“I gave your diamonds to Mum! They suit her better!”my husband secretly gifted my inheritance to his mother.
Emily opened the antique mahogany jewellery box, tracing her fingers over the velvet lining. The diamonds shimmered in the morning light, and her heart tightened with memories. Her grandmother had passed the set down to her a month before shed gonea ring with a large centre stone, delicate earrings, and a pendant on a slender chain.
Jamess voice carried down the hall.
“Em, are you ready? Theyve already called three times!”
“Almost there,” Emily replied, closing the box.
James appeared in the bedroom doorway. Three years of marriage had taught her to read his moods in the slightest shifts. Today, he was tense.
“Admiring Grans jewels again?” he asked, nodding at the box. “Might as well wear them for once.”
“Its just your colleagues birthday party,” Emily countered. “Hardly the place for diamonds.”
James shrugged and left. With one last glance at the heirlooms, she tucked the box safely into her dresser.
Two weeks later, her mother-in-law, Margaret, came for dinner. Emily was in the kitchen when she overheard her voice from the living room.
“Jamie, show me Emilys diamonds again,” Margaret urged. “Such beauty going to waste!”
Emily froze, gripping a plate as irritation flared inside her.
“Mum, theyre her inheritance,” James replied. “Shell wear them when she wants.”
“I know, I know,” Margaret sighed. “But Lindas daughter is getting married next month. Imagine the impression Id make wearing that set!”
Emily stepped into the living room, setting plates down with deliberate care.
“Margaret, Ive told you before,” she said calmly. “These pieces mean a lot to me.”
“Just for one evening!” Margaret clasped her hands pleadingly. “Ill be ever so careful!”
“Im sorry, but no,” Emily said firmly.
The air thickened. James ate silently, avoiding her gaze, while Margaret pushed her plate away with a pointed sigh.
Over the next month, Margaret visited more often, always finding a way to mention the diamonds.
“Emily, darling,” shed coo, “the university reunions coming upId love to make an impression in front of the dean!”
“Margaret, you have lovely pieces of your own,” Emily replied, clinging to patience.
“But nothing like these! Jamie, talk some sense into her!”
James, whod once stayed silent, began siding with his mother.
“Em, whats the harm?” hed say later. “Mums not asking forever.”
“James, these were Grans!” Emily couldnt believe he didnt understand. “She entrusted them to me!”
“Oh, come off it!” hed brush her off. “Theyre just stones. Youre upsetting Mum over nothing.”
She stared at him, barely recognising the man shed married.
One evening, after another visit from Margaret, the tension erupted.
“Your mother is unbearable!” Emily burst out the moment the door closed.
“Youre the unbearable one!” James snapped back. “Hoarding trinkets like a miser!”
Emily recoiled. Trinkets? Her beloved grandmothers treasures reduced to that? Her voice trembled.
“If thats what they are to you, were not even speaking the same language.”
“Mums right,” James shot back. “Youre selfish. Its always about you!”
Tears burned, but she clenched her fists. She wouldnt let him see how deep the cut went.
She marched to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
Margarets sixtieth birthday loomed. Emily agonised over a gift.
“Margaret, is there anything youd like?” she asked during a visit.
Margaret gave her a patronising smile. “I dont need a thing, dear.”
James ignored the exchange, buried in his phone.
“James, what should I get your mother?” she pressed that evening.
“How should I know?” he grumbled.
Emily bought an expensive silk scarf and French perfume, wrapping them beautifullythough dread lingered.
On the morning of the party, she dressed in emerald green, reaching for the jewellery box to complete the look. She opened itand froze.
The velvet slots were empty.
Her pulse spiked. She tore through the dresser, but the diamonds were gone. She stormed into the kitchen, where James sipped his tea calmly.
“James! Where are my diamonds?” Her voice cracked.
He took a slow sip. “I gave them to Mum. They suit her better.”
The room tilted. “What have you done?”
“What shouldve been done ages ago,” he said flatly. “Stop being so stingy!”
“They were my inheritance!” she screamed. “How dare you?!”
James stood, unfazed. “Mum deserves them more. At least shell wear them!”
“You had no right!” Her hands shook with fury. “Youre a thief!”
“Watch your mouth!” he barked. “Thats my mother!”
“And Im your wife! Or does that mean nothing?”
She grabbed her bag and fled, hailing a taxi to Margarets.
Margaret answered the door in a crimson dresswearing the diamonds.
“Emily! Youre early!”
Emilys vision blurred with rage. “Take them off.”
“Excuse me?”
She reached for the necklace. Margaret shrieked, swatting at her.
“Dont you dare! James gave them to me!”
“Theyre mine!” Emily unclasped the necklace, snatched the earrings, and took the ring from the hallway table.
“Ill call the police!” Margaret screeched.
“Go ahead,” Emily said coldly. “Explain how your son stole his wifes inheritance.”
James was waiting when she returned, furious.
“Youve lost your mind! Ruining Mums birthday!”
“Your mothers a thief,” Emily spat. “And so are you.”
He blocked her path. “She wanted themshe got them!”
Emily stared at him, her chest aching. Three years, and this was who hed become.
“And what am I to you? Nothing?”
“Youre selfish! Valuing rocks over family!”
The words sliced deeper than any knife.
“Youre a Mummys boy whod rob his wife for her!” she shouted. “Get out of my flat!”
He blinked, stunned.
“You cant throw me out!”
“Watch me. Its my flator were you planning to gift that to her too?”
A month later, the divorce was final. Emily sat in the quiet flat when Margaret called.
“Happy now? Jewels mattered more than your marriage!”
Emily laughed bitterly. “Youre the one who valued stones over your sons happiness. You made him steal from me.”
She hung up, exhaling. The jewellery box sat open on her dresser, the diamonds glinting softly. They were hers again.
Six months passed. The silence, once deafening, had become peaceful. The box now sat on her vanityno longer a source of pain, but a reminder of her grandmothers love.
One Saturday, her solicitor called. “Emily, theres a matter with your grandmothers will. A condition you should know about.”
Her stomach dropped. What now?
At his office, he handed her an envelope.
“Your grandmother was wise. She left this for you, to be opened only if the jewels caused serious strife. Given the divorce the condition was met.”
Emilys hands shook as she read her grandmothers elegant script:
*”My darling Emily, if youre reading this, my fears came true. These stones werent just for showthey were a test. Sell them, my love. Buy a flat, travel the world, invest in yourself. Turn them into a foundation for your happiness, where youre valued as you deserve. Love always, Gran.”*
Tears fell, but they were healing.
A month later, the diamonds were sold. She didnt buy a new flatbut she opened a small pottery studio, a dream shed buried for years.
One day, as she hung the studio sign, she saw him. James stood across the street, weary and aged. Their eyes metjust for a second.
She didnt smile. Didnt frown. Just held his gaze with quiet strength until he looked away and walked off.
Emily turned back to her studio, running a hand over the pottery wheel. The past was behind her. Her future, gifted by her grandmother, was hers aloneand it was bright.
