Chapter 10 A Bride's Bargain
When Mason Reed pushed open the door, he caught Clara Bennett stepping out of the kitchen with two plates of food.
Her face, clouded with worry moments before, lit up with a smile the instant she saw him.
Though it looked a little forced.
Mason Reed washed his hands and sat at the table. After a day of training, his stomach growled, and the steaming meal looked tempting enough to dig into.
He picked up his bowl and started eating heartily, while Clara Bennett sat across from him, still as a statue.
"Something wrong?" He glanced up at her.
Clara Bennett hesitated, then shook her head lightly.
"Then eat," Mason Reed said, dropping a piece of meat onto her plate. "Staring at it won't fill you up."
Clara Bennett lowered her head, pressing her lips together, but she had no appetite. Just then, her phone pinged with a message from her brother, Ethan Young: "Sis, when are we getting Mom's medical funds? If it's not soon, the doctors will stop her meds!"
Her chest tightened, her eyes darting instinctively toward the bedroom's low cabinet drawer.
The gold jewelry Mason Reed had given her was stashed there—especially that gold-and-jade bracelet. It had to be worth something substantial...
"What's got you zoned out?" A deep voice snapped her back to reality.
Clara Bennett jolted, meeting Mason Reed's piercing gaze, a shiver running through her. There was something about his presence—an intensity that always made her feel small when their eyes locked.
"Nothing..." she murmured.
Mason Reed set down his bowl and chopsticks, his look carrying a hint of something unspoken. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
Clara Bennett shook her head quickly.
He didn't press. After watching her for a moment, he gave a faint smile and resumed eating.
If she wasn't ready to talk, he wouldn't push. She'd crack eventually.
That night, Clara Bennett's mind was a mess. She reread Ethan's message over and over, brainstorming ways to scrape together money, but nothing would help fast enough.
Going back to the Bennetts for the dowry was out of the question. The only option left was...
She quietly shut the bedroom door, slid open the drawer, and pulled out the carved wooden box. The jewelry inside glinted under the moonlight. She picked up the bracelet, hesitating for a long while before wrapping it carefully and slipping it into her pocket.
"Mm, it's really quite nice," the jewelry shop assistant nodded with a smile. "Miss, this bracelet might be an older style, but it's a classic. The quality—both the gold and the jade—is top-notch. You don't see craftsmanship like this much anymore."
"How much could it fetch?" Clara Bennett asked, her eyes hopeful.
"You mean to pawn it, right?" The assistant grinned, leading her to a small back room.
The table there held a few professional tools. The assistant asked her to wait and stepped out.
Clara Bennett sat, glancing around. The shop was far more luxurious than she'd imagined.
She hadn't held high hopes coming here. The bracelet looked aged, and given Mason Reed's situation, she'd doubted it could be anything extravagant.
Yet here she was, still in the game.
She held the bracelet, weighing it in her hands, then stood and paced the room, torn.
Unbeknownst to her, every nervous twitch was being watched through a security feed.
"Young Master White, this is an heirloom from the Huo family... Should we bring her in now?"
Behind a wide desk, a pair of eyes fixed on the computer screen. A handsome face smirked with a playful edge. Leaning back, he propped his long legs on the desk, squinting as he grinned. "No rush. Let's see what happens."
"But what if she stole it?"
"Unlikely," Jasper White said, spinning a lighter in his hand before lighting a cigarette. "Word is, Third Brother got hitched. This must be his little wife. Hah—entrusting something this valuable to her... Third Brother never guessed she'd bring it here to pawn!"
"Young Master White, what's our next move?"
"Tell the clerk to quote her a price. Start with a million."
Clara Bennett waited anxiously until the assistant returned, beaming. "Miss, after our expert appraisal, this bracelet can easily fetch a million in pawn value."
A buzz filled Clara Bennett's ears. She stood stunned for a full ten seconds.
A million?
She clutched the bracelet tighter, her delicate face creasing with conflict.
That figure blew her expectations out of the water. She'd had no idea the jewelry was that valuable!
With a million, her mother's current medical bills would be covered—and then some. She could even send Ethan to a better school...
But this was Mason Reed's wedding gift to her.
Her heart wavered, a frown tugging at her brow.
In that moment, she pictured Mason Reed handing her the box.
"This is everything I've got. It's yours to manage this home."
She bit her lip, guilt washing over her. He'd given her all he had with such trust—how could she repay that by pawning it off?
"Miss, are you unhappy with the price?" The assistant offered a cautious smile. "We can negotiate. Here, let me show you some of our pawn records for reference—"
"I'm not selling!" Clara Bennett shot up, swiftly tucking the bracelet back into her bag.
"Uh..."
Before the assistant could react, she bolted out of the shop, her slim figure vanishing into the crowded street.
"Well, well, she didn't sell?" A teasing voice drifted from the upstairs office.
The assistant spun around, bowing ninety degrees. "Young Master White!"
The man narrowed his eyes, his striking face alight with mischief. He sank into a sofa, pulling out his phone with a laugh. "Third Brother, your little wife just tried to pawn your family heirloom at my place. Did you know?"