North sounded troubled when she said, “But…” She trailed off.Reina’s friends spoke sarcastically. “Ms. North, don’t you have the guts? But that’s true. It’s shameful to have so many men in your bed.”“How could you be ashamed when you already dared to do such a thing?”“Mr. Henry, you should do better in controlling North. Look at her. There are so many people here, but she still refuses to open the door. She’s bringing your family such shame.”Henry hated how North always went against him. She was just like Estella had been back then.Rage overwhelmed him. He stepped forward and kicked the door open.“All you do is seduce men. You keep using your looks to get your way. I really despise having a daughter like you!”But suddenly, Henry’s face blanched.“Blackjack! I got another blackjack! Pay up!”Nathan was showing his cards and crying out excitedly. “My luck is just great today!”There were several other people sitting next to him, both men and women. They were massaging th
“What shameful acts did Mr. Henry think North was doing in this room? Can’t six people play cards together? Why did you turn it into something so despicable?”Henry started to sweat. Before he could say anything, he was already being lectured by three people who were more influential than him.“N-No, I was just worried about North.”“Would you slap her if you were just worried about her?” Charlotte swept her hair from her forehead. “What had Madam Myers said? She believed her granddaughter would commit such a shameful act just because people were spreading rumors that North had seduced someone.“How strange. Is Madam Myers so easily convinced? How come she believed the scandal about North so easily? Why couldn’t North have been set up? You’re supposed to be a family, but you don’t even think to ask for proof.“It’s either that you hate North as the daughter of Henry’s first wife or…” Charlotte trailed off before enunciating, “North doesn’t have any blood relation with the Myers fa
A shiver ran through Henry. He started sweating even more due to his fear.Gerald was not someone he could afford to offend.“M-Mr. Gerald, you—”“You say that North seduced a judge two years ago,” Gerald started slowly. He was so calm that he made everyone shiver. “Where’s your proof?”Proof?Everyone thought back to the past. It seemed that there had not been many people who had seen any proof. Yet, the scandal had come from the Myers family. Henry and Ian were North’s family, so there could be no lie in what they said.Henry gulped. For a moment, he was not sure what Gerald meant. “The proof… The proof is with Constantine.”Gerald let out a laugh. “With Constantine?”“That’s right.” Henry immediately came back to himself and started to suck up to Gerald. “Mr. Gerald, it’s definitely true that North misbehaved and seduced a judge last time. Why is there a need for proof when there’s a witness?”Constantine had said it himself. North had woken up in his bed. That was the proo
North nodded. “There are rumors about me going around even though I’m right here. What if I don’t prove my innocence, and people take the rumors seriously?”Colt and Charlotte agreed. “Yes, we need Mr. Henry to see for himself who slept with Constantine. Otherwise, he may forget about it one day and accuse North all over again.”That was clearly a jab at Henry, which made him flustered. “No. I was just worried about North. It was only a misunderstanding.”Sadly, Gerald had already gotten the hotel staff to lead the way. The entire crowd had begun marching toward Constantine’s room.Henry and Reina could only grit their teeth and walk faster to keep up with the rest.…Once they were in front of Constantine’s room, North shot Reina a pointed look before knocking on the door.Reina had the feeling that something was wrong.However, she did not have time to think about it anymore, because they could actually hear a woman’s voice from within the room!Everyone’s expressions twiste
The phrase “you’re such a good daughter” felt like a slap to Reina’s face.Nathan leaned closer to Bryan and passive-aggressively said, “Not bad, Mr. Jordan. Your daughter is so nice, she went out of her way to frame her sister to get her adoptive mother out of trouble. If you get into trouble in the future, she’ll frame someone else to save your skin too!”Everyone instinctively backed away from Bryan.After all, they could easily become Reina’s next sacrifice in the name of “being a good daughter”.Bryan’s expression soured.“But just because I can understand where Reina’s coming from, doesn’t mean I understand where Dad, Grandfather, and Grandmother are coming from.” North pretended to be confused. “It’s bad enough that Reina’s framing me to cover up Linda’s crimes. How come you’re all helping her cover it up too? Am I, your biological family, not as important as a mistress?”Ian’s face turned red before it paled. The moment he saw Reina’s shifty eyes, he understood what had h
As Linda cried, she pretended that she wanted to die. “I know I’ve let you down in the past, North, but I’ve changed! I cared so much about you, and yet you set me up! Waah, just let me die!”Reina bit her lip and teared up as well. It was like the whole world owed them an apology.Everyone looked at North, but she calmly asked, “May I ask how I set you up, then?”Linda was about to answer when North continued, “I was at the hall the entire time last night, and I only left after Gerald appeared. I didn’t have the time to meet Constantine in private at all.“And by the time Constantine appeared there to drink wine, I was already playing cards in my room. There are a bunch of witnesses who can prove that.”Sure enough, Colt said nonchalantly, “We’d arrived around 9:00 p.m. If you don’t believe us, Ms. Reina, you can check the security cameras.”The moment Colt said that, others spoke up too. One of the contestants said hesitantly, “I saw North go back to her room… Constantine had j
North said simply, “The Myers family is full of fools to have fallen for your tricks for this long. But there are so many people here today. Did you expect all of them to be just as stupid?”“North Myers!”“You ingrate!”Madam Myers and Henry yelled at the same time.What did she mean by that? Was she mocking them for favoring the mistress and not knowing right from wrong? She was running the Myers family reputation into the ground!They did not want to play favorites, alright? North was the one who refused to learn—“I got it!” A man’s voice interrupted Ian’s thoughts. Nathan shoved his way through the crowd and yelled loudly, “The truth is right in front of our eyes, and yet Linda thinks everyone will believe her the moment she cries. Why? “Because the Myers family has made her arrogant! That’s how she’s gotten things done for almost twenty years. She used to have the Myers family believe her every time she cried and turned around to blame North.“She’s seen how effectively
Linda’s gaze kept shifting as she raised her voice to mask her guilt, “You knew you wouldn’t be good enough to make it to the finals, so you needed Constantine to let you in! I’m not framing you this time, North! Everyone knows what happened two years ago!“You’d spent all your efforts on seducing and sleeping with the judges in order to take someone else’s spot without doing anything to deserve it! Doesn’t that hurt your conscience?!”Anxiety appeared in Nathan’s gaze.What was she going to say? He believed North, of course, but—wait, why was Gerald so calm? That was his wife getting slandered here! Was he not worried at all? “Aren’t you going to help, Gerald?”Gerald shot him a brief glance. “How?”“However you can! Get those two shameless women out, or get them—”“I called all these reporters here to uncover the truth of what happened two years ago.” Gerald rubbed his hands together. “There’s no rush.”Nathan looked at the Quinn siblings, only to find Colt shooting him a look
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?”