Chapter 52

Janet was startled and confused. With the bottle of water in her other hand, she took a sip nonchalantly and shook her head. “No. It’s right there on my finger! Or are you blind?”

She looked at him playfully.

Ethan, on the other hand, was in no mood to joke. His expression darkened and his voice lowered. “Let me see.”

Unlike Janet, he was very familiar with the ring. He knew something was wrong with it at just a glance.

As she took off the ring, Janet muttered to herself, “Weird.”

Ethan pressed his fingers against his temple and picked up the ring to have a closer look. His expression grew even more serious. “The back of the ring I gave you is engraved with my mother’s initials, but this ring has no such engravings.”

Ethan knew she was short on money, but he didn’t expect her to sell the ring just like that.

He wouldn’t have minded if it were any other ring, but this ring in particular was left by his mother.

“Is this a fake?!” Janet’s eyes went wide in shock.

She took the ring back from him and inspected it. Sure enough, its inner wall was very smooth. There wasn’t a sign of any engraving on it.

Ethan shook his head and frowned deeply. “It’s not a fake—at least, not exactly. The gem and the platinum are real, and the style is similar to the ring I gave you. It’s difficult for ordinary people to distinguish the difference between the two. But this is just a counterfeit, and it was made to copy the original one. The one I gave you is a quite famous antique. It was passed down from my mother’s ancestors. Its value is worth ten times more than this one.

Ethan didn’t know much about jewelry before, but he had made a few friends in the industry. They told him that some people sold fakes and played tricks like this.

Janet felt all the color drain from her face. Her hands and feet went cold, as though someone had stabbed her with an ice pick.

The manager of the second-hand shop must’ve realized instantly that her ring was a priceless antique.

She was so greedy that she lied to Janet through her teeth about changing the ring size. In fact, she had replaced the real ring with a measly imitation.

Seeing that Janet was at a loss for words, Ethan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Why’re you wearing a fake? Did you sell the real ring and find a cheap replacement so I wouldn’t notice?”

Ethan looked incredibly disappointed.

Only then did Janet realize he was actually accusing her.

She felt wronged. Her heart felt tied up in knots. “Are you accusing me of exchanging your mother’s valuables for money?”

Ethan closed his eyes, feeling a little annoyed.

What else should he think?

His wife seemed to always need more money. According to his investigation of her, she used to like luxuries.

Ethan had been in the business world for so many years, and he had been exposed to all kinds of people.

No one could keep up with this sort of lifestyle forever. Moreover, “Jocelyn” used to live such a luxurious life, and it was only a matter of time for her to show her true colors.

When Ethan didn’t say anything, Janet’s heart sank.

“You didn’t even ask me what happened. You just assumed that I sold the ring!” Clenching the water bottle in her hand, Janet sneered unhappily.

He probably thought she was crazy. Yet she held onto a small hope that Ethan would believe her.

But now that she thought about it, she recalled that they were just a nominal couple, no different from strangers. How could they really trust each other?

“Ethan, no matter how much money I need, I would never do such a thing. That ring was an heirloom from your mother. I promise I’ll get the real one back.”

Taking the counterfeit from Ethan’s hand, Janet turned around and was about to leave. Suddenly, something occurred to her. She pursed her lips and turned to look at the man behind her.

“And even if I can’t find it, I’ll find a way to pay you back, no matter how much it costs.”