Robert to match my preferences. It was a symbol of his supposed sincerity and commitment to our engagement. I remembered the designer mentioning some small leftover gemstones so they would be used to make earrings and they were thoughtful gifts.
At the moment, my supposed engagement necklace was on Diana's necklace, while "the leftover" earring was gifted to me.
I couldn’t suppress the bitter laugh that escaped my lips. When Robert's friends, who looked down on me saw this, one of them smirked in a low voice, "Look at her. Treasuring a pair of scraps like they’re something special.”
Across the room, a girl exclaimed in admiration. “Diana, your necklace is stunning!”