Chapter 790 Stone–Cutting

Hayley’s POV:

Preston threw me a look filled with disdain and confidently walked to the machine by his raw stones, as if he were in a parade. He held his chin up, full of himself.

I headed to the opposite side and stopped the stonecutter just as he was about to fire up the machine. “Don’t use that. I want it done by hand. Cutting it in half could ruin it.”

Right after I spoke, people in the crowd started laughing and throwing shade.

“She actually thinks her stones are high-quality? What a joke!”

“She’s daydreaming! She pulled junk from the outer hall. She’ll be lucky if even one has a tiny gem inside. And she thinks it’ll be a solid gem through and through?”

I ignored their ridicule and kept my eyes fixed on the stones I’d picked. Then, I gave the stonecutter a firm signal to follow my instructions.

He gave me a dismissive look, as if my raw stone was garbage, but it was still his job. Whether he liked it or not, he had to bring the raw stone to the hand-grinding table and start working on it.

Right next to me, Preston was bossing his low-ranking stonecutter around. “Do it like yesterday! Don’t mess this up. Be gentle with it.”

Both stonecutters got going at the same time.

Preston’s stone was way bigger than mine. In just one slice with the machine, I could already catch a shimmer of color peeking through.

“Wow, no shock there. That glow? Gotta be another top-grade gem!”

“Guess the rumors are legit. Mr. Preston’s wolf can sniff out the best gems!”

Hearing that, Preston’s stonecutter got even more careful.

Everyone’s attention was locked on Preston’s stone. They were all eager to see what kind of gem was inside.

Meanwhile, I kept my eyes on mine and told my stonecutter to take it slow and steady.

Preston sneered at me and gloated, “I got this in the bag!”

I didn’t even look at him.

Suddenly, the crowd around his stonecutter started getting loud again.

“It’s a top-grade sapphire! Its color and clarity are rare!”

“Whoa! I’ve never seen anything this perfect before. Mr. Preston is indeed a master!”

Their shouting and praise filled the room.

I glanced over. Indeed, the gem pulled from his stone looked amazing.

Preston shot me a smug look and tossed out another cocky line, “I’ll win this time! Better start preparing to be my mate!”

I didn’t react. I just calmly shifted my gaze and focused on my raw stone.

The noise didn’t let up—machines humming, tools scraping and tapping nonstop, people chatting and whispering all over the place. It was loud and messy. Even Hera was getting annoyed by all the chaos.

Luckily, the crowd was mostly huddled around Preston.

After all, his raw stones had already revealed a gem that could easily sell for 50 million dollars.

While I was busy calming Hera down, my stonecutter suddenly made a shocked sound.

I glanced his way. His hands were shaking as he gripped the raw stone tightly, standing rooted to his spot.

“What happened?” Humbert asked quickly, nervous that the rock might be worthless.

“It’s okay even if it turns out empty,” he added.

I gently patted his shoulder, reassuring him, “No need to freak out. Relax.”

The stonecutter looked at us, eyes huge with surprise. “The gem that’s showing up is…”