“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, her fingers tracing the velvet lining. The diamonds sparkled in the morning light, twisting her heart with memories. Her grandmother had given her the set a month before passing awaya ring with a large central stone, delicate earrings, and a pendant on a fine chain.
Williams voice carried in from the hallway.
“Em, are you ready? Theyve called three times already!”
“Nearly there,” Emily replied, shutting the box.
William appeared in the bedroom doorway. Three years of marriage had taught Emily to read his moods from the slightest cues. Today, he was tense.
“Admiring your grandmothers jewels again?” He nodded at the box. “You could wear them sometime, you know.”
“Its just your colleagues birthday party,” Emily countered. “Hardly worth diamonds.”
William shrugged and left. She glanced at the jewels one last time before tucking the box into her dresser.
Two weeks later, Williams mother, Margaret, came for dinner. Emily was in the kitchen when she heard her voice from the living room.
“Will, darling, show me Emilys diamonds again,” Margaret cooed. “Such beauty shouldnt sit unused!”
Emily froze, a plate in hand, irritation flaring inside her.
“Mum, theyre her inheritance from her grandmother,” William said. “Shell wear them when she wants.”
“Oh, I know,” Margaret sighed. “But Cynthia Whitmores daughter is getting married next month. Imagine the impression Id make in that set!”
Emily entered with deliberate calm, setting plates on the table.
“Margaret, Ive told you beforethose jewels mean a lot to me.”
“Just for one evening!” Margaret clasped her hands pleadingly. “Ill be ever so careful!”
“No,” Emily said firmly.
The air thickened at dinner. William ate silently, avoiding her gaze. Margaret pushed her plate away with a huff.
Over the next month, Margaret visited more often, always finding a way to mention the diamonds.
“Emily, darling,” shed simper, “the university reunion is coming up. The vice-chancellor will be thereId love to look my best!”
“You have lovely jewellery of your own,” Emily said through gritted teeth.
“Yes, but nothing like yours! Will, tell her!”
And William changed. Where hed once stayed silent, now he took his mothers side.
“Em, whats the harm?” hed say when they were alone. “Mum isnt asking forever.”
“Will, these were my grandmothers! She entrusted them to me!”
“Oh, come off it!” hed scoff. “Theyre just stones. Youre upsetting Mum over nothing.”
Emily stared at him, unrecognising. Where was the caring man shed married?
One evening, after another visit, they erupted into a full-blown row.
“Your mother is unbearable!” Emily snapped the moment the door closed.
“Youre the unbearable one!” William shot back. “Hoarding trinkets like a miser!”
Emily recoiled. Trinkets? Her beloved grandmothers inheritancecalled trinkets? Her voice shook.
“If thats how you see them, we dont speak the same language.”
“Mums right,” William sneered. “Youre selfish. Its always about you!”
Tears burned, but she clenched her fists, refusing to let him see her break. She turned and slammed the bedroom door behind her.
Margarets sixtieth birthday loomed. Emily agonised over a gift.
“Margaret, any suggestions?” she asked tentatively.
Margaret gave a patronising smile. “Oh, I need nothing, dear. I have everything.”
That evening, Emily pressed William. “What should I get your mother?”
“Dunno. Figure it out yourself.”
“But shes your mum!”
“So?” William snapped. “She said she doesnt want anything.”
Emily bought an expensive silk scarf and French perfume, wrapping them beautifully despite her dread.
On the morning of the party, she dressed in emerald green, reaching for her grandmothers less valuable emerald earrings. Opening the jewellery box, she froze. The velvet slots were empty. The diamonds were gone.
Her heart pounded as she tore through the dresser. Nothing. She stormed into the kitchen, where William sipped coffee calmly.
“Will! Where are my diamonds?”
He took a slow sip. “I gave them to Mum,” he said flatly. “They suit her better.”
Emily swayed, the room spinning. “What have you done?”
“What shouldve been done ages ago. Stop being greedy.”
“They were my inheritance! How dare you?”
William stood, unfazed. “Mum deserves them more. At least shell wear them!”
“It wasnt your choice to make! Youre both thieves!”
“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 in a burgundy dresswearing Emilys diamonds.
“Emily? Youre early!”
“Take them off,” Emily hissed.
“Excuse me?”
Emily reached for the necklace. Margaret shrieked, swatting her away.
“Dont you dare! Will gave them to me!”
“Theyre mine!” Emily unclasped the necklace, snatched the earrings and ring from the hallway table.
“Thief!” Margaret screeched. “Ill call the police!”
“Go ahead,” Emily said coldly. “Explain how your son stole my inheritance.”
“Youll regret this! Will will never forgive you!”
Emily turned at the door. “Dont expect me at the party. I never thought youd sink this low.”
The door slammed behind her.
At home, William screamed the moment she entered.
“Have you lost your mind? Ruining Mums birthday!”
“Your mothers a thief! And so are you!”
“How dare you? Mum wanted them, so she got them!”
Emily stared at him, her voice breaking. “What am I to you? Nothing?”
“Youre selfish! Valuing rocks over family!”
The words cut deeper than any knife. Rage steadied her.
“Get out of my flat, Mummys boy.”
William gaped. “You cant throw me out!”
“Watch me. The flats in my nameor were you planning to gift that to her too?”
A month later, the divorce was final. Emily sat alone when Margaret called.
“Happy now? Divorced over some stones!”
Emily laughed bitterly. “Youre the one who valued them over your sons happiness.”
She hung up, exhaling. The jewellery box sat open on her dresser, the diamonds glinting softly. Her grandmothers legacy remained. That was what mattered.
Six months passed. The silence, once oppressive, had become healing. The box now sat on her dressing tableno longer hidden, no longer a source of pain.
Then her solicitor called. There was a clause in her grandmothers willa letter to be read only if the jewels caused strife.
Trembling, Emily unfolded the note:
“My darling Emily, if youre reading this, my fears were justified. These diamonds were never mere ornamentsthey were a test. Sell them. Buy a flat, travel the world, invest in yourself. Turn them into a foundation for your future, where youre cherished as you deserve. Love always, Gran.”
Tears fell freelynot of grief, but gratitude. A month later, the diamonds were sold. She opened a pottery studio, a long-held dream.
One day, as she hung the studio sign, she saw himWilliam, older and weary, watching from across the street. Their eyes met briefly. She didnt smile, didnt frown. Just held his gaze with quiet strength until he looked away and walked off.
Emily stepped inside, running her hands over the clay. The past was behind her. Her future, gifted by her grandmother, was hers alone to shape. And it was beautiful.
