CHAPTER 176: CHAPTER 176: HE IS MY EX-HUSBAND

"What do you know?!"

Claire turned her head and shouted at Serena, her voice sounding hoarse.

"Oh, I get it... It’s all your fault!"

Suddenly, she angrily pointed at Serena.

"It must have been your violent crab cracking just now that caused the diamond to fall off the crown, it’s all your fault, and you have to pay for this loss!"

Claire’s argument seemed convincing, but everyone present knew she was evading responsibility.

No matter how much shaking happened when Serena was cracking the crab, it wouldn’t have affected the crown in Queen Elizabeth’s hands.

Queen Elizabeth looked at the flustered and exasperated Claire with disappointment in her eyes.

As the queen, she wouldn’t trouble an innocent waitress.

"Let it go..."

"Fine, I’ll pay."

Serena suddenly agreed.

Both Queen Elizabeth and Cynthia Fulton were taken aback.

Claire sneered, "You? How are you going to pay? With your three-thousand-a-month salary?"

After she said it off the cuff, Claire felt a bit regretful; she shouldn’t have been so harsh.

But since Caleb Lockwood wasn’t in the room at the moment, it didn’t really matter.

"I can fix it."

Serena’s words surprised none more than Queen Elizabeth.

"You can repair jewelry? But aren’t you a chef?"

Serena couldn’t help but laugh.

Just for cracking a crab, she’s considered a chef.

"Chef is my part-time job, my main occupation is jewelry design."

"What a joke!"

Claire widened her eyes.

She couldn’t tolerate Serena taking away her project.

"This is the queen’s crown, do you think just anyone can touch it?!"

Claire’s petty intentions were clear to Serena.

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Indeed! Anyone could make a diamond fall from the queen’s crown, not just anyone can do that."

"You!"

Claire was so furious at Serena’s retort that her face turned red.

"Let her try!"

Beside them, Cynthia couldn’t help but speak up.

She was aware of Serena’s craftsmanship, and the priority now was to satisfy Queen Elizabeth.

Serena turned her head and glanced at Cynthia.

"What, aren’t you afraid I’ll turn the crown into a fake?"

Cynthia knew Serena was mocking her for the false accusation of Serena’s wedding jewelry set being counterfeit.

Queen Elizabeth, having taken a liking to Serena as she watched her crack the crab earlier, naturally wanted to give Serena a chance since she offered to repair the crown.

Cynthia immediately arranged for someone to prepare tools, turning the dining table into a makeshift workbench.

Serena began to repair the crown in front of Queen Elizabeth, Cynthia, and Claire.

When Caleb Lockwood walked into the room, he momentarily thought he’d walked into the wrong place.

Seeing Serena engrossed in her meticulous work, he roughly guessed what had happened.

Seeing Caleb return, Claire immediately sidled up to him and whispered:

"Serena was too rough while cracking the crab, causing the diamond to fall off the crown, and the queen is having her fix it!"

After Claire finished, she saw Caleb frown.

That’s right... She wanted Caleb to have a strong dislike for Serena.

Caleb frowned and walked over to Serena.

Even though Caleb moved silently, Serena still sensed someone approaching her.

She just hadn’t expected it to be Caleb.

"Is there something you need?"

Serena turned her head, meeting Caleb’s gaze.

Caleb’s dark eyes were always as cold as the sea in a winter night.

How cold?

She remembered it clearly from the time she jumped into the sea.

Caleb didn’t speak immediately.

He just stared at her.

Serena inexplicably felt that Caleb wanted to see something in her eyes.

She didn’t know what he wanted to see, or if he saw it.

But she clearly saw disappointment in Caleb’s eyes.

"Your hand is injured."

Serena was taken aback, only then noticing Caleb holding a first-aid kit.

What Caleb said was caring, but it sounded nonchalant, lacking warmth, and devoid of any emotion.

Serena looked down at her hand.

Her hand was indeed injured.

It happened while cracking the crab.

Even though Ethan White’s crab-cracking technique was useful, without professional tools, it was unrealistic for her not to get hurt while cracking such a large Emperor Crab by herself.

"Thank you, I’ll do it myself."

Serena reached out to Caleb, but he didn’t hand the first-aid kit to her.

"I’ll help you."

He said softly.

"No need, I’ll do it myself."

Serena emphasized.

The wound on her hand should be tended to; otherwise, it might affect her ability to repair the crown.

Caleb must have considered this, which is why he brought her the first-aid kit.

"I’ll help you."

Caleb repeated those three words.

Serena couldn’t help but feel annoyed.

With so many people watching in the room, did Caleb really have to stand his ground?

"I said, I’ll handle it myself."

Serena’s voice turned cold, and her tone became assertive.

"Or, President Lockwood, give me a reason why I must let you help me?"

"..."

Serena’s question left Caleb speechless.

At this time, Queen Elizabeth’s curious voice floated over from the side.

"Pardon me for asking, do you two know each other?"

Serena and Caleb turned to look at Queen Elizabeth together, speaking in unison:

"She is my..."

"He is my ex-husband."

Caleb’s words were stuck.

But Serena’s weren’t.

Serena directly grabbed the first-aid kit from Caleb’s hand and treated the wound on her hand herself, making sure it wouldn’t affect her jewelry repair skills.

Caleb clenched his empty hand into a fist and silently left Serena’s side.

After learning that Caleb and Serena were ex-spouses, Queen Elizabeth regarded Caleb and Claire with more complex eyes.

Initially, she had thought Claire was Caleb’s girlfriend.

Because Claire always naturally linked her arm through Caleb’s.

And everyone else called Caleb "President Lockwood."

Only Claire called Caleb "Caleb."

However, Caleb hadn’t introduced Claire as his girlfriend or fiancée in front of her.

So she was puzzled about their relationship.

And now, upon discovering that Caleb and Serena were divorced, even though both became single after the divorce and could start new relationships, Claire still inexplicably gave her a "third party" vibe.

The initial good impression Queen Elizabeth had of Claire was completely gone, and her opinion continued to worsen.

Serena took a long time to repair the crown.

Beside her, Claire couldn’t help but grumble softly: "It was just three diamonds that fell off, I could have done it much faster..."

When Serena handed the repaired crown back to Queen Elizabeth, the queen let out an excited gasp:

"Oh my God, did you actually recut all these diamonds?"

Hearing Queen Elizabeth say this, Claire immediately stepped forward.

The crown Serena returned to Queen Elizabeth had all the colorless round diamonds Claire had used to set the angel wings replaced with square ones, and a genuine invisible setting technique was used, with no metal traces visible.

By comparison, Claire’s previous craftsmanship now seemed too crude.

"Round diamonds cannot be used for invisible settings, only by cutting them into squares, rectangles, triangles, or trapezoids can they be slotted, and although the sapphire used as the main stone was of high quality, too much brilliance was sacrificed when cutting it into angel shapes."

Being guided by Serena like a teacher instructing a student, Claire’s eyes blazed with anger.

Beside them, as Queen Elizabeth repeatedly admired the crown, she suddenly discovered a secret.

"This invisible setting technique... Oh, I know who you are!"