chapter727

After what felt like an eternity, the academic discussion finally wrapped up. Leda let out a long, relieved sigh.

"Please, next time there's one of these academic gatherings, count me out. They're so dull..." she mumbled, signaling the waiter to bring in the food.

Unsurprisingly, it was all of Roseanne's favorites!

After their meal, Leda had planned to take a stroll, but as soon as they stepped out of the restaurant, her phone buzzed with a work call. "Yeah, yeah, I get it! Will a day's delay really be the end of the world?!"

Despite her words, she hung up and rushed off to the office.

Before leaving, she turned to her brother and said, "Hey, Owen, it's Roseanne's birthday today. Make sure you take good care of her, okay? Whatever she asks!"

Owen Reynolds nodded, "Got it."

"So, where do you want to go?" Owen asked, watching Leda disappear into the crowd.

"Anywhere?" Roseanne's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Owen thought for a moment, "Within reason."

"Can we visit a place where they make synthetic colored diamonds?"

"Are you sure that's where you want to go?"

"Absolutely!"

"Alright then."

Roseanne expected a lab or a workshop, but to her surprise, Owen took her to a factory.

"Hey, Owen! Back again?" The security guard at the entrance greeted him warmly. "Hey Gary, good afternoon. Did you have lunch yet?"

"Yeah, I had lunch! The cafeteria had some amazing beef stew today! What brings you here? Didn't you finish with the colored diamonds? Your girlfriend liked them, right?"

Owen cleared his throat awkwardly, a bit flustered.

Roseanne pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh.

Only then did Gary notice the young woman with Owen. "Oh! So this is the lucky lady who got the diamond-"

"Gary! Could you give me the keys to workshop seven?" Owen interrupted loudly. "Sure thing!" Gary turned to fetch the keys.

Owen turned to Roseanne with an awkward smile. "Gary's a jokester, always in a good mood..."

Roseanne nodded, "I noticed."

With keys in hand, Owen led her to workshop seven. It was a small space, devoid

of workers, with only instruments and a workbench.

Owen moved to the workbench. "Originally, I wanted to do this in a lab, but handling the waste was tricky So, I rented this workshop temporarily and used the factory's waste disposal system."

Roseanne joined him, noticing how immaculately tidy the workbench was. That was so typical of Owen.

Her attention was caught by a ceramic jar in the corner of the table. She pointed at it, "What's in there? Can I take a look?"

A fleeting expression of discomfort crossed Owen's face. "Of course."

He handed the jar to her. Roseanne opened it and her eyes widened in surprise.

Inside was a collection of diamond shards, some with incorrect colors, others with flawed cuts. Some were too large and uneven, while others were too fragmented to be

aesthetically pleasing. All in all, there had to be at least a hundred pieces.

Owen looked slightly embarrassed. "First time trying this out... I failed quite a few times."

Roseanne looked down at the fragments, envisioning Owen hunched over the workbench, mask on, meticulously cutting under the bright light.

"Why?" She suddenly looked up, her eyes shining.

Owen was taken aback.

"Why did you give me a necklace?"

"Be-because it's your birthday..."

Hearing this, Roseanne felt a mix of emotions she couldn't quite identify-partly expected, yet a little disappointed.

He was like the moon, so clean, so

brilliant Moonlight is impartial, gracing everyone equally. Why did she think she would be special to him?