“If you know she’s your in-law, Cynthia, what makes you think an adopted cousin like you can compare to my wife?” Gerald said bluntly. “In other words, what gave you an ego big enough to convince yourself that you’re worth that 1.9 billion?”The entire room fell silent.Cynthia was still teary-eyed, but now she was humiliated to no end. Turning red, she cried out, “Gerald! How can you say that to me?”Gerald watched her tears fall onto the bracelet. It was supposed to be a beautiful sight, but all it did was disgust him.Frowning, he leaned in to whisper in North’s ear. “We don’t have to take the jewelry if someone else has already put it on.”Cynthia froze. Was Gerald disgusted by her tears?!North blinked. “Why? That’s 1.9 billion dollars. I want it back.”Gerald gulped. Was North… playing coy?Emotionlessly, he turned to the trembling assistant nearby. “Take them off.”As the assistant walked over, Cynthia’s humiliation hit a breaking point.Still teary-eyed, her arrogance
The assistant was filled with sympathy for the manager and the employees. If one offended Mr. Howard, one was doomed!Then again, they had brought it onto themselves. When Gerald ordered the bespoke jewelry, Mr. Tripoli had not even asked who it was for. Instead, to flatter the Brackens, he had given it to Cynthia right away.They were tripping over dollars just to pick up pennies.After going home, North was admiring the purple diamonds when an image suddenly flashed in her mind.It seemed to be of her holding a stack of blueprints, asking someone beside her if they looked good.“When we get the chance, I’ll take your blueprints and turn them into actual jewelry for the masses to admire,” that person said.North pressed a hand to her head.Why were these memories real? She did not remember any of them!And that blueprint… North looked up instinctively and stared at the purple diamonds in front of her for a while.The blueprints in that memory matched the jewelry exactly.“Ha
It was a young man in his 20s with platinum blonde hair and arrogance written all over him.He blew up upon hearing North’s response, looking downward abruptly. “How dare you…”He was about to start yelling when he saw her beautiful face and blushed instantly. Swallowing all the insults he had been planning to say, he choked out, “You… I…”The femme fatale looked quite nice. Were women like her Gerald’s type?North had no idea who this man was, but she recognized Joe Hampton behind him.Oh. Sharon’s bootlicker was here.Joe was so angry that his face tensed as he gritted his teeth and asked, “How dare you show your face at the auction? Did you find out Sharon was coming? Are you trying to outbid her?!”North had nothing to say to a bootlicker, so she turned and tried to leave but got blocked by both men again.“Say something! Are you trying to outbid Sharon for the violin?”“Sharon’s the darling of our group, but you? You’re the jinx!”North frowned. Were these people sick in
Sharon’s lips thinned, and she wore a bitter smile. “However, sometimes I really do admire you. At least you have freedom, unlike me. All my life, I was forced to learn etiquette and music.” She sighed.Nathan opened his mouth to say something. However, he stayed quiet. For some reason, he got the feeling that Sharon’s words were a little… fake.North was mildly interested as she watched Sharon put on her show.The way she framed herself as superior really made North want to puke.Because North had been banished to the country when she was younger, she had never been to the etiquette classes of the upper class. That was why Sharon could attack her confidence. North looked up coldly and said, “That’s true. I never got as good an education as you did, Ms. Sharon. That’s why you need to keep an eye out. I have never been well-bred, and I have a bad temper. So, you should think carefully before you provoke me.”Sharon’s face suddenly went pale.Nathan could barely maintain his arro
Sharon stuttered, “I-It just s-slipped my mind… Nate, I didn’t do it intentionally.”North clicked her tongue. “If you say it slipped your mind, Ms. Sharon, then you must really have only forgotten to mention it. Gerald, let’s go to the auction hall.”Gerald glanced at Sharon dully. “Take care of yourself.”Sharon stumbled a little and swayed on her feet.Once Gerald and North left, Sharon clenched her fists. She felt resentful as tears began to fall. She wailed, “Nate, I didn’t know North hated me so much. Gerald and I are only friends. Maybe I shouldn’t have come back to the country…”Nathan did not comfort her as she had expected. Instead, he asked, “Sharon, did you really not tell me they were married because you forgot to?”Sharon’s body went rigid. She sounded even more pitiful as she asked, “Do you doubt me too?”Nathan hesitated for a moment and found that he really could not bear it. “Sharon, when all is said and done, you and Gerald already broke up. He has his own fam
North frowned. She turned and saw Mike standing there. She said, “Gerald, do you hear a dog barking?”“It’s you!” Mike could not help but lose his temper. “Gerald, you must be here for the final lot of the auction, right? Do you want the land in Southvale?”The land in Southvale? North blinked. She had heard Patricia and Mike mention this plot of land many times. Had they still not been able to obtain it?Gerald did not even look up. “F*ck off.”“Gerald, what are you so haughty about?” Mike hated Gerald’s unaffected demeanor the most.Back when Gerald had newly returned to the Howard family, he was a malnourished beggar without a home, while he was the superior heir of the Howard family! Yet, when Gerald looked at him with that cool expression, it made Mike feel a wave of shame and rage.He gritted his teeth. “Gerald, don’t you really want to know where that person from four years ago is? I have news about her! I’ll tell you if you let me have the land in Southvale!”North abr
