Chapter 5 Sloane's Birthday

Before Ryder could make a move out of anger, Zoey had already taken her daughter back. With tears all over her face, she exclaimed, "How many times have I told you, Mom? My daughter's just a kid. Don't frighten her. Why did you do that? If it happens again, I will take Sloane with me and move out."

With a guilty conscience, Rylee hurriedly replied, "I was just bluffing. I won't really lock her up. As long as you divorce this loser, everything will be fine."

Ignoring Rylee, Zoey looked at Platt and said, "I don't deserve to be with you, Mr. Quinn. Your family is prominent and wealthy. You can do so much better than me. Besides, I'm already married, and honestly, even if I were single, I still couldn't be with you. My husband has returned. If you could just let us live our lives in peace, I would really appreciate it."

At this moment, Platt put on an expression of extreme displeasure, but looking at Zoey's enchantingly beautiful face, he bit down his anger. He thought that he would have all the time in the world to teach her a lesson once she was his.

"What are you talking about, Zoey? Don't you know how much Platt has helped us for you?" Rylee quickly scolded her daughter.

Then, she looked at Platt and said, "Don't listen to her, Platt. I have the final say in this family."

Platt beamed and replied, "Don't worry, Mrs. Swain. I will move Zoey with my sincerity."

Ryder's face became even colder. How dare Platt express his feelings for his wife in front of him?

"Platt deserves to be the heir of the Quinn family. Look at him. He is such a gentleman that no one can compare with him at all."

"Zoey is so beautiful. Only an excellent young man like Platt is the best partner for her."

"Platt, when you and Zoey get married, I will give you an amazing wedding gift."

All the relatives were blatantly flattering Platt, and their words were also full of disdain for Ryder.

Zoey wasn't pleased with what her relatives were saying, but all of them were her elders. She couldn't exactly talk back to them. She glanced at Ryder secretly. Seeing that he was expressionless and silent, she felt even more disappointed in him.

If Ryder knew what was on Zoey's mind, he would be very depressed. The reason he hadn't spoken was that he didn't want to embarrass Zoey.

At this time, the housekeeper had begun serving the dishes. Rylee invited everyone to the table except for Ryder.

Ryder wasn't shameless enough to join them, but at the same time, he didn't want to leave.

Blinking her big, misty eyes, Sloane waved her arms at Ryder.

She said to him in her sweet voice, "Daddy, I want you to hold me and feed me."

As soon as he heard Sloane's voice, Ryder felt his anger subside. The way she addressed him melted his heart.

However, Rylee wasn't having any of it. She shouted at Sloane, "Shut up! He's not your father. Your father died a long time ago."

Pursing her lips, Sloane wanted to start crying again.

"Mom!"

Zoey's voice was full of impatience. She picked Sloane up from the seat and snapped, "You sit here!"

It was obvious that she was talking to Ryder. Ryder flashed her a grateful look and quickly sat down.

"I want Daddy to hug me."

Sitting on her father's lap, Sloane was very happy. She scratched Ryder's ear, touched his face, and then giggled. She was so thrilled to be held by him.

When she saw this, a hint of tenderness flashed through Zoey's eyes.

Everybody gathered around the table. Before they could start eating, Platt took out a delicately packaged pink gift box and handed it to Sloane. "Happy birthday to you, Sloane. I hope you will like it."

It turned out that today was his daughter's birthday. Thinking that he had missed four years' worth of important occasions, Ryder couldn't help feeling guilty all over again.

Sloane glanced at Platt timidly. After all, she was only four years old. She was excited to receive a birthday gift. She kept staring at the gift box in Platt's hand.

Hesitantly, Sloane took the gift and murmured, "Thank you, Mr. Quinn."

With a bright smile on his face, Platt said, "Open it and have a look."

The little girl was curious about her birthday gift. After hearing Platt's words, she grinned and started opening her present.

When she opened the box, she saw a sparkly diamond bracelet inside.

"What a lovely bracelet!" Zoey's younger sister, Paislee Swain, exclaimed in admiration.

"When I found out that today was Sloane's birthday, I asked my friend in Newcrest to buy a batch of diamonds straight from the mine. Then, I hired a few world-famous jewelers to especially design and produce this piece for Sloane as a birthday present. This is the only one of its kind. There's none like it in the whole world."

With a complacent look on his face, Platt told everyone the origin of the bracelet and how he had it made especially for Sloane's birthday.

"A diamond bracelet custom-made by popular jewelry masters in the world? It should cost at least $100, 000, right?"

Paislee's eyes were full of envy. She wished she could take the bracelet as her own.

Keeping on his smug smile, Platt leaned back on his seat, making himself more comfortable. Then, he said, "The diamonds aren't very expensive, but it did cost me quite a bit to get the jeweler to create the bracelet. I spent a total of $600, 000, but it's no big deal."

