Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Affecting the Texture of Life

Mrs. Sheridan took the bank card from Jude, clutching it in her hand. Her words couldn’t hide her disdain.

"When Jessica’s baby is born, there will be so many expenses. Why do you have to waste so much money on her?"

"She’s just an orphan dragging an old woman around. She’s lucky enough to be marrying you."

Jude Sheridan’s eyes darkened, and he stared at Mrs. Sheridan without a word.

Mrs. Sheridan pressed her lips together, sheepishly putting the bank card in her pocket with a dismissive and resentful air.

"Fine, fine, fine. I’ll do as you say. I’ll call her this afternoon and take her to buy them!"

After Cecilia Croft signed the contract with Mr. Fisher of Apex Industries, they had lunch together.

Mr. Fisher had other plans for the afternoon, so Cecilia Croft returned to her place.

She was just about to message Assistant Scott to ask about the progress of the contract for the acquisition of her Vantage shares when a call came from Mrs. Sheridan.

Ever since Jude Sheridan had sent his mother back to their family home in the countryside, Mrs. Sheridan had held a grudge against her for it.

Over the years, regardless of whether it was for holidays or birthdays, she never replied to any of Cecilia Croft’s messages.

Even when Cecilia and Jude Sheridan had just decided to get married and told her the news, she’d merely said she wouldn’t lift a finger, telling them to arrange everything themselves; she would just show up for the feast.

’Strange for someone who hasn’t replied to her messages in years to suddenly take the initiative to call.’

Cecilia Croft answered the call, her voice maintaining a facade of detached courtesy.

"Auntie."

Mrs. Sheridan was not pleased with how Cecilia Croft addressed her, and her voice was laced with false sincerity.

"You and Jude are about to be married. It’s time you started calling me Mom."

Cecilia Croft replied, "The wedding hasn’t happened yet, and you haven’t given me the traditional gift for that. I think I’ll stick to ’Auntie’ for now."

Mrs. Sheridan was speechless.

Remembering what Jude Sheridan had instructed, she could only suppress her anger and not blow up.

"You and Jude are getting married in a few days. According to our customs, the groom’s family is supposed to buy the bride gold before the wedding. I happen to be in the city today with some free time, so let’s take this opportunity to get that taken care of."

Cecilia Croft could hear the ’through-gritted-teeth’ resentment in Mrs. Sheridan’s voice.

’Over the years, she had bought Mrs. Sheridan countless things but had never gotten anything in return.’

’Now, she was about to leave for good.’

’Might as well get what she could.’

"Great! I happen to be free today, too. Where are you? Shall I come pick you up?"

Mrs. Sheridan said, "I’m at a friend’s house right now. No need to pick me up. Let’s just meet at the mall."

It wasn’t as if Cecilia Croft actually wanted to pick her up, so she readily agreed. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

When she arrived at the mall, Mrs. Sheridan hadn’t arrived yet.

Cecilia Croft decided to just go into the jewelry store ahead of time and start picking out styles she liked.

By the time Mrs. Sheridan arrived, Cecilia Croft had already selected the five heaviest pieces of jewelry in the entire store.

When she heard the price, Mrs. Sheridan nearly fainted.

"Cecilia, you and Jude will be thinking about having children right after you’re married. The price of gold is so high right now. Wouldn’t it be better to just get something small as a token gesture and save the rest of the money for the future?"

Cecilia Croft replied, "All of this has to be displayed in front of the guests on the wedding day. Jude is very concerned with appearances. If we buy too little, or pieces that are too small, wouldn’t that be an embarrassment for him?"

Mrs. Sheridan was left speechless. She shot a look of displeasure at the salesclerk.

The sales associate immediately realized Mrs. Sheridan was the one paying and quickly put on a fawning smile.

"We also have gold-plated silver pieces. The style is identical to solid gold, and no one would ever be able to tell the difference. They’re perfect for keeping up appearances, and the price is much more affordable."

