Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

"Absolutely."

"Alva, thank you so much!" Raven said as she took the gift and set it aside, planning to open it later.

Alva Cole, however, took the initiative to say, "It's a diamond bracelet. If you don't like the style, you can exchange it."

Abbey let out a low whistle, "Alva, always the generous one, gifting a diamond bracelet..."

Alva raised an eyebrow, a hint of pride in her expression, but she humbly replied, "Oh, come on, what haven't you seen before? This is nothing for you."

"We're all family here, but if you have something for the eldest, what about you and Madge?" Abbey half-joked, half-serious. "You're a bank manager, always dealing with big clients. You know how to handle these social niceties, don't you?"

Alva was not one to indulge her: "So, Abbey, you want a gift too?"

Abbey's smile remained, "Who wouldn't want a diamond bracelet? Madge, do you want one too?"

The conversation turned to Madge, with Abbey and Alva both looking her way.

Madge was at a loss for words.

"Come on, Madge, say something?"

At the critical moment, Norris spoke up, "She's not fond of jewelry. She never wears the pieces I give her."

Abbey thought to herself, what a bumpkin, not appreciating diamond jewelry.Text content © NôvelDrama.Org.

"I might not like it, but I do!" Abbey shamelessly pushed, "Alva, you wouldn't play favorites, would you?"

Alva replied, "Sure, Abbey, if you host a dinner for everyone at her place, there'll be plenty of gifts to go around, won't there?"

Abbey's face darkened. Her place was no mansion; it would be cramped with so many guests.

"If you think your house is too small, why not treat everyone to dinner at a nice restaurant?" Alva seemed to know what she was thinking and cut off any attempt at refusal before Abbey could speak. Abbey was speechless.

She thought, "Are you kidding me? Hosting a dinner for such a large group, needing at least two or three tables? And it couldn't be just any restaurant; it had to be somewhere decent, or it would be embarrassing. How much would that cost? Accepting a diamond bracelet might end up costing me more in the end."

"Oh, I was just joking, Alva took it seriously."

Alva just smirked.

"It's nearly two, are we eating or what?" Abbey changed the subject to ease the awkwardness.

But that comment clearly made things worse.

The matriarch's face darkened. "Didn't you eat breakfast? Are you that hungry?"

Abbey was speechless.

Roseanne observed everyone's reactions and glanced at the clock on the wall. At this point, anyone still making people wait was either genuinely busy or putting on airs...

Just then, a voice came from upstairs-

"Why isn't the meal ready?"

Maddox descended the stairs, dressed in a polo shirt paired with light-colored casual pants.

Though middle-aged and sporting a bit of a beer belly, his face still showed signs of his youthful handsomeness and charm.

Hearing this, Abbey secretly rolled her eyes, thinking: Without you, who dares to start eating?

Seeing her husband finally free,

Raven smiled and went up to him, explaining, "We planned to start, but everyone wanted to wait for you. It's the holiday season, after all, and it's more meaningful when everyone's together, so we..."

"Why wait for me?" Maddox frowned. "Letting everyone go hungry? What about mom and dad, at their age, can they handle being this hungry?"

"I..." Raven was at a loss for words, wanting to explain but not knowing how.

"Don't blame Arlene. We asked her to

wait. What kind of holiday is it if the

family

sn't all together?" The matriarch immediately defended her

in-law.

Alva nodded in agreement, "You can't blame Raven. Waiting a bit longer won't kill us."

Maddox's expression softened, "Alright, let's not delay any further. Let's eat."

At the dinner table-

Abbey's gaze settled on Roseanne. "Hey, Roseanne, didn't your boyfriend come back with you for the holidays?"