The hall was silent as the gravity of my accusation sank in.
"Ronica Risconce or Simmons or whatever you call yourself now, what are you doing here?" Sandra, who worked directly with the UN asked. "Mona said you didn't want to come and that's why James asked her to be his plus one. James said you insisted the reunions are too ignoble for you."
"For the last two reunions, James was the one who led me to believe that these events were too ignoble for him. And despite the fact that Mona and I attended the same school, she is just my husband's secretary. I don't recall asking her to keep tabs over what I will or won't be attending," I coolly stated.
While James was looking clueless what to do to deflect the bad light I had just cast on him, Mona desperately tried to salvage the situation. "Is this your ploy to make me look bad in front of all our classmates? You told me you won't be attending, only to show up, trying to play me for a fool for believing you."
"You can tell them whatever you want Mona, but you didn't have to tell them lies," I snapped. "My dear high school classmates, the only reason I never attended the last two reunions was because James told me he wasn't up for it. How could I have know he was actually attending them with Mona behind my back? This year, he also said the same thing but I decided I'll just go without him. Imagine my poor surprise seeing him here with Mona."
Now, the murmurs of dissent were on my side. All against James, as Mona grew impossibly whiter.
"James, the reason your father hasn't given you the family business is because you haven't yet earned it. Do you think he doesn't know about your gambling tendencies? How can he trust you to run the family business when you can't even tell the difference between an original and a fake?"
Mona threw out a laughter to mask her nervousness. Her milky brown eyes shone with mystic fury as if she would have ripped me to shreds but for the public observing us. "Jimmy bought it the very minute it was released. Tell her Jimmy."
Without shame, James stubbornly stuck to the wishful lie he had fed Mona. "You need to stop making a fool of yourself and embarrassing all of us Ronica. We are all here to catch up with each other and have a good time, not scrutinize each other's jewelry."
But I had already wreaked the havoc. James had clearly underestimated the vanity of the women.
"The hell I'm not going to talk about wearing the only surviving emeralds in Cleopatra's stone collection," said Denise.
"And my red pearls. It took fifty two years for fishermen to gather the authentic materials. It was a vicious bidding. I spent more than seven million dollars," Theresa claimed.
Just like that, everyone was soon intent on asserting the authenticity of their accessories. It was all what I had anticipated. The reunion was one big popularity contest that one would automatically lose by wearing fakes.
"I heard about the Saha Sapphires," Sandra began to say as her sharp eyes darted between my neck and Mona's. "There's only one in the world, obviously."
"There was supposed to be an auction for it," said Sandra's husband who owned several mines. "And I was going to bid on it for my wife but the auction was cancelled. I was made to understand that someone had bought the stones at an outrageous price they simply could not turn down. James, was that you?"
"James how much did you say you bought yours?"
"Seven million dollars," James said. The only sign of his fear and anger showed in the clenching and unclenching of his fists.
"Which is weird. My agent knew I was ready to bid fifteen million dollars. I must have a word with him." Sandra's husband fumed.
"Ronica, how much did you buy yours?"
I shrugged. "I don't know."
A united gasp of disbelief passed through the room.
"I must confess that I haven't been totally honest. The Sapphires were given to me by an earnest friend. He never told me the price."
Sandra scoffed, "Wouldn't that mean you are the one wearing the deep fakes?"
I shook my head, my lips curling in a one sides smile. "My friend owns an empire. He does not deal in imitations."
"I also own an empire," James said.
"No you don't, you're only inheriting one," I retorted.
"What kind of male friend randomly gets you expensive stones?" Clara queried.
"Do you consider seven million dollars expensive?" I asked Clara smoothly and she shrank. Clara was rich no doubt but most of her wealth was won and lost in gambling casinos. She had a bad habit of inflating the prices of whatever she bought. "But of course, if my husband can spend seven million dollars buying deep fakes for his secretary, why can't I accept original stones from a male friend? You are being a bit too hypocritical Clara."
"You are married to me Ronica, you cut your family off and you have no career. Where could you have possibly seen a friend richer than me?" James sneered.
"The empire owners and tycoons are mostly old men just like James' father," Denise pointed out.
"Maybe she is having an affair with one of them, an old man." Mona seized the priceless chance to accuse me.
"The nerve on you," I hissed but held myself. I could not let my anger get the best of me. Eric and I had agreed that we would make James admit his misdeeds with his own mouth. If I officially exposed his affair with Mona where everybody thought they were just very good friends, it would be premature. "I am not having an affair," I said instead.
Mona cackled. "If you are not having an affair, that means you are the one wearing the deep fakes. I can't believe you tried to embarrass Jimmy by accepting fake jewelry not knowing he had already bought me the real ones. Shame on you." Mona's verbal abuse was not deemed enough by her, she grabbed the nearest red wine bottle and emptied its contents on the front of my dress.
"Give me the necklace and earrings," she ordered triumphantly.
Amazed at her brazenness, I could only stare at her with mortification as I wondered how I was going to repay her for this slight. Mona was smirking. She walked up to me and whispered into my ears.
"They are mine now bitch; don't you remember? Everything you have is mine."