Chapter 512
So Stupid It's Beyond Cure
The more Mrs. Monroe looked, the more pleased she was. As she reached out to touch it, she kept exclaiming, "Just look at how beautiful this necklace is. Claire Bennett was talking nonsense. I'm wearing it and nothing's wrong at all!"
Everyone turned to look at Mrs. Monroe. Sure enough, she showed no sign of any allergic reaction while wearing the necklace.
Seeing this, Hazel Lewis finally relaxed completely.
Last night, she had hastily looked into the guest list for the banquet to see whether there was any angle she could use. After learning that Mrs. Monroe was a close relative of Old Madam Sterling, she had the company's designers rush to make a piece of jewelry for her that supposedly wouldn't cause allergies.
The goal was to get close to Mrs. Monroe and successfully build a good reputation for herself, which would also help her rise smoothly in status.
In fact, when Claire Bennett had just said that Mrs. Monroe would have an allergic reaction from wearing that necklace, Hazel hadn't been one hundred percent sure whether that would happen or not. But the words were already out of her mouth, so she could only keep up appearances and not let herself become a laughingstock.
Now that she saw there was nothing wrong with Mrs. Monroe, she could finally set her mind at ease.
The people around them were good at sucking up too, and immediately began showering her with praise.
"What a beautiful necklace! Miss Lewis is really generous. She came to the birthday banquet and even brought us gifts. Just look at the luster of the gems on this necklace—you can tell it's worth a fortune."
"Mrs. Monroe, wearing this necklace makes you look even more beautiful."
"Exactly. For someone with a metal allergy, it's not easy to find jewelry that's suitable to wear."
"I've remembered the Nia brand. I'll go buy some in a few days!"
Hazel Lewis was all smiles from the praise. She shot Claire Bennett a provocative look.
Now that Claire Bennett had embarrassed herself in front of Old Madam Sterling and Mrs. Monroe, she probably had no face left to stay here, right?
Hah. Claire Bennett only knew a little design work and had deliberately said those things. Who would have thought her necklace really was anti-allergy? She'd only ended up dropping a rock on her own foot—stupid beyond cure!
Just then, someone suddenly let out a cry of alarm...
Everyone looked toward the source of the sound.
They saw that the skin on Mrs. Monroe's neck had begun to turn red. That was a sign of an allergic reaction!
Seeing everyone staring at her in shock, Mrs. Monroe still didn't know what had happened. She took out a mirror and looked at herself, only to discover that the area around her neck had already started reddening, and there was even a faint itch!
"Ah!!" she shrieked in terror, immediately yanking the necklace off her neck and flinging it aside as if it were some kind of poisonous snake.
Even though she had already removed the necklace, red rashes still began appearing rapidly on Mrs. Monroe's body. They soon spread across her entire neck, and once the rash was exposed to the air, it began to itch fiercely.
A commotion instantly broke out all around.
No one had expected Mrs. Monroe to have an allergic reaction while wearing Hazel Lewis's necklace. Even Hazel Lewis herself stood frozen in place, not knowing what to do.
Unable to resist, Mrs. Monroe started scratching again, and very quickly made herself look a mess, her skin covered in streak after streak of bloody scratch marks.
At that moment, the entire room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop!
Mrs. Monroe's delighted expression from just moments ago was still vivid in everyone's minds. No one had expected that she would actually have an allergic reaction.
Everyone couldn't help recalling what Claire Bennett had said just now.
She had said that Mrs. Monroe would have an allergic reaction from wearing this necklace, but at the time Mrs. Monroe hadn't taken it seriously at all. She had even mocked Claire Bennett, asking what she knew. Who would have thought she'd get slapped in the face so hard now?
The other people present who had accepted jewelry from Hazel Lewis saw what had happened to Mrs. Monroe. Even if they themselves showed no signs of an allergic reaction, they didn't dare keep holding those pieces anymore and all threw them aside.
"Oh my God, that's terrifying. What material is this necklace made of exactly? How could it cause such a severe allergic reaction?"
"Could it be some kind of fake material?"
"I said Hazel Lewis was being awfully generous giving these away. These necklaces all look expensive, but now it seems they're probably worthless! We were all fooled."
"What a joke! Hazel Lewis was just saying they were made from some kind of hypoallergenic material."
...
All the murmuring around her was mocking Hazel Lewis, making her face go a few shades paler.
Mrs. Monroe's condition was getting worse and worse. If she didn't receive treatment in time, it looked like her life might be in danger.
An allergic reaction could be either minor or major; in serious cases, it could kill someone.
Old Madam Sterling had been through plenty in her life. Seeing Mrs. Monroe in this condition, she immediately ordered someone to send her to the hospital.
Very quickly, Mrs. Monroe was taken away.
Although Mrs. Monroe had already left, Hazel Lewis was still at the banquet. This incident had been caused by her; she was the one who started it. Now that Mrs. Monroe had ended up like this, Hazel could not evade responsibility.
How could Mrs. Monroe have had an allergic reaction?
The designers had clearly told her that this necklace was made of a special material and that it was impossible for it to cause allergies.
Had she been deceived?
As things stood, Mrs. Monroe really had suffered an allergic reaction. Everyone believed the problem was with her necklace, and they were even saying it was fake. Even if she jumped into the Yellow River, she still wouldn't be able to wash herself clean of this.
Especially since the people around her had gone from trying to get close to her just moments ago to now looking at her as if she were some kind of monster, while continuing to denounce her nonstop.
"That's disgusting. She actually brought out fake goods to hurt people."
"Exactly. A woman like this is just too vicious."
"If I remember right, Claire Bennett seemed to be in the middle of offering birthday wishes just now. Then Hazel Lewis suddenly jumped out to present gifts. That's some scheming right there."