“I’ve never loved someone based on their appearance,” Gerald said in an aloof, cold tone. “Besides, my wife is a beauty even with this scar, unlike you.”North blinked. Was Gerald reassuring her? To be honest, she had not noticed her scar in a while. Eiger used to be disgusted every time he saw it, and that was why she minded.But Gerald acted as if the scar was not even there.She had already stopped feeling bad about it.Still, it was good for disgusting Melinda.So, North immediately took Gerald’s arm and said sweetly, “Melinda, my scar is ugly, and I have a terrible temper, and I let Gerald’s power get to my head. I’m not a hard worker either, but he still loves me. What can I do? Maybe that’s just my charm!“Can you call me ‘Mrs. Howard’ now, Melinda?”Melinda took a shaky breath, the color draining from her face entirely.D*mn it. D*mn it! What did Mr. Howard even like about North?A man like him should have been hers!But if she did not say it now, that would be too
“W-Where are we going?”“Aren’t you hungry? Obviously, we’re getting you some food.” With the light on Gerald’s back as he reached out, he looked like an angel descending from heaven. North was instantly won over, so she got into his car without thinking.As Gerald drove, he took her on a series of confusing turns into an unassuming alley.North was confused. “Where are we eating?”“Southern Bistro,” Gerald replied nonchalantly.North put down her phone and gulped. “The Southern Bistro that only serves one group of customers a day and opens whenever they feel like it? We’re probably too late.”Gerald chuckled.North understood immediately. If anyone else had suggested coming to Southern Bistro at this hour, they’d just get laughed at for being ignorant.But this was Gerald she was talking about. He could come here in the dead of night, and the chefs would probably get out of bed to cook for him.The place was an incredibly quiet compound. After Gerald parked, North looked ar
After Abraham said that, the place plunged into silence.North blinked. Abraham had come here for a look because he heard that she had some history with the South family… What did that mean?Gerald casually angled himself so that his figure mostly obscured North. “You’ve looked, right? You should go now.”Abraham chuckled meaningfully. “It seems like you don’t welcome me here, Gerald. Are you afraid that I might let slip some secret that Miss North isn’t supposed to know?”Gerald’s gaze darkened.Abraham was grinning. “I heard that you wanted to marry the heir of the South family, Miss North… Then have you ever wondered if you married the wrong man?”North’s eyes narrowed. She got the feeling that Abraham was here with bad intentions.Indeed, she very much wanted to know Gerald’s true identity. However, she did not like having others sowing discord between her and Gerald.And here she had always thought that Abraham was a good person.North decided on a plan of action and said
“Why is the prodigal daughter here, too? Ah, what a shame it is for North that all the young men are revolving around Melinda.”After that, another woman added, “Summer, don’t say that. Although a certain someone is also an heiress, she’s barely more than a servant in the Myers family! This is fate. After all, her mother died young, and she’s unlucky. This is all quite normal!”The two women then burst into laughter.North’s eyes narrowed as she looked toward them. Summer and her mother, Lydia Carson, were the ones speaking. North did not expect that these two would serve themselves up on a platter after she had failed to teach them a good lesson last time.North let out a light laugh and slowly headed toward them.Recalling how North had tricked her last time, Lydia became exasperated. Her expression was sour as she said, “North, it’s not that I want to tell you off, but you should know that you’re a burden. Why don’t you just off yourself? It’s because of you that Melinda rema
Summer and Lydia instantly looked at North in delight.Melinda had to force her excitement down as she pointed out, “Grandpa, North’s here.”Ian frowned. “Look at me.”North remained silent.Linda gave a signal to someone in a shadowy corner. Instantly, someone started laughing mockingly. “Is Miss North ducking her head so low because she’s feeling guilty?”“North!” Ian’s expression turned darker. North was truly shameful. “Look up! Tell us why you hit our guests!”Summer sobbed. “North, I don’t mean to blame you, but I just want an explanation.”Melinda sounded helpless. “North, you have to face the music when you do something wrong. You… Oh, I don’t know how to help you anymore.”North gave a cold laugh as her gaze turned scornful.With the way they were taking each other’s leads, she had suddenly become an unreasonable instigator.Linda made a decision and put on an enthusiastic act of being the victim of humiliation. “Enough. Since North is unwilling to explain, let’s for
North had to act accordingly. Otherwise, she would not get anyone’s sympathy. Worse, it would make her look like she was throwing a childish tantrum.“Don’t you dare put on this act, North!” Summer could not stand it anymore. She started shrieking. “I didn’t hit you! The surveillance cameras…! Yes, go get the surveillance footage!”North snickered to herself, but she did not show any change in expression.She closed her eyes and feigned a pained inhale. Then, she said slowly, “But Summer, haven’t you known all along that there are no surveillance cameras in that spot?“You said it when you hit me. There are no surveillance cameras there, so Grandpa won’t believe me no matter what I say. But now you’re saying you want to check the surveillance footage. Who are you putting on this act for?”Summer became furious. What nonsense was North spouting?!She could not help but start hurling abuse. “Shut up, you b*tch—”“Mrs. Lane, Summer, since you’re Mrs. Myers’s family, I don’t want to
North was doing this on purpose!Linda gritted her teeth. She was unwilling to lose this battle to North. She suddenly went from being strong-willed to crying. “North, what is the meaning of this?! Oh, people were right when they said it was hard to be a stepmother. I don’t blame you for hating me, but don’t think everyone is so sinister! I’m sure Lydia and Summer were only doing it for your own good. But you…”Melinda also shook her head. “North, today is Mom’s wedding anniversary. Why would she cause a ruckus intentionally?”After she said that, she added meaningfully, “Grandpa, you know as well that Mom has always been very thoughtful of North. If North is humiliated, Mom would be humiliated as her stepmother too. Isn’t that right?”North’s gaze was chilly. Linda and Melinda were truly impressive. With just a few words, they had redeemed themselves. “I don’t understand what you mean, Mrs. Myers. So, Summer and Mrs. Lane only hit me for my own good?”Linda hurried to explain
Linda decided that she would not let North win.She quickly came up with a plan and said, “Mr. Gerald, we were planning to announce it at this party. But we didn’t expect North to cause trouble the moment she got here…”“Gerald, let’s go.”North suddenly cut Linda off. She hung her head and said pitifully, “Summer and Mrs. Lane immediately came up and hit me when I arrived at the villa. When Dad and Grandpa found out, they even called me out for being insensible. I really don’t feel like I can keep staying here.“But that’s understandable. Mrs. Lane is Mrs. Myers’s sister-in-law. I should simply stand there and let myself be hit if she wants to abuse me. It’s all my fault. I was silly for wanting to be reasonable with the mistress and her family when I’m the daughter of the first wife.” She sighed.Everyone else in the hall was silent.Linda’s face turned red. “Don’t spout nonsense, North…”“Since the Myers family doesn’t welcome you, there’s indeed no reason to stay.”Gerald n