Chapter 137 - 135: Who Is This Auntie?
With that, the woman looked at Saul Thorne with a contemptuous smirk and raised an eyebrow. "Isn’t that right, Saul Thorne?"
"If you don’t know the difference between a detective and a beat cop, you can look it up online. You don’t need to parade your ignorance in front of me."
"You..." The woman’s face flushed red with shame and anger as she glared at him.
But Saul Thorne gave her no reaction, his expression remaining cold and stern. "In the future, if you see me, don’t bother coming over to say hello. We have nothing to talk about. My girlfriend will be here any second, so you can leave."
"Girlfriend?" The woman scoffed, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "A man like you can find a girlfriend?"
The words had barely left her mouth when a delicate, fair forearm slipped into the crook of Saul Thorne’s arm.
Cecilia Sterling pressed close to Saul Thorne’s side, a deceptively innocent smile on her face as she looked at the woman. "And who is this, ma’am?"
The woman’s eyes instantly bulged. "Who are you calling ma’am?!"
"You, of course! Are you not?" Cecilia Sterling feigned ignorance, blinking before offering an apology. "Oh, I’m so sorry. Your makeup is so heavy, I couldn’t quite make out your age. I just saw that Dior bag in your hand looks like a model from a few years back, so I took a wild guess."
The woman’s face went from red to white with rage, but before she could erupt, Cecilia Sterling seemed to spot something incredible. Her eyes fixed on the bracelet on the woman’s wrist as she gasped, "Wow, is that a limited-edition Cartier bracelet?"
’She hadn’t expected Cecilia Sterling to have such a sharp eye, recognizing the priceless bracelet on her wrist at a single glance.’
The woman’s anger vanished, replaced by a smug look. "You’ve got a good eye. That’s right. This is one of only two thousand limited-edition bracelets in the world. My boyfriend got it for me."
As she spoke, her gaze remained fixed on Saul Thorne, trying to catch any hint of a crack in his composure.
But Saul Thorne’s expression remained indifferent; he showed no reaction at all.
The woman’s boyfriend, however, seized the chance to look arrogant. Yet he couldn’t hide the stunned admiration in his eyes as he looked at Cecilia Sterling. She was fair-skinned and gorgeous, with an air that was both innocent and alluring, bright and radiant—a stark contrast to his own girlfriend, who was caked in makeup just to appear sexy.
Any normal man would find it hard not to stare.
"What a coincidence, ma’am. I have the same one," Cecilia Sterling said, flashing the bracelet on her own wrist with a little shake. She added quizzically, "But why is there a slight color difference between yours and mine? Yours isn’t a fake, is it?"
The woman’s expression tightened at her words, and she blurted out, "How could it be? My boyfriend brought this back from Vesteria for me!"
But there was indeed a noticeable color difference between the two bracelets. The one on Cecilia Sterling’s wrist was a bright silver, while the other woman’s was distinctly duller, almost reddish in hue.
The woman, having no doubts about her own bracelet, sneered at Cecilia Sterling. "Yours is the fake one, isn’t it? Don’t tell me Saul Thorne gave it to you?"
"Figures. A stingy man like him would never be willing to spend so much on an expensive gift."
"You’ve got that wrong. I don’t need a man to buy me the things I like." Cecilia Sterling smiled sweetly, her eyes sweeping over the woman with disdain before she continued, "Then again, some people think they’ve landed a big spender, when in reality, the designer gifts they get are all fakes."
"I bought this bracelet last month at a physical flagship store. As for which one is real and which is fake, you can find out easily enough if you just put in a little effort to check."
"I’m not trying to make fun of you, really. I just hate to see you so pleased with yourself, wearing a fake all day. Who knows how many people with a discerning eye have spotted it and laughed at you behind your back. It’s quite pitiful, when you think about it."
With that, Cecilia Sterling curved her lips into a radiant smile. "You’re welcome. We’ll be on our way now."
Then, taking Saul Thorne’s arm, she gracefully walked past the ashen-faced woman and left without a single look back.
The woman trembled with rage. She had meant to provoke Saul Thorne, but instead, she had been utterly humiliated by his new girlfriend.
"Honey, don’t listen to her! How could I possibly buy you a fake?"
The man beside her felt a pang of guilt, but he kept up a brave front and tried to argue his way out of it.
The woman spun around and snapped angrily, "Didn’t you say they were out of stock here, and that’s why you bought it in Vesteria? Then how did she manage to buy one at a flagship store? I’ll know if it’s fake the moment I have it checked!"
"Oh, come on! Would I lie to you over a bracelet? Hers is the fake! She’s just trying to get a rise out of you!"
The man started to panic. This wasn’t something that could stand up to scrutiny. He had chosen to buy a fake of this particular bracelet precisely because the authentic version was a global limited edition. The small number of genuine pieces greatly reduced the chance of running into someone with the real thing.
Who would have thought that, of all the rotten luck, they’d run into an authentic one today.
The woman was vain, but she wasn’t stupid. She and her boyfriend ended up in a massive, heated argument about the bracelet right there in the mall.
Meanwhile, Cecilia Sterling and Saul Thorne had already entered the restaurant.
After they were seated, Saul Thorne looked at Cecilia Sterling with a tenderness and affection he had never shown before. He knew that Cecilia wasn’t usually so harsh with people; she had only acted that way to stand up for him.
He didn’t show much on his face, but inwardly, he was overjoyed.
Cecilia Sterling looked up, meeting his intense gaze, but she just let out a light, teasing scoff. "You used to have terrible taste, didn’t you?"
In truth, the woman wasn’t bad-looking. Cecilia had only called her "ma’am" and commented on her heavy makeup to deliberately get under her skin.
’But the woman was clearly malicious. As a police officer, Saul’s intuition has to be sharper than the average person’s. Could he really not have seen through her?’
Saul Thorne explained, "I fell for it at first, but I saw through her pretty quickly. That’s why I broke up with her decisively."
After he spoke, he hesitated for a moment before looking at Cecilia Sterling and asking, "Babe, why do you never ask about my personal life? It seems like you’ve never been curious."
"What do you mean?"
"For instance, I’m just an ordinary police captain, but I always take you to expensive restaurants for our dates. Haven’t you ever wondered about my income?" Saul Thorne asked bluntly. He was genuinely curious.
"And my family situation, my background... don’t you want to know about any of that?"
’In his past relationships, other women had always found subtle ways to probe for this information, but Cecilia Sterling had never asked.’
Cecilia Sterling just laughed. "You’re contradicting yourself, aren’t you? If I actually did ask, you’d be unhappy about it."
Then Cecilia explained, "If you want to tell me, you’ll tell me. If you don’t, I don’t mind. I’m in a relationship with you, not your family background. Besides, dating is very simple in my eyes. It’s just two people who are attracted to each other. As long as we connect emotionally and there’s physical chemistry, that’s enough."
"You don’t have to lay out all your details for me. Whether we’re on a date at a fancy restaurant or a cheap little diner, I’m not picky. As long as it’s within your budget, that’s all that matters."
"Besides, I can pay, too. As long as we’re happy together, that’s all that matters!"
Yet, the more straightforward and open Cecilia was, the more uneasy Saul Thorne felt. After a moment of thought, he finally said, "I’m just worried you’ll resent me for not explaining anything."
"Don’t worry about it. My own situation is complicated, too, and I haven’t exactly told you everything, have I?"