The toxic vase

Melinda looked sadly at the vase in her lap as Marc held his proudly. Melinda's brother taunted her again, calling her stupid for not being able to tell a real vase from a fake. Melinda felt humiliated, but Marc once again defended her.

"What does it matter if it's a real or fake vase? What matters is the thought behind the gift. And my thought was to protect our grandmother from a toxic substance," Marc said firmly.

Melinda's brother scoffed even more, but Marc ignored his insults. And he handed over another gift he had particularly brought for me to give to his grandmother.

Meanwhile, Melinda wondered how she could be married to someone like Marc. She had hated him in the past, but now she was realizing there was more to him than she had thought. Could there be more to their marriage than she had assumed?

The tension in the room was palpable when Melinda's brother, in a final attempt to humiliate her, asked Marc how much he had paid for the vase. Marc responded with a wry smile.

"Enough for my wife to have the best gift for her grandmother."

Melinda's brother was speechless and Melinda felt a little closer to her husband. But there were still many unanswered questions-what else was Marc hiding? Could she trust him after all?

The room was silent as Marc held the fake vase in his hands. "Although my gift is nothing compared to others, it's still better than Jhon's," he said with a smile on his face. "This vase is not only fake, but its coating is also composed of a toxic substance. If Grandma puts this in her room for a couple of days, she could get sick from it."

Jhon, Melinda's brother, felt uncomfortable at Marc's words. He knew he was right, but he couldn't admit that he had bought a fake vase. He figured Grandma would just put it in storage and never see it again. Besides, he thought he could use the remaining money to buy a new car for his girlfriend. But now, all eyes were on him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jhon said, trying to hide his lie. "This vase is a rare and valuable antique. Clearly, you don't know anything about antiques, you're just talking nonsense, Marc."

Marc was undeterred. "Look, Jhon, we can all make mistakes, but it's important to be honest. There's no need to lie or mislead others."

The tension in the room increased as Jhon tried to defend his lie. The other family members were watching in amazement, waiting to see how the situation would unfold.

Suddenly, Melinda interjected. "Well, why don't we put the vase aside for now? There are more presents to open and plenty to celebrate."

The room breathed a sigh of relief as attention was diverted from the conflict. However, tension was still in the air as Grandma sat down to open her next gift.

Jhon, Melinda's brother, felt uncomfortable and his heart sank because he knew what Marc was saying was true. He had bought a cheap, fake vase for Grandma and pocketed the rest of the money his father had given him to buy a new car and give to his new girlfriend.

But Jhon couldn't admit his guilt, so he decided to taunt Marc to distract attention from the truth. "What does a man like you know about antiques?" laughed Jhon. "You're prattling on about something you don't understand."

This drew the ire of other family members, who were angry with Marc for making such an accusation toward Grandma's favorite grandson. "How dare you say something like that," said one of the uncles. "You should be ashamed of yourself for accusing John of something like that."

Marc nodded his head and took the vase out of its box to show it to Grandma. She examined it closely and then turned to her grandson Jhon. "Is this true, Jhon?" she asked in a cold voice.

Jhon turned pale and was speechless. Grandma looked at him with disappointment and then walked away, taking the fake vase with her.

The other family members scattered, some muttering angrily and others saddened by what had happened. Marc was left alone in the room, thinking about how things had gone wrong and how he now had enemies in his own family.

Melinda tried to calm things down and proposed that they all sit down to talk and resolve the conflict once and for all. But the discussion became more heated, with some accusing Marc of trying to steal the family's inheritance.

The grandmother, who had remained silent during the discussion, finally spoke up: "Enough is enough. This is enough. I don't want any more fights in my house."

The family members dispersed, leaving Melinda and her brother with Grandma in the room. Grandma looked at Melinda and said, "Daughter, you have a big responsibility as the next head of the family. Make sure you make wise and fair decisions."

Melinda nodded and promised to do so. With that, Grandma left the room and Melinda and her brother were left alone. "Don't worry, Melinda," her brother said, "I'm going to prove that I haven't done anything wrong."

Melinda stood thoughtfully as her brother withdrew from the room. She wondered if her brother was really innocent or if Marc was right.

Melinda picked up the vase and examined it again. A shiver ran through her body as she thought of all the things that could go wrong. Was this vase genuine? Was her brother telling the truth? Or was Marc right?