Veronica’s expression turned stiff. She never expected that Gerald would come to North’s aid. For a moment, she found that she had no way to get out of this situation. “B-But…”“Sorry, Gerald. Veronica misspoke.” Sharon walked over rapidly. She looked regretful as she said, “As a token of apology, you can tell me what you’re interested in, North. I’ll buy it for you. Please don’t take things up with Veronica.”North lifted an eyebrow. Sharon was truly capable of taking several insults. She was about to speak up when Gerald rejected the offer offhandedly. “If there is something North likes, I will naturally pay for it. There’s no need for the Lane family to intervene.”Sharon’s expression shifted. “Gerald, that’s not what I meant. I was only afraid… Forget it. Veronica, let’s go.”North mentally flipped them off. What in the world was going on? Was this b*tch not satisfied after provoking her once? Did she want to go another round?Was she mocking her for being poor?North eyed
Veronica said disdainfully, “You’re right. Sharon, you’re a kind person. You naturally don’t know that some people can do anything in the name of money. They’re absolutely disgusting.”Sharon smiled in delight. Soon, the auction began.The first auction lot was a fountain pen. It was a normal pen, but it had been donated by a teacher. It symbolized the hope for the future of the schools in the mountain villages.The pen, which could be bought for a few dollars at a shop, was purchased by Sharon for 100,000 dollars. Someone nearby could not help but exclaim, “Ms. Sharon is truly kind!”“That’s right. Although this fountain pen has sentimental value, it’s just a plain pen. It won’t be of much use even after being bought. But the fact that Ms. Sharon can spend this money proves how much she’s willing to contribute to the kids in the mountain villages.”“Unlike a certain someone… The auction has already started, but she’s still napping.”Sharon looked over at North in glee. Besid
He moved his wrists and frowned.Did North sleep for the entire day? Was she disoriented?North sat by the bed with nothing to do. She watched as time passed. Strange, why wasn’t she awake yet? Was she that sleepy? Could it be that the advanced exam questions were too difficult and she did not want to wake up?North could not help but think about the questions. Hmm… they did not seem very difficult. She had thought of a solution!Indeed, people had endless potential when they were dreaming. They could even come up with answers to such difficult questions!North was afraid that she would forget and wanted to wake up quickly, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not wake up. She closed her eyes and opened them again, but she was still in the room.North frowned and muttered to herself, “What’s going on…?”Gerald looked at her silently.He also wanted to ask what was going on.“North, do you need my help?”North hesitated. Even though it was a dream, she was still a littl
North exclaimed in surprise.It turned out that Gerald could be sarcastic too!Gerald did not give Patricia any time to react. He was just short of chasing the entire Bracken family out.While the Bracken family was leaving, Gerald heard Mike grumble, “Mom… If you knew this was going to happen, why didn’t you adjust your act earlier!”Patricia was furious. “I did all of this for you. How could you fall for Gerald’s tricks?!”“But Gerald was right. They suspect that I’m not Paige’s son because of you!”…Giselle’s smile became more and more sarcastic. When the Bracken family disappeared, he said, “Accompany me pay respects to Paige. Also, get someone to clean Glass Manor inside and out.”He wanted to get rid of the bad vibes the Bracken family had brought in.…A few days later, when they returned to Royal Sights Residences, the Bracken family actually stopped causing trouble.North was about to graduate, and she had one final exam. She saw the class group chat exchanging adva
“Why? Do you think that I’ve forgotten how Paige died?”Giselle never expected that this shameless family would have the audacity to make an issue out of Paige’s death.“You make it sound so simple. Even if Patricia dies today, you would never disregard her last wishes. Is everything you do for the good of the Bracken family?“Still, the only person the Bracken family has ever had to sacrifice was Paige!”Virgil snapped, “Nonsense! I’m Paige’s biological father, how could I…”Giselle sneered. “Stop putting on an act. You didn’t look for your daughter when she was missing. You didn’t feel sorry for your daughter when she returned. You kept asking her to tolerate the adopted daughter. When she was sick, you even stopped her treatment so that she would die and let your adopted daughter marry her husband.“Virgil, I’m sick. I’m not dead yet, and I haven’t lost my memory. If this happens again, I’ll destroy the entire Bracken family!”Giselle looked at the bodyguards she had brought
