Horace pulled her aside and taunted her with a smile. "How shameless can you be? You scolded her like she was worthless in front of her grandmother this afternoon, and now you're begging her for your own benefit? How did you manage to develop such thick skin?"Horace was growing increasingly irritated with Melinda. He couldn't fathom anyone else behaving like her as a mother.Melinda avoided Horace's gaze, keeping her eyes down and saying nothing.Alain glanced at her, then opened the car door and got in.Both Horace and Caelus disregarded Melinda as well.As the car departed, Catherine rushed out. She raised her walking stick and swung it down on Melinda. "You wretch! Why did our family accept you as a daughter-in-law?""It wasn't me…" Melinda winced as the blows landed on her back, but she didn't dare to retaliate, enduring the pain. "I never said I wanted to get rid of Eden. It was Eden who wanted to sever ties with us. You have to believe me."Jasmine watched from the side,
On their way back to Skygarden, the more Horace dwelled on Melinda's behavior, the more enraged he became. Unable to contain himself, he turned to Eden and asked bluntly, "Is she really your biological mother?"Eden tilted her head slightly and gave him a mischievous smile. "She really is.""Why do I get the feeling you were picked up from somewhere else?" Horace mused, narrowing his eyes. Then a thought struck him, and he ventured, "Maybe you should go for a maternity test?"He couldn't shake the feeling that Melinda and Eden weren't genuinely mother and daughter. No mother, he thought, would treat their own child in such a callous manner."Sheesh, tell me about it," Eden chuckled, her laughter light but tinged with melancholy.Even Horace couldn't help but feel sorry for her.The truth was, Eden had indeed undergone a maternity test. On the day Melinda found her, Eden had discreetly obtained Melinda's DNA for analysis. The result was disappointing—Melinda was indeed her biologi
Very quickly, there was a knock on the office door.Three men and a woman entered.The woman walked over to the desk and addressed Samuel with an air of pride. "Is there something important that requires my attention, Mr. Samuel? I'm overseeing an intensive class, so I need to monitor the students during their morning reading session."The woman was Miriam Walker, the homeroom teacher of Class 3-1, who had been handling senior intensive classes for the past five years and took great pride in her role at the school.The other three men greeted Samuel respectfully.Samuel gestured toward the girl sitting across from him and introduced, "Let me introduce you. This is our new transfer student, Eden Griffith. Who can take her under their wing?""Transfer student?" Miriam regarded Eden with suspicion. "We've been in session for over a month now, and midterms are approaching. You're saying she's transferring in at this point?"The other three teachers were curious but didn't voice any
Class 3-18 and Class 3-17 ranked lowest academically among the year group.Not only were students in these classes struggling academically, but they were also notoriously difficult to manage, with frequent conflicts erupting.Most teachers were reluctant to take on these classes.Firstly, managing them was a challenge in itself.Secondly, Riverside Senior High had built a reputation as an elite school, attracting more children from wealthy and influential families in recent years. This increased competition for limited spots, often squeezing out students from less affluent backgrounds unless they excelled academically.The intensive classes mainly comprised students from ordinary families, with only a few from affluent backgrounds. Teachers preferred these classes due to higher postsecondary enrollment rates and less trouble.The worst classes were on the verge of having no homeroom teachers at all.Following Grant, Eden entered Class 3-18 with her head slightly lowered.The cl
"Sure, Mr. Sillivan." No one had ever disagreed with him, and it seemed the students in the class held Grant in high regard.Grant gestured toward an empty seat and said to Eden, "You can sit next to Joy."Eden followed his gaze to a young girl with twin braids, whose appearance could be described as cute.Nodding, Eden walked over.Her seat was by the window, which she liked.She placed her books on the table and hung her uniform on the chair. She then sat back, pulled out her phone and started to fiddle with it, completely unconcerned.Seeing this, Grant wanted to say something, but Eden's icy demeanor stopped him.Despite her slender build and ordinary background, Eden seemed less intimidating than the affluent children. Yet, Grant felt interacting with her might prove more challenging.Eden was striking; she had drawn attention the moment she entered.Some boys were impressed by her nonchalant phone use in front of Grant. "She's so cool."However, not all girls were impre
Eden had just risen when two young men approached her."Hello, I'm Ewan Horton, and we're classmates now. If you need anything, just let me know. Everyone here is pretty friendly, so I'm sure the others will help you out too," Ewan said with a boyish smile, extending his hand.Eden lifted her eyes. Still groggy from her long nap, her aloof demeanor seemed rather intimidating. "Hello."Despite her polite tone, they couldn't shake off the chill.Ewan withdrew his hand with a wry smile. "Are you heading to lunch? Shall we go together?""Sure," Eden replied, heading off.In the back of the classroom, the short-haired girl shot an angry look at the long-haired girl. "Why did Ewan leave with the new girl? Isn't he supposed to have lunch with you every day?"The short-haired girl was Carina Duran, from a middle-class business family. The long-haired girl was Laudes Aradia, scion of the esteemed Aradia family from Estburg.Ranked third among Estburg's families, the Aradias were distinc
Joy had grabbed lunch for both of them when someone suddenly tripped her on her way back. Her grip on the trays loosened, and lunch spilled across the floor as she fell.Eden, engrossed in her phone, snapped her gaze toward the noise, eyes narrowing.Ewan also heard the commotion and moved to react, but Morris intervened. "Ewan, that's Simon Navarro. It's best not to."While the Hortons wielded influence in Estburg, their clout in Rielton was negligible.Simon, second in line in the powerful Rielton family, treated Riverside Senior High as his personal domain.Ewan and Simon had clashed before, resulting in significant losses for the Horton family business within days and a sharp drop in their stocks, all orchestrated by Simon.The Hortons were powerless to retaliate.Ewan bit his lip, his fist slamming the table in frustration. "Damn it!"Joy struggled to rise when someone stepped on her hand, causing tears to well up from the pain. But she fought back the urge to cry; showing
Simon grabbed his leg and toppled to the ground, losing his balance.Eden calmly helped Joy up.Joy was speechless, the events unfolding too swiftly for anyone to react.Simon's scream broke the stunned silence, snapping everyone back to reality. Wide-eyed gazes were fixed on Eden, disbelief etched on their faces.Ewan and Morris were dumbfounded.Morris finally managed to gulp, murmuring, "Oh my god, Ewan, she's ruthless!"Ewan's body tensed, his expression darkening. "She's in serious trouble now."Once Morris regained his composure, he nodded solemnly. "You're right. Simon won't let this slide, especially with his leg snapped like that."He hesitated for a moment before asking again, "But did she really break his leg just like that?"Copying Eden's gesture, Morris questioned, "Just like that? His leg is really broken?"Ewan frowned, observing Simon. "Looks like it. His leg's definitely broken."Turning his attention to Eden, Ewan wondered who she really was.She showed n