**Diary Entry**
*20th March*
“I gave your diamonds to Mum! They suit her better!” Thats what he saidmy own husband had secretly handed my grandmothers heirlooms over to his mother.
Olivia opened the antique mahogany jewellery box, running her fingers over the velvet lining. The diamonds shimmered in the morning light, tightening her chest with memories. Her grandmother had given her the set a month before passinga ring with a central stone, delicate earrings, a pendant on a fine chain.
Jamess voice carried down the hall. “Liv, are you ready? Theyve rung three times already!”
“Almost,” Olivia replied, shutting the box.
James appeared in the bedroom doorway. Three years of marriage had taught her to read his moods. Today, tension pinched his features. “Admiring Grannys jewels again?” He nodded at the box. “You could wear them sometime.”
“Its your colleagues birthday party,” she countered. “Hardly the place for diamonds.”
He shrugged and left. Olivia tucked the box carefully into her dresser.
Two weeks later, his mother, Margaret, came for dinner. Olivia was plating the meal when she overheard from the lounge: “James, darling, show me those diamonds again. Such beauty going to waste!”
Olivia froze, irritation simmering.
“Mum, theyre her inheritance,” James replied. “Shell wear them when she wants.”
“I understand,” Margaret sighed. “But Helens daughter is getting married next month. Imagine the impression Id make wearing those!”
Olivia entered, setting plates down deliberately. “Margaret, as Ive said, those pieces mean a great deal to me.”
“Just for one evening!” Margaret clasped her hands pleadingly.
“No.”
The meal passed in stiff silence.
Margarets visits grew frequent, each time circling back to the diamonds. “Olivia, dear,” shed simper, “the university galas coming up. Id look every inch the part!”
“You have lovely pieces of your own,” Olivia would reply, straining for patience.
James, once silent, began siding with his mother. “Liv, whats the harm? Shell give them back.”
“Theyre *my* grandmothers! Not bargaining chips!”
One evening, after Margaret left, James snapped. “Youre being selfish! Its just a bit of jewellery!”
Olivia recoiled. *Just jewellery?* Her throat burned, but she refused to cry in front of him.
Margarets sixtieth arrived. Olivia bought an expensive silk scarf and French perfume, though dread prickled her skin. That morning, she opened the jewellery boxand found it empty.
She stormed into the kitchen. “James! Where are my diamonds?”
He sipped his tea calmly. “I gave them to Mum. They suit her better.”
Olivias vision blurred. “You *stole* from me?”
“Dont be dramatic. She deserves them moreshell actually *wear* them.”
Olivia took a cab to Margarets. The woman answered the door, clad in the diamonds, preening in burgundy silk.
“Take them off,” Olivia demanded.
“Dont be absurd! Theyre a gift!”
Olivia unclasped the necklace, ignoring Margarets shrieks. “Call the police, then. Explain how your son stole my inheritance.”
At home, James raged. “Youve ruined everything!”
“And youve broken my trust.” She pointed to the door. “Get out.”
A month later, the divorce was final. The diamonds sat in their box on her dressing tableno longer hidden, but a reminder of strength.
Then, a letter arrived from her grandmothers solicitor. Inside, her grandmothers elegant script:
*My darling Liv,
If youre reading this, my fears came true. These diamonds were never meant to gather dustor worse, divide. Sell them. Buy a flat, travel, invest in yourself. Let them build a future where youre valued.
All my love,
Gran*
Olivia sold the diamonds, opening a pottery studio shed always dreamed of. Months later, she spotted James across the streethaunted, weary. Their eyes met. She didnt smile. Didnt frown. Just held his gaze until he looked away.
Turning back to her wheel, she pressed her palms into clay. The past was behind her. The future*her* futurewas finally hers.
**Lesson learned:** Trust is fragile. Some people will always choose blood over vows. But no one can steal your worthunless you let them.