The surroundings suddenly fell silent.Virgil found it hard to breathe. “Let go! Are you crazy?!”“I’m asking you a question. Where is Paige buried? Tell me!”Virgil’s brain was deprived of oxygen. Without thinking, he roared, “How would I know? Let go, you crazy woman!”Patricia screamed, “Madam Giselle, what are you doing? Let go of him. Do you want Dad to die?”Gerald’s second uncle also shouted, “Madam Giselle, why are you doing this to us? Don’t treat your husband like this!”“You don’t know? You don’t know at all, do you?” Giselle ignored everyone. She looked unremorseful. She scoffed.“You claim to be severely depressed about your daughter’s death,” Giselle retorted. “Despite that, you actually don’t know where your daughter’s grave is!”As soon as she finished speaking, the entire place fell silent.When Virgil realized what he had just said, his face turned pale and he stopped screaming. He trembled as he spoke to Giselle hatefully. “You did this on purpose…”That wa
Mike said weakly, “North, we paid our respects to my mother before we went out today. We didn’t say anything because we were afraid that Grandpa wouldn’t be able to accept it.”As expected, Virgil clutched his chest and looked like he was about to faint.Patricia cried out, “Gerald, are you satisfied now that your grandfather is trembling in anger? We’ve kept it a secret for so many years. Despite that…”Everyone sighed. So, that was how it was.It was indeed Ms. Paige’s death anniversary today. However, the old man had fallen into a state of depression from the intense guilt. He then mistakenly thought that his daughter had passed away in May.As his family, Patricia and Mike could not bear to make the old man feel more guilty. Thus, they maintained the facade.In fact, they would pay their respects to Paige every year.This made sense. After all, Virgil was old and could not stand such harsh emotions.The people from the Bracken family jumped on this chance to scold Gerald. “
Everyone was dumbfounded. North was really bold!North blinked. “What’s wrong, Mr. Virgil? Why are you so angry? Did I say something wrong?”“What nonsense! Paige is my daughter! How could I intentionally let her die?!”North widened her eyes. “I didn’t say that you intentionally let her die! It’s just that the Bracken family didn’t like her and looked down on her. The medical staff didn’t care about her either. In the end, they didn’t even treat her and let her die.“I know. It’s not your fault. After all, you were so busy. How could you have the time to take care of a daughter you don’t love?”Virgil clutched his chest. “What nonsense…! Shut up!”“North!” Patricia screamed. “Gerald, are you just going to watch her anger your grandfather? Your grandfather’s health isn’t good…”“What did I say wrong?”North sighed. “Look at what Mr. Virgil said. Ms. Paige passed away at the end of May, so why didn’t he treat her for two whole months from the end of March to the end of May?“Th
Mike knew that he had fallen into North’s trap and was speechless!He was so anxious that his expression changed. His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and huge beads of sweat dripped down. “Um… I…”“Mike!” Patricia saw that the situation was not good, so she hurriedly interrupted Mike and pulled him behind her.Then, she took a deep breath and pretended to be helpless and upset.“Gerald, what nonsense are you talking about?! We’re family. If you have anything you’re upset about, just tell me. There’s no need to cause trouble at the banquet and make an issue out of Paige’s death anniversary!“We’re all Paige’s family, and Dad is also Paige’s biological father. How can we not know when her death anniversary is?“Paige’s death anniversary is at the end of May. It’s not today at all. You… You’re too much!”Virgil looked aggrieved. He nodded and said, “That’s right. Paige’s death anniversary is in May. Gerald, I know you don’t want to give up her inheritance. Moreover, I didn’t fo
Everyone’s eyes fell on Gerald.Gerald looked up slowly and said calmly, “Ms. Patricia, why did you choose today to hold a banquet for Mike?”“It doesn’t matter what day I chose!” Patricia roared.“So, you did choose the date.”Gerald looked down at Patricia from above. His cold gaze made Patricia suddenly feel suffocated.Her “son” had a murderous look in his eyes. “Any other day would have been fine, but not today.”Patricia hated the look in Gerald’s eyes the most. Why was he so arrogant? Why was he looking down on her? Why was he like that b*tch?She screamed, “Gerald, I’m your mother! Mike is your brother! It’s fine if you don’t love me, but you keep finding fault with me. What right do you have—”“Today is the anniversary of Paige’s death.”Gerald interrupted her.Patricia’s face turned pale, and the words that she wanted to say were stuck in her throat. The scene instantly fell silent.What did Gerald say? What day was it today?Today was the anniversary of Paige’s d
Patricia felt a lump in her throat. “You…”“Connor, come out.” North interrupted her.Then, a group of people dressed in black walked out of nowhere and played mournful music. Connor walked in the middle and placed a memorial tablet on the table.Everyone looked at the memorial tablet curiously, wanting to know whose memorial tablet it was. When everyone saw the name “Paige”, they instantly fell silent.North and Gerald paid their respects. Then, they placed the bouquets beside the memorial tablet.Their actions stunned everyone.Had they come to pay respects to Paige?Patricia was trembling. She stared fixedly at Paige’s name on the memorial tablet. She clenched her fists.Paige!Gerald had paid his respects to Paige at a banquet for Mike. Was he crazy?! She was so unlucky! Paige was already dead, but she was still the center of attention at Mike’s banquet!After paying her respects, North turned around. “What are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to pay your respects?”