"Oh..." Yarely had an aha moment, "So you're the special guest our boss invited. You must be pretty important. You had us all fooled today, making us think you were just hanging around with nothing to do. Come on in."The three of them went inside, and Elio said modestly, "It's really no big deal. I just started my own company. Gotta pay the bills, you know.""You're quite the surprise, Elio!" Yarely chuckled. "And who's this lovely lady? Introduce me, please."Elio nodded towards Sunny. "Go ahead, introduce yourself."Sunny stepped forward with a bright smile. "Hello, Ms. Abbott, I'm Sunny, Mr. Rinz's assistant. I look forward to working with you."Yarely shot Elio a look of admiration. "Just as I thought, a strong leader like you would have great people around. Not only are you a chairman, but you also have such a stunning assistant. You're really living the dream, aren't you?"Elio rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit shy. "Oh, I'm just getting by. You're too kind, Yarel
Elio did not go home that night. Instead, he stayed at the company and trained until midnight before finally going to bed. Knowing that his assistant Sunny was in the room next door made his heart flutter a little.However, he did not let it go any further. He reminded himself he was married and needed to stay true to his love. He could not let himself think about anything else.The whole top floor of Evamor Tower was like his own little kingdom. It was huge and private, and Elio was the king of it all. Now, he even had Sunny, a pretty aide, to help with his day-to-day life. It was just the two of them in that big space.When it was just past five in the morning, Elio woke up. He splashed water on his face and headed to the gym, still in his shorts. There was no one else around, and he had not gotten his workout clothes ready, so he just started exercising in what he had on.The gym was big, with all kinds of equipment. Elio ran on the treadmill first, burning off his extra energy.
For the first time ever, a super fancy car rolled into their neighborhood, turning heads everywhere. Everyone crowded around, whispering and wondering which family had a rich relative showing off such a flashy ride.Soon, Lana strutted down the stairs like she owned the place, with Evelyn and a few others tagging along. They all headed to the shiny car.Lana could not hide her grin when she saw the crowd. She told Elio, "What are you waiting for? Open the car door for me, quick!"Elio hurried to unlock the car, and it beeped and blinked its lights. He opened the door for Lana, and just then, someone in the crowd, with a hint of jealousy, said, "Look at that. It's the Jones family's car. They must be loaded!""Well, yeah, the Joneses are big shots. Their oldest daughter's a big boss. It's just the son-in-law who's a bit of a dud, not much to his name.""That son-in-law sure stumbled into good luck. Riding the Joneses' coattails and now driving a Rolls-Royce. Talk about a stroke of
Brownsville was a city alive with energy. In the late afternoon, just after three, Cullinan pulled into the Sunshine Grand Hotel's parking lot. He found a spot, parked the car, and Elio and the others stepped out and headed into the hotel. They made their way to the biggest room on the third floor.The room was already buzzing with people, all relatives from the Faust family. Ruby had planned a special banquet for her side of the family on the eve of the wedding. Dressed to impress as the soon-to-be mother-in-law, she wore a dazzling purple-red dress, a string of pearls around her neck, and a shiny gold bracelet. She looked like a lady who lived a life of luxury.The Faust family's grandmother was there too, her hair a beautiful silver at the age of eighty. She had lost her partner five years ago. She had four children: her eldest son, Quentin Faust; her oldest daughter, Ruby; her second daughter, Lana; and her youngest son, Yash Faust. They were all there, surrounded by numerous gra
Ruby chimed in proudly for her daughter, "My future son-in-law's family is incredibly wealthy. They provided a dowry of $132,000, plus gold and silver jewelry worth a fortune. Yitty's going to live the good life marrying into that family."Howard and Lana felt super awkward. It was tough when they saw someone else's amazing son-in-law and then looked at their own, who had nothing. It was just sad!Lana held back her frustration and managed a fake smile, "That's really great. Your son-in-law is so impressive and successful."Hudson was full of himself and did not even pay her any mind. He reached out to Elio with a fake grin, "We're going to be family soon; let's shake on it."That guy was green with envy because Elio\ had snagged such an amazing woman. He was so annoyed that he wanted to embarrass Elio. He had been into martial arts since he was a kid and could crush a pair of pliers with his bare hands. He was itching to put that young man in his place.Elio saw right through him
Then it clicked for Elio. His mother-in-law Lana's preoccupation with wealth and disdain for the less fortunate stemmed from Madam Faust. This attitude pervaded the entire Faust family: if he were wealthy, he would be treated like royalty and universally liked; if not, he would be left to endure criticism at the whim of others.Hudson was grinning and looking at Elio like he was nothing. He said in a mean voice, "Did you hear that, you country boy? You won't listen to Grandma? Say sorry to me now."Yitty was being really bossy too. She said, "What are you waiting for? A guy who depends on his wife has no right to stand up to my man. Say you're sorry to my husband, or you'll be sorry!"Others started saying things like, "Come on, this is Brownsville, and Hudson is the boss here. If you make him mad, you're in big trouble.""You don't know how silly you look, acting all important when you're really not. You should be happy we're making you say sorry."That was what they called famil
Evelyn stopped, unable to move, and asked calmly, "Grandma, what else do you want to say?" Everyone knew Evelyn was strong-willed. If she left then, it would not look good. They had come a long way for the wedding, and it would not be nice if people talked. Quentin, the eldest Faust son, had to keep things under control. He smiled and said, "Mom, please calm down." Then he told Evelyn, "Don't be upset. Grandma means well. Let's forget about apologies. Everyone, please sit down. It's not often the Faust family gets together like this. No one is leaving."When her uncle spoke up, Evelyn's frown turned into a slight smile. "Okay, I'll do as you say."The tension at the table eased for a moment, and everyone found their seats.More than twenty people sat around the big table. Elio, sitting by his wife, felt a rush of warmth in his heart. When it really mattered, Evelyn had his back, even if it meant clashing with her own family. It looked like she really did care about him after all
Suddenly, the room went as quiet as a mouse. Everyone was frozen in shock, eyes glued to the necklace, and all they could hear was the sound of breathing!Evelyn stared at the necklace in disbelief. She had never worn fancy jewelry before, but something told her this was super valuable. However, could it really be worth $750,000, like Elio said?Yitty was really mad and yelled, "What kind of emerald necklace is this? It's gotta be fake, right? It looks just like glass. Don't be so shameless, trying to trick us with a phony necklace..."Lana felt the same way. Her face was stormy, thinking Elio was a fool for trying to impress them with a fake. She worried they would all end up looking silly in front of everyone.Howard, the father-in-law, saw things a bit differently. He was not sure about the price, but he thought the necklace might be real. He said, "You can't turn something fake into real or real into fake. Quentin's a pro at jewelry. He'll figure it out."Quentin, the top jewe