Hudson’s expression darkened instantly. He picked up the bracelet and the room went silent. Without hesitation, he slipped it onto his wrist.
“I like this,” he said, his voice low but sharp enough to cut through everyone. “At least this one means something. Someone actually put time into it.”
No one spoke.
Then his gaze shifted to the pen. He picked it up, looked at it for a second, then let out a quiet scoff.
“This kind of thing…” he said coldly, “you can buy it anywhere. There’s nothing special about it.”
My chest tightened.
Before I could even react, he tossed it straight into the trash. The sound echoed louder than it should have.
The whole hall went quiet for a second, then suddenly everyone started agreeing.
“Mr. Hayes is right, handmade things actually mean something.”
“Yeah, expensive stuff is nothing if there’s no heart behind it.”
“This is way more special, you can tell she put effort into it.”
I just stood there.
It felt like all the blood in my body turned cold. I spent three months on that gift. Flying around, checking stores, comparing designs, choosing something I thought… he’d actually like.
And now?
Thrown away like it was nothing.
Just to make her look good.