x Husband 6
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“What are you doing here?”
Seeing Julissa, Reece got even more annoyed. “Don’t stir up trouble. Leave!”
Julissa ignored him. She stood up, brushed the dirt off her legs, and walked right up to Cristina. “Ms. Hurley, I really want this stone. I’ll offer 500,000 dollars. Is anyone gonna compete with me?”
“500,000 dollars?!”
Everyone gasped.
This crummy stone wasn’t even worth 5,000 dollars.
Only a nut would shell out 500,000 dollars for it!
“Ms. Rivera,” Cristina began politely, but her eyes were full of arrogance. “500,000 is a huge amount for you. Don’t act on a whim.”
Even though she was giving advice, she felt pretty good.
No matter what had happened between Reece and Julissa over the past three years, Julissa was now like a lapdog be- neath her feet.
Julissa wasn’t the type to look for trouble. She knew why Cristina didn’t like her. But she had got her limits. When someone pushed her too far, she was gonna get mad.
“Ms. Hurley, Mr. Hale, Emerald Street was made so that more regular folks could gamble on stones. Mr. Barrett wrote ‘Everyone has potential‘ at the entrance to inspire more people to get into this business.” Julissa looked serious, and her points were clear. “As for the stone I want to buy now, first, Ms. Hurley doesn’t want it anymore. Second, no one else is fighting me for it. So, why are you being so pushy? To show off your power as a local big shot? Or… ”
She paused, her eyes sharply turning to Cristina. “Ms. Hurley is too good for us. Anything she touches is off–limits to normal people, right?”
Her words were dripping with sarcasm. If they got online, they would cause a big fuss.
She wanted to label Cristina as a snobby capitalist.
“Are you out of your mind?!” Justin was fuming, and he rolled up his sleeves, ready to take a swing at Julissa.
But then there was a yelp of pain.
“Ahhh!”
Reece had stepped in front of Julissa, grabbing Justin’s wrist so hard that cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.
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Both Julissa and Cristina were taken aback.
But Cristina quickly got her emotions in check and came over with a smile to smooth things over.
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“Reece, it’s all a misunderstanding.” Then she turned to Julissa with a gentle look. “I don’t want your money to go to waste. Since you’re so set on it, I’ll sell it to you.”
She added softly, “However, it’s such an interesting stone. I wonder if you’d be willing to cut it open right here and show us what’s inside.”
She was trying to make a fool of Julissa.
Spending 500,000 dollars on a piece of marble would make her the laughingstock of the entire Emerald Street.
“Sure, no problem.”
Julissa glanced at Cristina.
She thought, “This schemer is about to shoot herself in the foot.”
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When the cutter cut into the stone for the first time, the inside was old and black, showing no signs of translucency. It was even more unsightly than marble.
When Justin saw it, he clicked his tongue. “500,000 dollars is down the drain.”
“Ms. Hurley tried to stop her, but she wouldn’t listen. She deserves it.”
“Who would buy such a lousy stone?”
“Exactly.”
Voices of discussion were everywhere. Cristina put on a look of regret as she said, “You must have had a hard time saving up 500,000 dollars. It’s a pity to lose it all at once. How about I make it up to you a bit?”
Kind and generous, she was the picture of perfection.
But Julissa knew what she was up to.
She was trying to stir up trouble again.
Sure enough, someone immediately voiced a doubt. “Such a young servant couldn’t have that much money. Who knows how she got it?”
- “Yeah! She might steal it. Mr. Diaz, looks like you’ve got a thief in your house.”
With just one sentence, Cristina had easily shifted everyone’s focus, and the questions and doubts kept pouring in.
“Let me be clear,” Julissa shrugged and suddenly said, “I don’t work for Mr. Diaz.”
As she spoke, she shifted her gaze to Cristina and deliberately slowed down. “I am…”
Hearing this, Cristina got tense right away.
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If Julissa revealed that she was Reece’s secret wife, her reputation and dignity would be ruined!
She was the only girl Reece had been waiting and guarding for. It couldn’t be anyone else!
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“I believe Ms. Rivera!” Cristina hurriedly said. “She isn’t Reece’s servant. She’s a relative of the housekeeper. It’s to- tally normal for someone so young and successful to have some money saved up.”
Julissa stared hard at Cristina.
She thought, “Genius and perfect goddess? Probably all just an act.”
She had only wanted to scare Cristina a bit. She wasn’t dumb enough to reveal her own identity and get herself into the spotlight.
“Got it!”
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, and everyone’s eyes turned to where the cutter was making a second cut into the “worthless stone.”
A deep color appeared.
Everyone who saw it sucked in their breath.
Cristina was stunned.
The whole place fell silent. No one dared to move with such high–quality jade right there. Julissa walked over calmly, picked up the stone, shone a light around it, and figured out a line.
“Cut it diagonally from here.”
“No!” Cristina was totally losing it. The stone she didn’t want turned out to be this good. It was like a slap in her face!
“You must be new to cutting stones. It’s beginner’s luck that you got such a good result. This stone is extraordinary. If you cut it like that, you’ll ruin it! Let me handle it for you.”
She couldn’t let this stone be cut into something worth a fortune!
Julissa calmly shook her head. “Thank you for your concern, but this is my stone.”
Then she looked up at Reece. “Mr. Diaz, I can make the call on this stone, right?”
Reece nodded, a flicker of some unknown emotion passing through his deep eyes.
”
He thought, “Julissa has something about her.”
With Reece’s approval, no matter how angry Cristina was, she had to swallow her frustration.
Following the line Julissa had drawn, the stone was sliced open in one go, and it showed the most complete and beau- tiful color.
“Whoa!” Justin, standing by, was stunned. “We haven’t seen a stone of this quality in decades!”
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Julissa held the stone in her hand and scanned the crowd. “Now, do you still think it’s beginner’s luck?”
A precise cut like that was something even seasoned veterans couldn’t pull off!
Those who had mocked Julissa earlier couldn’t muster a smile now.
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Today was supposed to be Cristina’s opening ceremony, but the spotlight had been stolen by Julissa. Fuming with anger, Cristina gritted her teeth. After trying to calm herself down a bit, she tugged at Reece’s sleeve with a look of grievance and helplessness.
“Reece.” She lowered her eyes. “Today is my opening ceremony. Ms. Rivera doesn’t like me, so… So she came to cause trouble, right?
“Did I do something wrong?”
Seeing Cristina keep blaming herself, Reece felt heartbroken. He gently pulled her into his arms.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
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Then, he walked over to Julissa, looked at her beaming face, and said in a cold tone, “The stone is impressive, truly priceless.
“But it can’t be turned into cash.”
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