Mrs. Sheridan nodded eagerly. "Oh, yes, yes."

The sales associate said, "I’ll bring some out for you both to look at right now."

Cecilia Croft sat to one side with an indifferent expression, not voicing an opinion. Her gaze swept over, and it was only then that she noticed the jade bracelet on Mrs. Sheridan’s wrist.

The bracelet was identical to the one in the photo Jessica Keller had sent her; even the patterns in the stone were in the exact same places.

’It seemed Mrs. Sheridan had met Jessica Keller.’

’And Jessica had given this jade bracelet, which she knew was a fake, to Mrs. Sheridan.’

A sarcastic smirk touched her lips, but her eyes were ice-cold.

Mrs. Sheridan noticed Cecilia Croft staring at her bracelet and said in a showy tone,

"It’s beautiful, isn’t it? A friend’s daughter gave it to me. She was afraid I wouldn’t have any decent jewelry for your and Jude’s wedding, that I wouldn’t look presentable. Such a considerate child. If Jude weren’t already with you, I’d have tried to set them up."

Cecilia Croft gave a cold smile but didn’t say a word, not bothering to tell Mrs. Sheridan that the bracelet was a fake.

The associate brought out numerous gold-plated options for Mrs. Sheridan to choose from. The older woman selected them with great enthusiasm, even telling the clerk to wrap up her choices without consulting Cecilia Croft.

Cecilia Croft simply looked past Mrs. Sheridan to the clerk. "Please wrap up the pieces I selected earlier."

Mrs. Sheridan was furious. "Cecilia! It’s just for show! You..."

"Auntie, I know you hate spending money, so don’t worry," Cecilia Croft interrupted, cutting her off. "We won’t use yours. I’ll just have Jude Sheridan come over and pay for it." She then took out her phone, making a show of calling him.

Mrs. Sheridan was instantly put on the spot and grabbed Cecilia Croft’s hand.

"Fine! If you like them, I’ll buy them for you. Why bother Jude while he’s working?"

She reluctantly took out her phone to pay.

The associate took the bank card, quickly began wrapping the pieces Cecilia Croft had selected, and asked offhandedly,

"What about those gold-plated pieces from before...?"

Mrs. Sheridan snapped, "We don’t need them."

The associate nodded and removed the already packaged gold-plated items.

Mrs. Sheridan hesitated, then picked up one of the gold-plated bracelets. "Wrap this one for me separately."

’Cecilia Croft knew what Mrs. Sheridan was up to but didn’t call her out on it.’

’Perfect. One gives a fake jade bracelet, the other gives a fake gold one.’

’Tit for tat.’

Cecilia Croft accepted her gold jewelry from the associate and left the store with Mrs. Sheridan.

"Auntie, do you need a ride back to your friend’s place?"

Although Mrs. Sheridan had no intention of going to Cecilia’s home, she was still irritated by the offer.

"You really don’t want me coming to stay at your villa, do you?"

Cecilia Croft just smiled, offering no explanation.

Mrs. Sheridan’s face fell. "Even if you begged me to stay, I wouldn’t want to!"

With that, she stormed off.

Cecilia Croft didn’t try to stop her. She just got in her car and drove back to her villa.

That evening, she received a text from Jessica Keller.

[It must be my lucky day thanks to you, Cecilia. Auntie brought me back a gold bracelet, too. I weighed it, and it’s a full 100 grams! Thanks, sis.]

The message made Cecilia Croft laugh with exasperation.

’Jude Sheridan really is his mother’s son. Their gift-giving styles are identical.’

’Jessica Keller really was easy to please. A fake jade bracelet and a fake gold bracelet were enough to send her over the moon, making her rush to show off.’

’If she didn’t reply, wouldn’t that just spoil all of Jessica’s fun?’

Cecilia Croft immediately tapped out a reply.

[Don’t mention it. But you should really raise your standards. After all, settling for the "budget version" in any form will lower the quality of your life.]