Who was Reina? She was the Jordan family heiress, the beloved daughter of Bryan Jordan, and the beloved sister of Gabriel Jordan.Offending her would mean offending the entire family.Reina pretended to speak gently, but she subtly warned her. “North, it’s not every day that Mom finds something she likes. You could consider your duty as her daughter done if you give her the rings. Can’t you just pick out another pair?”Nathan was instantly angered. Since when did being the Jordan family heiress give her the right to twist things like that?!North ran a hand through her hair. “Sorry, but I have no duty toward mistresses to fulfill. Nathan, take the rings, and let’s go.”Linda tensed, but Nathan was ecstatic.Yeah, that was right! What duty did she have for a mistress? What did Linda ever do to deserve it? How could she be shameless enough to demand anything?Reina gritted her teeth. “North, don’t make me do this the hard way—”“What’s all this commotion?” Before North could le
Everyone froze. Before Reina could reply, North said nonchalantly, “It means a pure, unsullied love.”Then, she continued to ask slowly, “What part of a pure, unsullied love describes either of you, exactly?”The store fell into dead silence.Nathan said passive-aggressively, “Yeah, everyone knows Mrs. Myers is a mistress who usurped the actual wife. How shameless can you be to say you’re pure and unsullied despite being this old?“Even if we go out of our way and assume the rings were for Reina, is she married? Why is she snatching someone else’s rings if she isn’t? Is she going to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a mistress too?”The store somehow became even more silent. All the workers lowered their heads, not even daring to breathe.Linda’s expression shifted so many times that she almost lost her composure. “Just because Mr. Howard had his eye on you—”“How can you say that?” Nathan obscured North from Linda’s view before mocking her in an innocent, confused ton
Bryan’s face turned slightly pale.Ten minutes ago, Bryan had arrived at the store to find someone fighting with Reina over the wedding rings. He was about to step forward when someone stopped him.“Mr. Jordan,” Connor said respectfully. “My boss would like you to calm down.”Bryan frowned. “Who, Mr. Howard? Sorry, my daughter’s getting bullied right now. I don’t have the time to calm down.”He was about to leave when Gerald chuckled casually. “How come I didn’t notice someone bullying Ms. Reina?”Bryan got angry. “Because the one bullying her is North Myers. Of course, you wouldn’t see that.”Gerald was North’s husband, so it was natural for him to enable her misdeeds.“North?” Gerald’s smile did not reach his eyes. “Do you see things differently?”Bryan watched Reina struggling in the store, so his tone became even ruder. “North had her eye on Reina’s rings, so she tried to take them! She’s done this a dozen times!”“How are you so sure those rings are Ms. Reina’s, Mr. Jorda
Bryan seemed to have found himself an excuse. To prove that he was not wrong about Reina, he hastily looked up and said, “You heard her, Mr. Howard! Those rings were your gift to her! If you already gave them to Reina, then why would you give them to North too? Reina’s only doing all this because of you!”He knew his daughter was not that kind of person! They could give up on the rings, but Reina must not be misunderstood!The moment Bryan finished, Gerald narrowed his eyes at him.After a while, he suddenly chuckled. “So, you believe Reina? Alright. Wait and see.”…Inside the store, North said with a half-smile, “These were the rings you didn’t want, you said?”Reina’s tone was innocent, yet provocative. “Yeah, I preferred pink diamonds, not blue ones. That was why I initially rejected Gerald’s gift. But I like them now, so is it so wrong of me to take them back?”Linda’s gaze shifted. “I know you think it’s not fair, North, but that’s the truth! Even if the rings did belong t
Naturally, Bryan could sense what she was implying. That made him both heartbroken and furious on his behalf.“North Myers, I knew Reina used to be your family’s adoptive daughter and you disliked her. I can forgive all that. But she’s the Jordan heiress now! You should think twice before trying to bully her again!”Then he looked at Reina. “You don’t have to be that nice, Reina. Why should you give them away just because North likes them?!”Reina pretended to explain worriedly, but she actually added more fuel to the fire. “It’s not like that, Dad. North simply said that the rings represented a pure, unsullied love and that mistresses did not deserve rings like that. That’s why I—”Nathan was stupefied. He had never seen a woman this shameless at twisting the narrative!Sure enough, Bryan was enraged. “Nonsense! North, you’ll have to live to see tomorrow if you want to take Reina’s rings! I was trying to settle this matter peacefully, but you’ve gone too far!”North raised an ey
”You…” Bryan stumbled several steps backward. He was the patriarch of the Jordan family, for goodness’ sake! Since when had he ever been toyed with this much by a younger person? And yet, he could not say anything because Nathan was right.He did not think Reina would lie. This changed everything he knew, and he could not accept it.“It’s my fault, Dad,” Reina suddenly stepped closer to him, shaking her head tearfully. “I was obsessed, and I thought Gerald would marry me… I’m sorry. It’s all my fault for troubling you…”Bryan suddenly came to his senses.How could he blame Reina?He could blame everyone else for this, but not Reina!“Mr. Nathan, it is indeed Reina’s fault she wanted Mrs. Howard’s rings, but she is not the only one to blame. Calling her a mistress is going too far,” Bryan seemed to regain some of his confidence. “Mr. Nathan, I hope you know that anyone else can be a mistress, but not Reina.”Nathan laughed. “Oh, how so? All I know is women who interfere in other
North’s words seemed as though she was giving the Jordan family a way out of this predicament. She put the blame onto someone insignificant to protect the Jordan family’s reputation. Bryan thought for a while. Then, his gaze toward Linda turned into one of disgust. If this woman was not Reina’s adoptive mother, he would have already gotten rid of her. She was a short-sighted mistress, who only knew how to antagonize the rightful wife’s daughter. She had also badly influenced Reina, offended Gerald, and brought trouble to the Jordan family. Bryan instructed coldly, “Ms. North is right. Reina, if it wasn’t for Linda, you wouldn’t have made such a mistake. I know you’re kind and want to repay Linda for raising you, but you should keep your distance from a person like her.”Reina and Linda’s faces immediately darkened! Linda clenched her teeth in anger and met North’s taunting gaze. She wished she could just kill North! North did it on purpose! A lump formed in Reina’s thr
Reina’s expression froze. North was still adding fuel to the fire by nodding. “Right, this would make sense. You are Linda’s biological daughter, but you pretended to be the daughter of the Jordan family. Of course, you wouldn’t acknowledge that Mrs. Jordan is your mother. Instead, you keep on defending Linda…” Bryan’s eyes turned suspicious as he looked at Reina. That was true. Reina never referred to Estella as her mother. She even avoided paying tribute to her a few times… “I did not!” Reina yelled. Her expression was extremely darkened. She finally understood North’s motive. North wanted them to cut ties! She would not be able to refer to Linda as her mother again, nor would she be able to continue being Linda’s daughter. North wanted her to choose between Linda and the Jordan family! She had planned for so many years to be the daughter of the Jordan family. How could she possibly let it all go just because of what North had said? She could only… Reina slowly