Boom! Sharon felt like she had just been struck by thunder, and her mind had just blown up.Gerald’s words knocked some sense into everyone.Of course! If North was a better pianist than Sharon, and she was Ivan Ivory’s sister, how did she lose the tournament?Moreover, how did she get accused of “seducing the judges”?North put on a thoughtful tone. “Hmm… that’s weird. I play the piano better than Miss Sharon does, and yet she’s the champion. Did her skills go downhill that quickly, or… was there something fishy about that tournament? What do you think, Mr. Keys?”Sharon began trembling as she broke out into a cold sweat.Ryan gulped. “O-Of course there’s nothing fishy about the tournament. The judges all decided she was the winner, and the judging criteria were mostly objective.“M-Maybe the judges just liked Sharon more at the time…”“Really?” Ivan interrupted him mercilessly. “Even at a time like this, you’re still making up excuses for yourself!“If their performances wer
Sharon claimed she was ill and excused herself, but everyone knew the real reason she left.Madam Bracken said plainly, “If you know you’re sick, then you shouldn’t have left the house. Don’t ruin such an important day for me.”Sharon’s face paled. She could tell Madam Bracken was mocking her.However, the only thing she could do was grit her teeth and endure everyone’s disapproving gazes. “You’re right, Madam Bracken. I’ll be leaving, then.”She did not understand how Ivan Ivory was related to North Myers.Siblings? Yeah, right! If Ivan Ivory was connected to North, then how did the Myers family kick her out?“At this point, other people’s opinions don’t matter. You need to find a way to steal Gerald’s heart,” Mr. Lane said coldly. “Do I need to teach you everything?”Sharon lowered her head. He was right. She was one of the most eligible heiresses around, and she had her own business. She was just as capable as Gerald was.North was the kind of woman who only knew how to depe
Everyone went silent.Ivan frowned. Obviously, he could not let Gerald listen. “Mr. Howard, North and I have some catching up to do…”“If you’re not siblings, then you wouldn’t mind if I stuck around while you talked, right?” Gerald smiled.Ivan gulped. He finally understood what it meant to shoot himself in the foot. “Um… what do you think, North?”Gerald smiled at her. “May I tag along, Mrs. Howard?”North said nothing.She had the feeling that if she said no, she would not live to see another day.“S-Since Gerald wants to hear it, then let him hear. It’s not like you have any secrets you want to confide in me, right, Mr. Ivory?”Ivan got the hint, so he replied, “Alright. This way, please, Mr. Howard.”The three of them walked to a corner of the room. Ivan clicked his tongue. This was going to be difficult with Gerald present.However, it was still possible to test him.Ivan put on a casual tone and said, “Mr. Howard, I wanted to ask North about the Pianist Tournament fou
“I mean Mr. Howard no ill will, but since you married him, I’ll need to get to know him. Besides, Gerald’s been trying to track Starlight down. You need to be careful not to get busted.”“Got it. Get back in there.”After Ivan left, North stood there as she mentally replayed what Ivan told her.Her? Defending Gerald?She was not doing that. It was just an instinctive action. That did not count as defending him.She just did not want people to get the wrong idea about Gerald.…After the party was over, North returned to her room and fell asleep after some time.Outside the room, Connor said with his head hung low, “Mr. Gerald, someone wiped all the information related to the Pianist Tournament back then. We found nothing.”Gerald narrowed his eyes. “Nothing at all?”“Yes, it was someone from North Aurope. I’m sorry I couldn’t do what you asked.”Gerald suddenly chuckled. North Aurope. Again?Nicholas, Roque, and Ivan were all unusually concerned about North, and all of them
All those people from earlier had only agreed to work with Mike because Gerald had not gotten involved yet.With Gerald involved, wasn’t it obvious who they would choose?Patricia was so enraged that she was shaking. “You b*stard…”“Ms. Patricia.” North blinked. “What’s the difference between Gerald getting that land and your son getting it? You’re family!”She was throwing Patricia’s words right back at her. “Why aren’t you happy that your biological son is even more successful? If other people didn’t know the whole story, they’d suspect Gerald was the one you adopted.”Patricia’s face soured, and she said furiously, “Since when do you get to talk when I’m speaking to Gerald?! If he hadn’t been so greedy, I wouldn’t have come here to pick a fight with him either!”Greedy? North almost laughed at the logic.Instead, she pretended to sigh. “I was just a little sad. After all, it’s normal for people to reject Mike when Gerald’s so capable and powerful. How is it Gerald’s fault?”
“But Mr. Mike’s different. He’s trash! What will he ever do without that land? Spend his days being useless and waiting for his death?” North said dramatically. “Gerald, Mr. Mike probably only had this one shot at success his entire life! Just let him have that victory! Oh, dear. I know you can’t relate to a piece of trash, but I think this was what Ms. Patricia wanted to say. I finally understand what she meant!”Everyone was now so quiet that they could hear a pin drop.Their jaws had dropped. They could not believe such mockery could come out of Mrs. Howard’s mouth.But she was right!She was not even throwing insults at Mike anymore, she was practically rubbing them in his face.By the time Patricia understood what North was saying, she was trembling all over as she raised a shaky finger. “North… North…”North pretended not to understand her. “Don’t thank me, Ms. Patricia. I’m just doing it for everyone’s sake.”“Why, you!” Patricia choked on her words. She was so angry th
North gulped.How was she supposed to answer that?Gerald narrowed his eyes. It seemed that North had noticed Mike was also a Howard.Would she still have defended him like this if she discovered that she was not the South family’s heir?His gaze was so dark and mysterious that it made North feel nervous. “N-Nothing!”That was weird. What did she have to be nervous about? If Gerald really was not a South, then he was the one who should be nervous!However, he was completely calm and did not show any desperation at all. That just confused her again.Gerald flexed his fingers and seamlessly changed the subject. “Grandmother’s almost restored your mother’s design blueprint.”North’s eyes lit up and she instantly became energized. “Really? Let me see them!”Gerald smiled and turned. “Okay. Let’s go.”Connor teared up watching the two of them leave.Wasn’t Mrs. Howard… a little too easy to reassure?In a short moment, Gerald took North to Madam Bracken’s backyard.Madam Bracken
Gerald looked back and said with total certainty, “Trust me. My wife never needed fake concern like that.”Madam Bracken was a smart woman, so she instantly understood what was going on.“Gerald, she’s so similar to Paige. In that case, you really must protect her.”She was already powerless to change what happened to her daughter, but North was so similar to Paige that she wanted to protect her.Gerald narrowed his eyes. Based on what he knew about the Souths, maybe the condition that North needed to marry a South to get her inheritance was a trap from the start.That trap was clearly targeting North.But what about North made her worth targeting for the Souths?Was it the huge inheritance that Estella left behind? No, there was no way it was just that.…After returning from the Bracken mansion, Gerald got busy so North got a few days of precious peace and quiet.One week later, at Peacevale University, North was on the phone while walking at the same time. “The Souths have