Nathan glared at Crystal. His hands clenched and unclenched at his side, “So,” he said, “you went to the bar last night to take pictures and gather hard evidence so that the court would grant you a divorce?”
“I-I--I…” Crystal stammered. She didn’t know what to say and or how to defend herself. Suddenly she could not even look at him. She lacked the courage to look up.
Nathan grabbed Crystal by the arm and yanked her out of bed. Then he pinched her chin, forcing her to look at him, and shouted into her face: “You want a divorce, don’t you?”
Without waiting for an answer, Nathan began to tear Crystal’s nightgown to pieces, and by the time she was naked, he was so angry that he was unable to appreciate the sight of her fully undressed. Nathan lean
Gigi smirked at Crystal and said, “I heard that your mother died and left her fortune to a fair-faced gigolo. And you got nothing. I can’t imagine what you are doing in a store like this. Did you have the money to buy an expensive thing here?” She looked at her friend and laughed. “I guess it’s free to look, right, Kendyll. I pity her,”Kendyll: “Well, if she’s looking for a Bargain Bin, she won’t find one here!”There were other women their age in the store, and they began to surround Crystal and Serenity. Their eyes were full of mischief, and they barely masked their mirthful laughter behind fingers held in front of their lips.Crystal was younger than these girls, but because she had skipped two grades, she had ended up in the same classes with them. But
Gigi put her black credit card into the machine, typed the password, and stepped aside so that everyone could see the balance: $23, 759, 114.64.The entire store went quiet. Gigi almost had as much as all of the other women combined, and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind who would be winning a free bag. And most of them were also certain about who would be paying for it: Crystal.Kendyll looked at Crystal with a shark-like Cheshire grin on her bitchy face. “You’re up,” she said. “Good luck beating that. Lol. If I were you, I’d run away. As ugly as you are, it’s not like you have much to lose anyway.” Crystal wanted to scratch out Kendyll’s eyes and force her to eat them.“Maybe you should run,” Serenity muttered. “The purse costs two million d
The clerk had seen the available balance on Crystal’s card, so when she returned to the counter with her bag, she didn’t dare neglect her, and she greeted her immediately. Crystal placed the bag on the counter. She read the sales clerk’s name on the tag on her shirt and said, “Excuse me, Claire. I am sorry to bother you, but can I return this?”Claire: “Is there anything wrong with this bag?”Crystal: “No. Is that a problem?”“I’m afraid,” Claire replied. “Because this bag is a limited-edition product, it is not refundable. Once someone purchases a luxury limited-edition, we won’t allow her to return it mostly if it has no damage.”Suddenly Eric Bush appeared. He looked at Claire an
Serenity looked shell-shocked, and Crystal could tell that her friend was struggling - and failing to find the right words. Then, suddenly, Serenity looked past Crystal, and her eyes lit up. She raised her hand and shouted, “Hey, Professor Davis, what a coincidence.”Her trick didn’t work on Crystal, though, whose eyes remained fixed on her face.Serenity sighed when she realized that her trick hadn’t worked. She frowned, lowered her head, and whispered, “I’m sorry, Crystal. You are right. I misspoke. I must admit that I am very impressed with the way you handled things, and who would have guessed that you have access to over three hundred million dollars. You are a rich woman. What are you going to buy? Are you still looking for pendants?”“I have no idea,” Crys
Joyce looked up at her mom and began to cry. “Mom,” she whined. “Look what that bitch did to me.”Jessica grabbed the cup and was about to aim it at Crystal’s head, but Todd caught her hand and gave her a dirty look. That scared her, and she took back her hand immediately.Todd turned to the lawyer and said, “There is something that I want to show you.” He took out a folded paper from his pocket and handed it to the lawyer.The lawyer glanced at Crystal and said, “Miss Smith, it looks like you signed an agreement with Mr. Henry one week ago. According to it, you gave up the shares of the Henry Group. Is that correct? Did you sign it voluntarily?”Crystal was shocked. It seemed as if Todd had somehow anticipated this d
Mike chuckled as he turned to Todd. “Oh,” he said, “you thought this was all about you. How charmingly embarrassing for you.”Todd’s face turned red from anger and embarrassment, but he said nothing. He had no plan to argue with Mike this time.Mike turned back to Crystal and continued: “On behalf of the President of Brilliant Group, I am here to present you with your Birthday present: 30% of the shares of Brilliant Group. This file contains the relevant paperwork. I have highlighted the places where you need to sign. I will give you enough time to read the document, Miss Smith,”Crystal looked like she had been struck by lightning. She looked at the yellow manila envelope and said, “There must be a mix-up. I don’t know the president of Brilliant Group, so
The Brilliant Group HQ was a majestically tall building. Some said it was glorious to behold, while others said that it stood out like a sore thumb- but Crystal had no opinion on the matter, one way or the other.Mike dropped Crystal off at the front door, and then he drove away. Once she was in the building, she went straight to Nathan’s office, and no one impeded her until she got there.“Miss Smith,” Andy shouted. “I’m sorry, but President Davis is in a meeting. Anyway, you can’t meet with him without an appointment.”Crystal was surprised to hear this, but she maintained her composure. She forced herself to smile and said, “Then I’ll make an appointment now. Please tell him about it.”“You should be ab
Crystal looked at Nathan, and in an attempt to change the subject, she said, “I can’t accept your gift. It is too much. If I accepted it, I wouldn’t know what to do with it. It would be a burden to me.”Nathan looked at her sadly and said, “I am sorry that my gift is a burden to you. It wasn’t intended to be. I was hoping that it would bring you joy….”“And it did!” Crystal exclaimed. “Please, don’t be sorry. I’m very grateful to you. If it weren’t for your gift, my family would have destroyed my self-esteem and ruined my Birthday. So thanks to you, it has been one of the best Birthdays ever!”“I am confused,” Nathan admitted. “Does that mean that you will accept the gift? You will still hold it and be one of