Misty seethed with envy at Matthew's sudden change in behavior. As a traditionally patriarchal man, he had never lifted a finger to help with household chores, let alone picking up a fallen item from the floor. But now, he was serving Hannah soup and even reminding her to eat. What had Hannah done to deserve the special treatment?Gripped by jealousy, Misty realized the importance of status and power for the first time in her life. Family and relationships were fickle. Only by reaching the pinnacle of status and influence, she could make others defer to her.One day, she vowed to make Hannah defer to her.A heavy silence fell upon the dinner table, making Hannah feel somewhat uneasy.Matthew maintained an inscrutable expression as he solemnly ate his dinner. It appeared as though he had invited Hannah over for a simple meal, but how could that be?She placed her utensils on the table and said, "I'm done." After a brief pause, she continued, "What's the matter today? Get straig
When Nigel entered, Misty stared at him in disbelief and blurted out, "Mr. Moore!"Nigel was dressed immaculately, as though he was on a date. He merely cast a mindless glance upon hearing Misty's voice without any response. Then, he navigated his way to the room where Hannah was in."H-He …" Misty scrambled to form a sentence as she pointed a trembling finger at him.Matthew chuckled and poured himself a glass of red wine. He scrunched up his eyes, seemingly in a good mood. "She should be grateful that I got her Nigel. After tonight, we'll have the full backing of the Winchesters."The future he imagined was so perfect that he burst out laughing after having a taste of the benefits before.He had installed multiple spycams in Hannah's room, which would record everything that happened inside. With the footage in hand, he'd blackmail Hannah, and if she knew better, she would listen to his orders.Mrs. Winchester would become his pawn, giving him access to everything owned by the W
No way! Darren couldn't just let him walk in like that.This was the only thought that crossed Matthew's mind other than fear.Darren would really kill him if he were to find out about this.This was a madman! That rumor was not wrong after all. Darren had gone completely mad after he was crippled!He forced a smile on his face and pretended to be calm. "Hannah—Hannah was tired after her meal. She is resting now. She didn't—didn't want us to disturb her … M—Mr. Winchester, you can have a seat first."His hand had been busy gesturing behind his back while he was talking.Misty had been scared out of her mind. Her gaze flashed when she saw the hand gestures. She tried to slip away to get to the room without anyone noticing.She had to make Nigel leave immediately!Nobody knew what other horrifying things a madman like Darren might do just for Hannah.However, Matthew's twitching features and the guilt in his eyes had long since exposed everything."Stop right there!"Darren's
This was a threat.Misty's blood ran cold. Other than feeling the rage, she also found it funny.Why would she care about the future of her so-called younger brother?Even her mother had taught Mateo that the Emerson Corporation would belong to him in the future. Why then would she care about the Emerson Corporation?Wasn't it funny for them to threaten her with these?They treated her like an outsider who would end up marrying out. But at the same time, they wanted her to sacrifice herself for the Emersons.Did they think that she was an idiot?"I didn't do it!"Misty cupped her cheek and raised her voice. "I'm not the one who was in control of this family. I have not even set foot into this room. How would I know why Nigel would be here?""How dare you still quibble!"Matthew saw that she had not taken the blame obediently. His expression changed and he raised his hand to try to hit her again."Enough."Darren's gaze was mocking as he watched the drama unfold. But more th
A cruel glint streaked across Misty's eyes as she pursed her lips. "I know you're worried about Emerson Corporation, Dad. But don't forget, we still have Cedric even though we've lost Darren as a prospect."She tilted her chin to look up at Matthew. A bright red handprint adorned her beautiful face, but she disregarded it naturally. Instead, she looked docile and caring as though she was the best daughter in the world.Then, Misty took a step forward and grabbed Matthew's hand. "Dad, I'll talk to Cedric and ask him to help Emerson Corporation out. "Don't worry, blood is thicker than water, after all. I won't let anything happen to both our company and our family."Even if everything turned out to be fake, Misty was bent on securing her current life and her bright future no matter what.She needed to lead a life that was a thousand times happier than Hannah's. Hell, she didn't want Hannah to look down on her.Upon hearing Misty's promise, Matthew's facial muscles twitched a few t
Hannah's heart started beating rapidly at that moment.She really wanted to laugh, yet she felt like crying at the same time. In the end, she was unable to utter a single word.But it seemed like Darren never picked up on her barrage of emotions. He just reached out to grab her hand.It had taken Hannah many months of pampering to make her hands smooth and flawless. Unfortunately, a small cut could be seen on one of her fingertips. Tiny beads of blood started seeping out from the cut.It was a minor injury caused by the time when Hannah had shattered the glass earlier."Doesn't it hurt?"Darren's expression became frosty for a split second. He lowered his head slightly to pop the injured finger into his mouth so that he could suck the blood out.Hannah could feel his tongue flicking over the cut briefly in his warm mouth. She couldn't help but withdraw her hand while giggling. "I'm ticklish!""Even if you don't feel any pain, my heart hurts for you," Darren murmured with a frow
Who dared lay a finger on Misty?"I … I didn't mean to lie to you! I just thought you might be worried about her!"Misty's eyes had gone red by then, but she still squeezed out a smile. "It's nothing. It's all in the past now. Why don't we order something?""Who the hell did this to you!"Cedric gripped Misty's wrist tightly while looking enraged. He continued in a domineering tone, "No one here can bully my woman!"He was disappointed by Misty's antics multiple times in the past. But he couldn't stop himself from wanting to care about her and be with her at all times.Once he had his taste of her, he no longer wanted to date other women. Perhaps this was the curse of true love.Cedric couldn't help but laugh in a self-deprecating way.Then again, if Hannah were to know what he was thinking right now, she'd probably tell him that this wasn't the power of true love. Rather, this was the influence the plot had over him."It … It was Hannah."Misty looked like she could no longe
Precisely! How was it possible for Hannah to win the bet?All the students at Cromer Academy shared that thought as they fixated their gazes on the honor rolls, which were just stuck to the bulletin board.There were six general subjects in the field of math and science. Each subject had an honor roll depicting the names of the best scorers. Hannah's full name was inscribed on all of those honor rolls as the top scorer of the subjects involved.Since she snagged the top spots of all six honor rolls, she was undoubtedly the top scorer of Cromer Academy.How could this be?Even Morgan, who was known as the prodigy, could only come first in a few subjects in the past. Someone could've easily knocked her off her throne if she got careless in her exams.Hannah had only studied in public schools her whole life before dropping out of college for two consecutive years. So, how was it possible for her to win against all the other elite students at Cromer Academy?Nothing made sense to th