CHAPTER 181: CHAPTER 181: ETHAN WHITE

That smile left Serena Jennings momentarily stunned.

Serena also smiled.

As a result, when Serena smiled, Caleb Lockwood’s lips turned downward instead of upward.

Caleb didn’t particularly like Serena’s current smile.

He always felt that smile was a silent provocation against him.

His thin, cool lips parted slightly as Caleb took in the cold air from the banquet hall.

Ultimately, he said nothing to Serena.

"Synthetic gemstones are considered fakes in the high-end jewelry world; Miss Fulton was just being considerate by advising Her Majesty the Queen."

Claire Shaw wore the guise of a good Samaritan.

"Why don’t Her Majesty the Queen open the box, and I’ll help assess if the crown Serena made is genuine."

Upon hearing this, Queen Elizabeth looked at Serena, who nodded at her.

Thus, she opened the box and took out the crown inside.

The crown was dazzling and eye-catching, shining with myriad colors, attracting attention in the bustling banquet hall.

"Isn’t this Moissanite!"

Claire faked surprise, covering her mouth in mockery.

"Serena, aren’t you being a bit too dishonest? You couldn’t even bother with lab-grown diamonds but used Moissanite instead? This isn’t the way to deceive people you know!"

"See, Your Majesty! I told you Serena has ill intentions; she loves to sweet-talk her way into your trust first, then substitutes low-grade materials when delivering the product, passing fakes as real... If it weren’t for having such a professional jewelry designer like Miss Shaw here today, you might have been fooled into thinking she chose diamonds with top-tier fire!"

Cynthia naturally sided with Claire.

The two of them had planned that no matter what, they would ensure Serena loses her reputation and credibility in front of Queen Elizabeth tonight.

Caleb silently listened beside them, his two sharp brows furiously furrowed.

He was watching Serena.

The smile on Serena’s face didn’t waver in the slightest.

"Moissanite’s fire is akin to a CD; you don’t need a professional designer to identify it."

Serena spoke flippantly.

Cynthia’s expression changed, "That proves you look down on Her Majesty, thinking Her Majesty couldn’t see through your clumsy tricks."

Seeing that Serena had no rebuttal, Claire stepped forward, dramatically taking out a black bag from her purse.

"Your Majesty, the previous crown I designed didn’t satisfy you, so I went back, reflected deeply, and boldly created a new crown for you... Since Serena is so untrustworthy, why don’t you try mine?"

Ambition couldn’t be hidden in Claire’s eyes as she confidently drew the crown from the bag.

The attention of most guests was focused on them.

Under everyone’s gaze, the crown in Claire’s hand made a dominant appearance.

"Pfft!"

Serena was the first to burst into laughter.

Soon, whispers and chuckles began spreading among the guests.

"What’s this? Wholesale from a Yiwu commodity market?"

"Isn’t this glassware?"

"Is this a children’s crown? Frozen-themed?"

"Is this Miss Shaw trying to be funny?"

"Is this an impromptu clown act for the banquet?"

The guests whispered among themselves.

Claire’s face turned red as a beetroot, her eyes wide open, shocked as if she’d seen a ghost.

"No, no, this isn’t Ser... this isn’t the crown I made!"

Claire nearly stumbled over her words.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this...

Her heart thudded loudly.

This crown was clearly the genuine crown Serena made for Queen Elizabeth, swapped by Chantelle, yet it turned into a twenty-dollar children’s crown?

Could Chantelle be secretly sabotaging her?

Impossible!

Claire immediately dismissed the idea.

Chantelle and Megan Ross hadn’t been doing well at FY. They were hoping to join her company as executives, so there’s no reason they’d set her up; besides, they wouldn’t have the guts.

So...

Claire looked at Serena, holding her breath.

So Serena had put the fake crown in the box from the start!

Seeing Claire filled with disbelief, Serena calmly shook the Moissanite crown with her finger.

Chantelle and Megan’s intentional approach was too blatantly obvious.

Their methods were painfully clumsy.

Being scolded daily by their team leader at FY was a fact; Serena believed they truly wanted to go independent or switch jobs.

However, their first choice in going solo or switching wouldn’t be to partner with her.

No matter how you looked at it, Claire’s studio would be the most reasonable optimal choice.

Her use of FY’s workspace to make the crown for Queen Elizabeth had undoubtedly reached Claire’s ears.

After all, there’s no wall that doesn’t let air through, and there are only so many people in their field.

So Chantelle and Megan needed to use her as leverage to jump over to Claire’s studio.

After surmising their intentions, Serena deliberately concealed the design drafts and final product to prevent Chantelle and Megan from spying.

Leaving only one way to sabotage her—

Swapping her finished product.

Serena had placed the fake crown in the box in advance, pretending to be cautious.

Her time to push the cart was limited, coupled with Chantelle’s guilty conscience, making it unlikely they’d immediately find the crown in the box was fake.

The way things unfolded was exactly as Serena predicted.

"So this is Miss Shaw’s deep reflection result, fooling Her Majesty with a children’s crown worth twenty bucks!"

"Shut up!"

Claire’s face turned purple with rage.

This was in front of City A Municipal Government officials and business tycoons.

Caleb Lockwood was also present...

Claire had to maintain her image while thinking of ways to salvage it, but she was about to explode with anger!

"Your Moissanite crown is not much better than mine!"

Knew Claire would continue to shift the blame, Serena shrugged with a smile.

"When did I say this Moissanite crown was made for Queen Elizabeth?"

Just after Serena’s words fell, she glanced at the time on her phone.

"Miss Jennings, there’s a package for you."

The server at the banquet hall entrance called out.

"The timing is perfect."

Serena looked up, her smile bright and confident.

Caleb beside her was silent like air.

He realized...

Serena had changed.

Serena turned to walk toward the banquet hall entrance.

After only a few steps, she suddenly halted, standing as if nailed to the spot.

At the entrance, holding a package, the man wore an immaculate white suit, tailored and made of high-end fabric.

Clearly, he wasn’t an ordinary courier.

He walked toward Serena with elegance and grace.

The Moissanite crown in her hand fell to the ground with a clang.

Serena’s eyes blurred uncontrollably, tears streaming down like broken beads.

Her trembling lips opened in shock, joy, and fear, speaking a name that made her voice hoarse.

"...Ethan... White...?"