Fifty thousand dollars a project, and no customizations? Even Star herself would never have dared to do this.“Has anyone bought one of Mr. Carter’s designs before?” North pretended to ask curiously.Johnny scoffed. “Their identities are too important for me to reveal to you.”“So, they’re classified? That’s a shame. I wanted to get to know them,” North sighed. “After all, it’s hard to find people this gullible nowadays.”Johnny choked on his own spit, but he could not say a word. His face turned crimson.It was true that no one bought his designs… But it did not matter! What right did a country girl like North have to look down on him?“Y-You… I can’t design anything for someone like you. Goodbye, Ms. Nelly!” Johnny began storming outside angrily, but Nelly hastily caught up to him. “Please don’t be mad, Mr. Carter. North, that was out of line! How could you say that? Apologize to Mr. Carter, please. Where are you going to get another designer if he turns the job down?”“When
From the sketches to the handwriting, all ten blueprints were definitely Leon Sullivan’s work.Nelly’s face fell immediately.North did not care what they were thinking, so she smiled slowly. “I’m sorry, Ms. Nelly. It’s not that I don’t want you to help. I just have a better option. After all, it’s hard to even look at Mr. Carter twice if I already have Leon Sullivan, am I right?”Johnny’s face quickly turned red. He looked like he was about to blow up, but he had no choice but to suppress his anger.Even though he wanted to protest, North was, unfortunately, right.Nelly’s hands balled into fists.Why?! Why did Leon, someone of such high status that he even rejected the Princess of Ylesir, agree to give North ten different designs?!“N-North, I didn’t think you’d—”“I’m only here today to ask you to help me pick a ring, Ms. Nelly,” North interrupted her with a barely noticeable smile. “After all, you offered to help me. Is that offer still on the table?”She had thrown Nelly’
She put the blueprints away and got up nonchalantly, “Thank you for your suggestions, Ms. Nelly. Your coffee’s on me. Do come to my wedding when the time comes.”With that, North headed straight out.Nelly was shocked. That b*tch!She was so enraged that her face and ears were red. She could not wait to get rid of North!Meanwhile, Connor had been watching from the sidelines. He was speechless.Gerald was worried North would get bullied? It was already a miracle if she did not bully someone else!…Over at Royal Sights Residences, North arrived in a good mood. She wanted to tell Gerald what had happened at the cafe.However, Gerald was on the phone with someone, and she could only hear bits and pieces.The caller was a man with a stern voice. “Don’t spoil her, Gerald. If Nelly’s causing trouble in the country, let North take care of it herself.”Gerald looked up to glance at North before nodding in the phone’s direction. “Okay.”“I’ll be coming back in a few days. I’ve alrea
Downstairs, Gerald could not resist smiling when he saw the carefully thought-out text.North was such a polite woman. She even thanked Leon.Too bad Leon was up to no good.With his slender fingers, Gerald typed out another text and sent it.[How are things going for the wedding dress? Are you designing it yourself, or do you want me to do it?]Upstairs, North was stunned to receive the message.As if the rings were not enough, Leon wanted to design her wedding dress too?Was this her lucky day?But she had already asked for his help with the rings, so she did not want to get greedy.[It’s fine, Mr. Leon…]Leon replied almost instantly. [Since you always call me Mr. Leon so respectfully, I want to do everything I can. I haven’t designed clothing in ages, so consider it wish fulfillment for myself, okay?]North’s hands trembled, and she felt lightheaded. Excited, she replied without thinking: [Alright. Thank you, Mr. Leon.]“Thank you, Mr. Leon”?Gerald stared at the four
She read Leon’s question again. What did she think about her husband?What else could she think?!Irked, North typed furiously. [He’s an unfaithful ladies’ man!]When Gerald’s phone beeped and he saw the text, he stood abruptly and slammed his teacup onto the table, making an unpleasant noise.North was already pent up with rage, so she immediately looked up and snapped, “What are you doing?”Gerald said nothing. A ladies’ man? Unfaithful?Gerald took a deep breath and began typing. [Really… But I don’t think Gerald’s that kind of man.]North felt like someone had just knocked some sense into her. Shoot, how could she have forgotten? Leon was friends with Gerald!She began thinking fast and called Leon by his first name. [You never know what someone’s really like, Leon. Even though I married rich, I have no one to rely on or trust. I can barely do anything in this dog-eat-dog world of rich people. I’m so fragile and helpless…]Gerald gripped his teacup so hard that he almost s
In the end, North still went upstairs to change.Downstairs, Gerald acted fast. “Call Mason and tell him I don’t want the extra 2% anymore.”“Mr. Gerald?” Connor asked, shocked.He did not want them anymore? Gerald used to put the company’s profits first no matter what. When did he ever act with such… pettiness?Gerald instructed his driver to start the car. Then, he said, “Tell Nelly I’ll be at her house in half an hour.”After North got back from the cafe, Connor had told him that not only did North avoid getting bullied, but Nelly was the one who got humiliated the whole time. She also seemed to be in a good mood.That was why he agreed when Mason offered to give him that 2%. He thought the extra profits would make a decent allowance for North.But he did not expect North to be this sad about it.She told neither him nor Connor about it, but she told Leon.Why was that? Because from her perspective, Leon was someone who would never appear in real life.If she did not have
Nelly paled, and her lips trembled as she took a deep breath. “Gerald… What’s the meaning of this? I really was just kidding at Dew Garden. Besides, it’s been almost a day now. Do you really still care—”“I’m not talking about the incident at Dew Garden. You know that,” Gerald said calmly. “Johnny Carter’s been driven out of the design industry. That was the price he had to pay. What about you?”Nelly finally lost her composure.How dare North, that b*tch, complain about her?!“Gerald, I don’t know what North told you, but it really was an accident that I found Johnny Carter. I didn’t know he was that type of person,” Nelly replied anxiously, as if she was genuinely innocent. “I didn’t know Leon had already made some designs for North, so I was sincerely trying to help.“Wedding rings are so important that the more famous the designer, the higher North’s status would be. I was worried other people would say she wasn’t a good match for you so in my haste…”Nelly’s words could have
Nelly’s fingernails were digging into the flesh of her palm.She needed to endure this… She had been hasty, and it was not the right time yet. Enduring the humiliation was her only option!So, Nelly squeezed out a smile. “Understood, Gerald.”Then, she looked at North. “I really am sorry, North. I promise that this will not happen again. I really do consider you a friend.”North raised an eyebrow. She did not know Nelly was such an adaptable person.Since Gerald got what he wanted, he took North’s hand and led her away.As soon as she got into the car and settled down, she heard him ask, “Do you feel better?”North gulped. “What do you mean? Did you really think bullying your childhood friend would make me feel better? Am I really that petty to you?”Gerald said nothing. Instead, he gave her a pointed look that said everything he wanted to say.That stare made North blush. She had the feeling that he saw through her. Wait, Leon was still… She quickly took out her phone.Wor
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?”