The butler said, “But Ms. Estella helped the South family so much. We can’t repay kindness with misdeeds and give what belongs to Ms. North to her enemy—” “What do you want me to do, then?!” Ronald was agitated. “North is unwilling to marry into the South family, and we can’t use Estella’s inheritance! The only way out for the South family is Reina. Besides, that’s the Jordan family… Once Reina becomes the daughter of the Jordan family, and with Melinda being my granddaughter-in-law, I’d be able to tap into the Jordan family’s resources. Isn’t that great?!“You shouldn’t talk about the designs I gave away! If North knows that Reina is plagiarizing Estella’s works, she will make a huge deal out of it. Now that Reina has the Jordan family behind her, we can’t afford to offend her. “Since Estella is no longer with us, she won’t know Reina is plagiarizing her work, so she won’t be upset about it. Let’s just treat it as a non-issue!” That should be the case, but the butler still fe
It was not a secret that Bryan had a dead wife and a long-lost daughter. Gerald had heard about it before. However, he did not expect Reina to be the long-lost daughter. “Mr. Gerald, it’s a call from Bryan.” Connor passed Gerald his cell phone. Gerald narrowed his eyes and paused for a moment before he answered the call. “Mr. Gerald.” Bryan’s polite voice traveled through the phone. “I’m not sure if you remember, but you have one half of the heart pendant. That’s the promised token between you and the Jordan family.”Gerald’s eyes darkened. Bryan said, “Please come to the antique collection gala tomorrow.” …Reina was still trending online. She was already a very popular celebrity. Once it was revealed that she had another identity as a daughter of a rich family, everyone was extremely jealous of her At Royal Sights Residences, North stared expressionlessly at the comments. [I’ve said Reina is a princess, am I wrong?] [I thought she was only the stepdaughter of t
“The news came from Mr. Gabriel. It can’t be faked. Plus, the Jordan family hopes to see Mr. Gerald marry Ms. Reina. I know this sounds really old-fashioned and outdated, but children should listen to their parents on whom they should marry.”“But Mr. Gerald is already married…”“That’s simple. He can get a divorce.” “Everyone knows that Ms. Reina and Mr. Gerald are childhood sweethearts. They’re engaged to boot. Who the hell is North? Does she really see herself as Mr. Gerald’s wife?”“Hey, look. The shameless witch has come downstairs.” The servants looked at North before looking at each other. The disdain in their eyes was evident. The leader among them was richly dressed in dazzlingly expensive clothing and jewelry. “Madam, I know we might have sounded really mean, but you can ask around. Everyone knows that Mr. Gerald and Ms. Reina are engaged, and who are you? You’re just a homewrecker who snatched away another woman’s husband!” North whipped her head around. Gerald
A deafening silence gripped everyone in the hall.A cold fierceness gleamed in Gerald’s eyes as he scanned the crowd emotionlessly. The servant trembled. It was beyond her expectations that Gerald would come home at this time. Terrified, her legs went limp. “Mr-Mr. Gerald…” Gerald used a dangerous and cold tone to interrogate the servant. “Did you want Mrs. Howard to get down on her knees for you?”“N-No!” The servant had long lost her previous smugness. Blood had drained out of her face as she stammered out an explanation. “It’s not what you see. Mrs. Howard suddenly slapped me, and I got mad. S-So, I said…”Bewilderment hit North.She wondered how the servant could act like a b*tch and twist the facts given the latter’s old age.Gerald cocked his brow. “Did North slap you?” The servant became hopeful because of Gerald’s words. Hence, she hurriedly tried sowing discord though she appeared like she had forgiven North.“Yeah, look at my face. There’s still a mark. Yes, I
Knowing Gerald’s personality, the servants knew they would die miserably if they ended up in his hands.“Mr-Mr. Gerald, we’re wrong! We shouldn’t have gossiped about Mrs. Howard secretly. Please forgive us…” “Mr. and Mrs. Howard, please be forgiving. We’ll slap ourselves!”The constant sound of slaps resonated in the hall. North cracked a crafty smile. “I’m a kind person, Gerald. I can’t bear the sight of blood. How about this? Let them tell us who the mastermind is. Then, we’ll let them off.” Gerald looked down with composure. “Aren’t you afraid that they’ll lie?”“Yes, I do.” North purposely sighed. “So, we need to get evidence because we can’t trust their words alone. They need to convince me. Plus, I’m easy to talk to. I won’t make things difficult for honest people.”The servants looked at each other and were too afraid to speak.Someone did bribe them, but that someone was… They could not expose them. After waiting for a few minutes, nobody spoke up. North slowly sho
Immediately, Connor became timid. “Do you know why Abraham is so popular among women? It’s because he’s good at acting!” Gerald frowned. “I don’t need other women.” “It’s the same with Madam! She’s a woman too. This will be applicable!”Suddenly, Connor looked around and kept his head bowed mysteriously. “Mr. Gerald, the first step to being loved is to make that woman feel sorry for you. You gifted her antiques. And you’ll escort her tomorrow. Then, you can tell her that you push off a few meetings just to be with her—”“No.”Gerald rejected it immediately. He gave Connor a calm look. “I care about her. I shouldn’t use what I’ve done for her to win over her compassion and love.”Connor touched his nose. “But Abraham always does that. The dating strategy I read about said the same thing…” Gerald frowned impatiently. “Have you ever been in love?”Connor was full of guilt. “Of course, not—”“Then, why are you so sure?” Gerald pressed the place between his brows. All he could t
“I’m sure the Jordan family will gift Reina some good things to help her shine in this party.” “I heard that Reina will bring a teacup from five hundred years ago to blow everyone’s mind. We surely can’t look down on the Jordan family.”“Mr. Gerald will be here too. I wonder if the Jordan family will bring up that engagement. If—”“Shush!” Someone suddenly interrupted them.Everyone looked around and fearfully found that North and Gerald had walked into the hall at some point. “They’re wearing matching outfits?!”“Ah… Who said that Mrs. Howard isn’t loved?” “But Mr. Gerald and Reina are engaged. North is dominating their marriage. Isn’t that bad?” Calmly, North scanned the crowd. Almost everyone was talking about that engagement. “Mr. Gerald!” At that time, someone spoke up behind them.Gabriel and Reina appeared arm in arm. Gabriel shot North a contemptuous glare and extended his hand toward Gerald.“It’s nice to meet you. I always hear Reina talking about you.”That
There was a brief silence. Gerald looked aloof. “An engagement?”Gabriel sounded confident. “My mother and Madam Bracken agreed on that engagement back then. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Madam Bracken.”The onlookers were all ears. It had always been a secret who Bryan’s wife and Gabriel’s mother was. But it had to be real since Gabriel had confidently claimed that Giselle and Mrs. Jordan had agreed on that engagement. If not, it would give the game away if others asked about it.“Mr. Gerald is engaged. Doesn’t that make North feel awkward?”“What is Mr. Gerald going to do? I’m sure the Jordan family won’t let it go. Plus, it’s bad to go back on one’s word.”North narrowed her eyes. She thought. “Does Madam Bracken know about this? But I never heard her mention this.” Gerald remained calm without any extra emotion. “If that’s the case, Connor, help me ask if Grandmother is free now.” Enlightened, Connor said, “Okay, Mr. Gerald. I have never heard Madam Bracken brin