It was not that she could not refuse Gerald, but she just could not bear to refuse him. How was that being vulnerable?After the kiss, North got up with a slightly flushed face. “Mr. Steward said Mr. South’s been looking for you a lot recently. Do you want to come to the art exhibition with me the day after tomorrow? The Souths wouldn’t be able to get in without a ticket.”Gerald nodded warmly at the wife he had just duped. “Okay.”…Outside, an eavesdropping Connor felt guilty and remorseful, he almost cried for his abandoned conscience.Truly, Mr. Gerald would do anything to win his wife’s heart! How could he say something like that?All that talk about being sensitive and not having a family… Since when did he care about stuff like that?Connor himself had become an accomplice in Mr. Gerald’s crimes!Connor silently looked to the heavens and decided to mess up Mike Howard’s plans a little. After all, if he had not taken Mr. Gerald’s place and caused him so much suffering f
Mrs. Lane’s expression twisted grotesquely. She felt like everyone was secretly laughing at her.The Lanes had gone through a lot of trouble for these two tickets. She had bragged about getting them for ages, and many rich wives had envied her for that.She even styled her hair today for Pete Reuben’s exhibition. But before she could even walk through the door, she was told that the tickets were invalid!Mrs. Lane had never been so humiliated before. “You had all better listen up! If you offend the Lanes, there will be hell to pay!”The ticket inspector’s face fell. “Madam…”“I’m sorry, my mother’s a bit emotional. She’s really passionate about the arts, that’s why she’s so worked up…” Sharon stepped forward and said gently. “My father got these tickets through legitimate means. There’s no reason for them to be invalid.”The crowd started to recognize her.“That’s Sharon Lane…”“Miss Sharon and Mr. Gerald are quite close, so there’s no way she’d get fake tickets.”The ticket i
Mrs. Lane still had not figured out what was going on, so she was enraged. “It is your fault! Sharon wouldn’t have been barred from entry if it wasn’t for you!“How could a country girl like you appreciate traditional art? You’ve probably never even heard of Pete Reuben! Whose fault could it be, if not yours?”North blinked. “You sound confident, Mrs. Lane.”Mrs. Lane turned crimson. “You should be grateful I didn’t demand compensation from you, and yet you’re blocking my way? I’m telling you; I demand an explanation today or I’m staying here—”“An explanation? Sure.” A man coldly interrupted her.Pete Reuben appeared with a stormy expression. “If you insist on hearing an explanation, then don’t blame me for being blunt.”North was not stupid, so she immediately retreated behind Pete.Mrs. Lane was about to start yelling when the crowd got excited. “It’s Mr. Reuben himself!”“Mr. Reuben’s only in his forties, but he looks so young and handsome like an angel. The rumors were rig
Sharon started shaking, and her face went white. Fear overwhelmed her like a tsunami.Pete shot Mrs. Lane a pointed look and said mockingly, “Do you understand now, Mrs. Lane? It’s not that your family offended me, but it’s that I’m not good enough for your family.”Immediately, dead silence followed.Everyone started to look at Mrs. Lane with contempt and mockery.She had just said Sharon was a kind person… Was she being kind when she spread rumors about Pete Reuben making his own niece his mistress?Everyone knew Pete Reuben was mild-mannered, and this was the first time he had been so angry. Then again, Sharon was the one who acted unreasonably just because he bought his niece some clothes. Who wouldn’t have been enraged by this?“The Lanes are so funny. First, they slandered Mr. Reuben and Miss North, and then they had the nerve to ask if they offended him?”“Isn’t it normal for Pete to spoil Miss North as her uncle? And yet Sharon insisted North was his mistress. Pete’s alr
North blinked. She did not understand.Meanwhile, Pete kept talking disdainfully. “It’s just a Miss Sharon now, but there might be a Miss Melissa or even a Miss Rayla. That man can’t be trusted, kiddo. Why don’t we…”“Ahem!” North suddenly started clearing her throat. Wasn’t it bad for Uncle Pete to be badmouthing someone in front of them?However, Pete did not get North’s hint. “Are you sick? Why are you coughing?”North was so desperate to shut Pete up that she was coughing to the point of tears. “I-I’m fine. Let’s go in, Uncle Pete.”Pete nodded and then went right back to being disdainful. “You’re coughing so much, but where’s Gerald? He’s so inattentive to your needs! Kiddo, there are plenty of fish in the sea, let me introduce you to some of them…”North almost rolled her eyes. “Uncle Pete, I think…”“You’re right, Mr. Reuben. It’s my fault.”Pete’s expression froze.North suddenly felt like she could not watch what was going to happen.As Gerald slowly stepped forward,
Even after North was done with classes, she was still thinking about what Gerald was doing at the South Manor.The Souths were clearly no match for him. The other day, when Mr. South came to Royal Sights Residences, he clearly had a favor to ask of Gerald. The Souths obviously had not treated Gerald well, either. Was Gerald actually going over to help them?North instantly became frustrated and got in a hurry to go home.“North.” Her lecturer unexpectedly called her name. “How are your preparations for the design competition going?”A month ago, Peacevale University had planned to send a candidate for the design competition.Since North won the campus-level competition, that spot was naturally hers.“Not bad. Why?” she asked.To her surprise, the lecturer’s face fell. “North, about the competition… you don’t need to go anymore. We found someone else.”North instantly narrowed her eyes. “Really? But I remember the school has always sent whoever won the campus-level competition.
North stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes.Melinda said viciously, “Dream on. There’s no way that scar would heal!”North turned around and walked up to Melinda. She leaned close to grab her chin with a smile.“No way? I wasn’t sure why it wouldn’t heal no matter how many doctors I consulted, but I finally figured it out. That knife had poison on its blade.” North whispered in Melinda’s ear, threateningly, “Let me guess… That kidnapping was actually your and Linda’s doing. Your goal was to disfigure my face, but something went wrong, and it was my neck that ended up disfigured.”Melinda’s face fell. She stared at North, unable to say a word. “Want to know how I guessed?” North scoffed. “You two are petty and vicious, so you’d do anything to steal a man. You envied my good looks and my excellent arranged marriage, so you did everything you could to take it from me. Wasn’t that such an easy guess?”Melinda gritted her teeth.She was right. That kidnapping really was Lin
Eiger’s expression instantly soured. “T-That’s not Melinda’s fault, either! You were ugly, to begin with, and you’ve failed to get the scar treated for so many years! Melinda was just trying to get you to accept reality!”Melinda’s eyes filled with joy upon seeing North getting insulted. “That’s what I told her, Eiger. But not only did she refuse to listen, but she even got a third-rate doctor to treat her. I was just worried that her injuries would get worse.“I didn’t expect North to misunderstand me. North, I really want you to get better. That way, Eiger won’t feel trapped by being indebted to you for saving his life anymore.”Eiger’s expression became disgusted. It did not if North saved him! Was saving his life that one time worth talking about for so long? If she had not saved him, he would have gotten together with Melinda ages ago!This was all North’s fault!Eiger’s rage consumed him, and he blurted out, “Why didn’t you just die? Since you saved me, why didn’t you go a