"$600, 000?"

Hearing the price of the bracelet, all the relatives collectively gasped.

"Mr. Quinn is so generous!"

"The most important thing is that he is good to Sloane. After Platt becomes Sloane's father, Sloane will have a much happier childhood."

"Yes. Sloane will be so lucky to have such a big shot like Platt as her father."

The relatives paid no heed to Ryder. Hearing their words, Platt smiled even more brightly. He also flashed Ryder a provocative look.

Zoey's face turned ghastly pale. Although she was extremely disappointed in Ryder, she had never promised to marry Platt.

"Today is your daughter's birthday, and you couldn't be bothered to buy her a gift?"

At this time, Paislee directed a snide comment at Ryder that made everyone turn to look at him.

"I do have a present for Sloane, actually," Ryder said.

Hearing Ryder's words, Sloane looked up at him, her little face full of expectation. For her, any other gift wasn't as good as the one from her father.

Rylee frowned. Ryder had arrived here empty-handed. If he really brought Sloane a gift, then where had he been hiding it?

The rest of the crowd had the same thought.

Under everyone's probing gaze, Ryder casually took off his necklace from which hung a stone pendant.

Paislee couldn't help laughing. "This is the birthday gift you prepared for your daughter? A cracked stone pendant? What, did you pick it up from the side of the road and then stuck it to your necklace?"

Ryder shook his head and replied frankly, "I got it in a hamada."

His response was greeted by raucous laughter.

Zoey expected more from Ryder. Hearing that he brought his daughter a stone from a hamada, she couldn't help shaking her head slightly. It was Sloane's birthday. How could Ryder give her a clump of dirt from some random desert? More importantly, he was presenting his gift in a room full of her relatives. It was just like slapping her in the face.

Everyone had no idea that the stone Ryder was holding in his hand was a piece of a bigger one that shielded him in a desert battle. He was alive because of this cracked piece of earth.

No one in the living room liked it, except for Sloane who ogled the pendant like it was a shiny tiara. She chirped while clapping her hands. "Wow! It's a gift from Daddy! I love it! Thank you very much, Daddy. Put it on for me."

With a gentle smile on his face, Ryder carefully put the necklace on Sloane.

Although the jade-like stone was covered in cracks, it looked magnificent around Sloane's neck, as if it was made for her.

No one believed the stone was valuable because it was a gift from Ryder.

"It's just a stone. What's so good about it?" Rylee rolled her eyes. She then looked at Zoey and said, "Put on Platt's bracelet on Sloane quickly so that we can all see the huge difference between diamonds and dirt."

While flattering Platt, Rylee didn't forget to ridicule Ryder.

But at this time, Ryder suddenly picked up Platt's designer diamond bracelet and tossed it into the trash can.

His rash gesture horrified everyone. How could he just throw away a piece of jewelry that was worth $600, 000?

"What the hell are you doing?" Rylee was furious.

Ryder answered with a frown, "Wearing that bracelet will harm Sloane in the long run. I don't want it on her."

"Bullshit!" Platt, who was usually a gentleman, seethed with rage. He couldn't believe that Ryder just embarrassed him in front of everyone by chucking his pricey diamond bracelet like trash. He hissed, "I spent so much money and effort into creating that bracelet for Sloane. How dare you treat it with such disrespect?"

Looking at Platt coldly, Ryder asked, "You said you spent $600, 000 on that bracelet inlaid with red diamonds?"

Platt snapped, "Yes. What, do you think I'm lying?"

"No, but I do think you're stupid. I suppose money can't buy smarts, huh?" Ryder said mockingly.

Without giving Platt a chance to retort, he continued with a sneer, "Red diamonds are incredibly rare, so rare that they have no fixed price. They're seldom seen in the market, and when they do show up, it's only in ultra-exclusive auctions. In 1987, a 0.95-carat red diamond was sold at Sotheby's. Its price went up as high as $880, 000, making its per-carat value at $920, 000. Your bracelet has at least 1.5 carats of diamonds, right? Now tell me, how could you have purchased it at $600, 000? The red diamonds in your bracelet aren't natural at all. They're ordinary diamonds blasted with radiation to bring about the red color, which makes your bracelet a health hazard especially to a four-year-old girl. You're not really going to make my daughter wear your radioactive piece of designer jewelry, are you? I mean, you're not that much of an imbecile, right?"

As he spoke, he kept his sharp gaze on Platt. Ryder's words rendered Platt speechless, and the whole room fell deathly silent. Everyone turned their heads to Platt. Zoey looked at Platt with wide, horror-struck eyes. Then, she was consumed by anger.