The night had grown late. There was a cruise ship on the sea. It was luxurious and gave off a dazzling light.The cruise ship was a birthday gift Zachary had prepared for his mother, and her birthday celebration party was being held on this cruise ship this evening. The first level of the cabin was ablaze with light. Everyone that attended the party was either wealthy or respectable. Some of them were famous celebrities, and even the attendants were supermodels carefully picked by Zachary’s mother. The white dining table in the center of the cabin was exceptionally eye-catching. Annalita was sitting at the table, and those who were qualified to dine at the same table with her were her close family relatives.Even though Charlotte had experienced a lot of things, she was still dumbstruck by the extravagance of the cabin when she came to the cabin door.“Give me your hand.” Zachary’s voice rang out from her left side.She did not know what he was up to, but she still did as h
Zachary had told Charlotte that it was Annalita who had asked him to bring her here…However, why had she said she had never invited her?Charlotte felt something was not right, but considering Zachary’s usual stone-cold and tepid behavior whenever he was interacting with other people, she figured that his mother might be the same type of person as him as well. After all, an apple did not fall far from a tree. However, what Charlotte did not see was that Zachary’s brows were locked tightly on his forehead right now.The highly professional waiter immediately brought two chairs over.After Charlotte took her seat, she awkwardly realized that the six family members of Zachary were staring at her as if she was an alien, but none of them spoke.Annalita rolled her eyes. “What’s the matter? Has the cat gotten your tongue?”A middle-aged woman smiled dryly and said, “You’ve finally come, Zachary. Do you know everyone has been waiting for you?”Another old man wearing a thick gold ch
“Zachary, what do you mean by that? Everyone here is your family, and they are all older than you. This is how you teach your wife to respect the elders?”Annalita’s face turned even darker. There was no expression on Zachary’s face. He looked at them coldly as he said, “Do you guys really want to hear her explanation? Didn’t all of you have agreed to humiliate her together? Even if she explained, you all would just hurl more harsh words at her. Why bother explaining since she would only invite more humiliation to herself?” “You…”Annalita’s face turned red and pale from her rage.Annalita’s six close relatives lowered their heads in shame.Zachary was right. Annalita had instructed them to teach her a lesson, and it was also Annalita who had asked Miranda to “expose” Charlotte in front of everyone. As long as Charlotte tried to defend herself, they would throw round after round of sarcastic remarks at her until she gave up. However, they did not expect that Zachary would se
Annalita’s well-maintained complexion was filled with shock and disbelief.“Zach, have you forgotten your own mother’s birthday? You’re one of the hosts for tonight’s birthday party too. Our guests will consider me a laughing stock if you abandon me. Are you going to disregard my pride too, for this tramp?”The six close relatives gaped in shock.Zachary’s acquaintances were all aware that there were only three people whom Zachary truly cared about—his mother, Annalita, his sister, Miranda, and his nephew, Zenios. Among the three, Annalita was first in line.Therefore, Zachary may seem as terrifying as Hades himself to an outsider, but he was completely obedient to Annalita. He was always considerate of her. He would never defy Annalita, not even at the expense of his own grief… Today, however, he had not only talked back to Annalita in order to protect Charlotte, but he was even ready to wave his hand, leave Annalita’s birthday party, and embarrass her!‘Miranda was right! That
Charlotte walked away very quickly. In her haste, she absentmindedly bumped into a woman, causing her to spill all of the red wine in her glass onto her dress.“Sor—” Charlotte froze before she could complete her apology when she saw the woman’s face.“I saw it, that entire show with Annalita picking on you? What a treat.” The woman with heavy made-up swirled her empty wine glass.A prickling pain overwhelmed Charlotte. However, she calmly replied, “Regardless of what’s happened to me, you of all people are least deserving of my little ‘show’.”The woman’s eyes filled with derision.“Pfft! Who wants to see that? It’s a disgusting sight. You’re just like that old man, Walter Simmons. You’re the biggest mistakes of my life.”Charlotte was about to return the sentiment until she found herself speechless as if she had a lump in her throat.The woman with soft, wavy hair, fair skin, and exquisite makeup before her looked like a cool and elegant young wife who was only a few years o
Kourtney may be completely unfazed as she continued making out with the man, but Charlotte’s face was flushed from humiliation. She quickened her pace and ran out of the boat.Kourtney really was her mother.However, she had never shown her any motherly affection, not even for a day.Kourtney had tossed her off to a maid as soon as she had given birth to her as if she were throwing out the trash. After a month, having achieved full recovery postpartum, she had slept with the butler and had been caught in the act by Charlotte’s father…Her father may have been in love with Kourtney, but he couldn’t stand the humiliation, so he kicked her out.As such, her father had ended up raising her on his own. Kourtney had never once visited her during her childhood.Alfred had once told Charlotte that Kourtney had tried to smother her to death on the second day after her birth. Luckily, he had caught her just in time and saved her!Charlotte stood quietly on the deck, deep in thought.She
That voice sounded very familiar to Charlotte.She turned around and saw Miranda and Annalita, along with their four close relatives tagging along.Miranda glanced at Charlotte and stuck her middle finger out at Kourtney.“Scheming b*tches are good at selecting prime locations. This boat is a vessel for the super-rich high rollers tonight. They’re bound to strike a huge profit in one night, just by advertising their business.”“I’ve only just started my business, and I only have one customer, which means I’ve only earned a few thousand dollars.”Kourtney took a puff of smoke and deliberately exhaled it onto Miranda’s face. “I’ve heard that you’re still relying on your brother, and you’re all grown up. You bawl and wail like a baby whenever your brother refuses to give you money, you poor thing! You have the body of a model and a rather pretty face. You must have some market demand, so why not earn some money with me? Be more independent.”“You sl*t!”Miranda immediately lost h
The other two relatives had retreated all the way to the center of the deck before Miranda could even ask for their help. They shook their heads.“You… All of you…” The infuriated and terrified Miranda burst into tears.Just then, Charlotte climbed over the railing and dove into the sea without hesitation.She had already begun taking off her clothes when Annalita fell into the sea. She enjoyed water sports, so she was well aware of how chilling ocean water could be at this time of the night. Diving head-first was extremely risky, so she took off her clothes and did a quick warm-up before jumping in.Charlotte quickly brought Annalita back onto the boat.The four relatives who were reluctant to save her surrounded her at once.“Anna, I was just about to jump and save you, but that woman got to you first.”“Anna, you’re a blessed soul. You’ll be fine.”“Anna, you’re all wet. Here, take my coat—”“Enough!”Annalita pushed Miranda’s Second Uncle’s coat away in disgust. She refus