Alain arrived at the entrance as soon as he got the news. The moment he stepped out, he saw the young woman who had become the center of everyone's attention.Even he was captivated.Eden, who had always worn black hoodies and seemed to have nothing else in her wardrobe, looked like an angel in a white gown tonight. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.As Eden walked toward Alain, she seemed less than pleased, her frown deepening. She had never liked being the center of attention, and the way everyone was staring at her only made her mood worse.When she reached Alain and looked up, her expression softened.He was in a form-fitting suit that highlighted his slender figure. Standing there, he looked graceful and elegant, attracting plenty of attention from others, especially women. Eden could hear their gasps of astonishment.She smiled, noting how Alain could draw so much attention from women.Alain studied her for a moment, then composed himself. With a glint in his eye, he took
As for Tyler and Talia, Eden didn’t invite them to the party. It wouldn’t have been appropriate for them to attend, and with so many people around, they would have attracted too much attention.Ewan, regaining his composure after the initial shock, nodded and said, "Don’t worry, chief. We’ll take care of ourselves."Eden said nothing more and proceeded to the center of the banquet hall with Alain and Sinead.The guests at the banquet were all prominent figures. Samuel Graham, the patriarch of the four leading families in Rielton, had received an invitation from the Ward family and had been at the party for some time. Though he generally avoided such events, he couldn’t refuse the Ward family’s invitation, especially with Eden present. He was here to support her.Peter Morris, who controlled Estburg, was also in attendance, accompanied by Jessica Sinclair. Despite spotting Eden from a distance, neither Samuel nor Peter approached her, respecting that the party was for Eden and not w
Eden, holding a wine glass, stood by a table, smiling at Jasmine without saying a word.Jasmine’s eyes darkened, but her smile remained intact. "I won’t disturb you then. I hope your party is a great success."Eden raised an eyebrow and watched Jasmine leave with a knowing look.Once Jasmine had left, Samuel and Peter approached Eden."Congratulations, Ms. Eden. You’ve finally found someone who can take care of you. I can rest easy now," Peter said with a gentle smile as he raised his wine glass.Eden returned the smile. "Thank you, Mr. Peter."Samuel shot a glance at Peter, his eyes briefly darkening, but he quickly refocused on Eden. "You should wear brighter colors more often. You look stunning."Eden smiled softly, holding her wine glass. "Thank you for the compliment."Samuel nodded, smiling. "You deserve it."He paused, then stepped closer to Eden. "Have you given any thought to what I mentioned earlier?"Eden frowned. "Not yet.""Don’t keep me waiting too long," Samue
Geoffrey was chatting with some of the patriarchs from Rielton when he noticed Sinead waving at him. He walked over and asked, "What’s up?"Sinead handed her mobile to Geoffrey with a grim expression. "Several ladies here at the party received this Facebook notification. Should we address this now or wait until after the party?"Geoffrey glanced at the mobile and said angrily, "Damn it! We’re hosting a party for my future daughter-in-law, and someone is sending this now. Clearly, someone’s trying to make things difficult for Eden."The Facebook post showed Eden sitting in a car with a much older man. They were close, with the man patting Eden’s head and shoulder. The photos made their relationship appear intimate.Geoffrey could tell the photos were genuine and that someone was clearly targeting Eden."Ha!" Geoffrey snorted coldly. "Whoever did this has underestimated our support for Eden. They think they can drive a wedge between us? They’re making a huge mistake."Sinead agreed
Eden looked at the photo on the screen, her eyes narrowing as a cold aura surrounded her.Everyone from Class 3-18 was furious, their faces turning red.Ewan was the first to mutter angrily, "Damn it! Who sent this out? The chief would never do something like that!"Joy frowned and said, "Someone’s definitely framing Eden. What should we do? So many people have seen this; her reputation is ruined."Morris agreed. "Whoever did this has no sense of morality. Why post it now? Just to make everyone misunderstand the chief?"The murmurs around them reached Eden’s ears.She stood there, coldly, swirling the wine in her glass with slender fingers, her dark eyes flashing with cold determination.Eden placed the wine glass on the table and turned to Ewan. "Get me a laptop.""Now?" Ewan asked, puzzled. Why wasn’t she rushing to handle this herself?Eden removed her heels and nodded. "Yes."She had never worn high heels before; she felt uncomfortable after standing for so long.Seeing
Jasmine forced a smile. "What are you talking about? There’s nothing to understand. Mr. Alain has been so good to you, but you’ve done this behind his back. How can you face him now? Even if you’re my sister, I can’t support you."As Jasmine spoke, murmurs of condemnation started up again around them."Exactly. Alain treats her so well, yet she does this? It’s despicable.""Alain can have any woman he wants. Why did he choose her? Besides being pretty, she doesn’t seem to have much else to offer.""But she knows how to seduce men, whether they’re young or old."Alain, with his hands in his pockets, glared at the murmurers, and the conversations died down.Sinead looked at Eden and Jasmine, quickly understanding what was happening. Her expression darkened."Really now?" Eden narrowed her eyes. "I have something I’d like to show you as well. Interested in seeing it?""If you’ve got something to share, of course I’d like to see it," Jasmine replied with a feigned smile.Eden look
Jasmine's face was pale, her hair falling around her shoulders as she knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her cheeks.In the past, Edmund would have believed her without question, but this time, he stared at her coldly. "Not you?"He looked up with a sneer. "Are you saying that the person in the video isn’t you but someone who looks exactly like you?""I..." Jasmine was at a loss for words, biting her lip.It was her in the video, and it did happen. She never imagined that someone would record it, let alone that Eden would have gotten hold of it.But with so many eyes on her, she couldn’t find the words to explain.Catherine quickly slapped Jasmine. "How could you do something like this? He's your brother! He loved you since you were little and gave you everything! But you killed him... Why? Why would you do that?"Catherine was beside herself with grief. Jerred had been her favorite grandchild.When she heard about Jerred's death, she fainted on the spot and spent half a
Jasmine downed her glass of wine and smashed it on the ground. "You won't! You'll never recognize me because my mom is from the countryside and a second wife! We’ll never get your recognition!"Catherine and Edmund looked at her coldly.After a moment, Edmund said icily, "I've never treated you differently from Jerred. You have everything Jerred had. The Hunt family has never mistreated you.""Yes, you’ve never mistreated me, but what you’ve done is even worse than mistreating me!" Jasmine's face twisted with anger. "Every time we finished school, you only talked to Jerred. After every exam, you only asked about his results. Even if I was the top student, all you told me was to keep working hard."Tears streamed down Jasmine's cheeks. "I'm your child too. Why do you only see my older brother? Why can’t you ever see me?"Edmund looked at her in disappointment. "The only reason I didn’t praise you was because I already knew your results. I didn’t want you to become prideful. In a la