After the press conference, everyone labeled Victoria as insolent, selfish, greedy, and evil. All over the internet, netizens criticized her harshly. On the other hand, people pitied and supported Colette.That was because she had acted positively. Throughout the press conference, she showed kindness and filial piety. Comments started flooding in after the press conference."So that means Mr. and Mrs. Jameson listened to what the tarot reader said. They just wanted Victoria to grow up safely.""That's why they sent her to the countryside. They provided her with everything she needed and even gave her allowance every month." "Then, once she's all grown up, they brought her back and sent her to Brighton. They even let her stay at Zion Estate.""But in the end, after getting to know Mr. Homer, she refused to acknowledge her parents. Did I get it right?""There's more! She even asked Mr. and Mrs. Jameson to give her everything the Jameson family has," a netizen replied to the co
Yves looked at the confident Victoria. "You'll handle it yourself? How? Have you come up with a plan?"She gently nodded in response. "Yes.""What's the plan you have in mind?" Yves asked with curiosity. However, Victoria merely smiled in response. "It's a secret for now. You'll find out soon."Upon hearing her words, Yves glanced at Benjamin, who remained silent. "Mrs. B, have you read the comments online?" asked Yves. Victoria turned around and sat on the living room's couch. She appeared calm while answering, "I've watched the video, but I haven't had the chance to read any of the comments."However, I don't have to read them to know what they're saying. It's pretty much the same."Yves followed behind her. He seethed with indignation at the thought of the viral news. "I truly wonder what goes on in those people's heads. If Roman and Ginny loved and cared for you as a daughter, they wouldn't have held a press conference," he snarled. He continued grumbling, "Why wou
The gig that Jane accepted on behalf of Colette was a long-running reality show airing on Danube City's local TV station, titled "My Child."Initially, the show's core was to assist parents in their search for abducted children. However, it incurred significant production expenses despite struggling with low popularity and viewership.Over time, the show transformed into a program centered on resolving family conflicts.To garner attention, each episode of the show introduced controversial characters and events. Some members of the audience ridiculed the production team for its scripted shows.Still, viewership began to surge as the audience was engrossed in the juicy family gossip.When news broke about Colette and the Jamesons' appearance on the show, it immediately topped the trending topics.All attention was on Roman Jameson and his "miserable good dad" persona, which even raked in two business deals for the company.The only reason Victoria hadn't caved in was because she
The day after the episode of "My Child" was aired, calls for Victoria to be kicked out of Brighton Women's College trended on Twitter.The students from class one took the lead, even penning a petition that spanned a few thousand words.In the petition, they accused Victoria of her corrupted morals and called for the school to expel her and save their reputation. The petition was signed by hundreds of students.Soon after that, someone posted the video of Victoria arguing with a teacher on the first day of school online. She was labeled as haughty and disrespectful.The netizens who had nothing better to do with their lives even went as far as comparing Yves' voice to the male voice in Colette's live call. They concluded that those were two different individuals.This led to a wave of online attacks, with some labeling Victoria as promiscuous.Some even supported Colette in her pursuit of true love, arguing that she would not be stealing Victoria's man. Instead, she'd be saving h
Cindy only had Victoria in her eyes as she approached the latter. When she was right behind Victoria and opened the bottle, someone had made a move before her. "Victoria Jameson, you bitch! How dare you hurt Lettie? I'll kill you!"With that, a man furnished the knife hidden in his sleeve and charged at Victoria.People around them scurried away when they saw the weapon in the hands of the belligerent man. They were scared of being caught in the crossfire.Victoria dodged the attack while reaching out for something in her coat pocket.When the blade cut into her flesh, she put on a grimace. Her lips twitched, and she pressed on her wound as she kicked the man away from her.Today, she put on a beige coat instead of her usual dark outfit. The coat was instantly stained red by the blood, which was horrifying to watch.Only the handle of the long knife was hanging outside her body, also soaked in blood and dripping.Meanwhile, the man scowled in pain on the ground. He stared at h
Benjamin turned to Yves and instructed, "Please take care of that."Yves grunted and marched to confront the hospital director and his staff. For four whole hours, he was left tortured with worry.Four hours! Not one of the staff had bothered to inform him about the situation.Benjamin turned around to Victoria and assured her, "Don't worry. Yves and I own this private hospital. They will be tight-lipped."Feeling reassured, she rested her cheek in her hand and stared at him with admiration."You own Velvet Haven and now a private hospital. I am envious of your assets."He smiled but remained serious as he replied, "You can have them any time you want."She seemed to have missed his point, but her admiration only grew. He was so rich that he wouldn't mind one bit if he had to give some of his assets away. If it was Victoria, she wouldn't have been so generous with her properties.She decided to stay on Benjamin's good side and follow in his investment footsteps so that she'd be
Victoria's good mood was instantly spoiled by the word "daughter". It was repulsive. Her smile faded.Benjamin said sternly, "Throw him out!"However, Victoria stopped him, "No, we shouldn't let the hospital's reputation suffer because of him. That will only affect business."Let him be. As long as he's not causing trouble in my face, I'll turn a blind eye to his shenanigans."Yves agreed that Roman and his family were annoying. He suggested, "Mrs. B, why don't we take down the Jameson Corporation? Let them spend their days back in the countryside."Victoria sneered, "If they lose their tiny company, they still have support from the Warde Family. Do you really think they'll head back to the countryside?"Elizabeth Green would shoulder the impact if the Jameson Corporation declared bankruptcy. She might be disappointed in Ginny, but judging from previous incidents, she likely wouldn't refuse to help Ginny out.It wouldn't hurt the Wardes to lend a helping hand to the Jamesons.V
It was the third day after Yves sent Victoria to the hospital. Reporters still surrounded the entrance. Some even sat on the steps as they munched on their breads.A car slowly pulled to a stop before the inpatient department. Right after, Roman, Ginny, and Colette got out of it.They looked weary and upset, especially Ginny. Her face was ashen as though she had just recovered from an illness.Roman and Colette helped her out.Upon seeing them, the reporters' eyes gleamed like wolves spotting their prey. Flinging their food aside, they grabbed their cameras and mics before lunging forward.Colette stood before Ginny. "My mom is sick. Don't push her!" she cried anxiously.Roman looked moody. "My wife was taken aback after learning that Victoria was injured. She fainted on the spot and was in bed for two days." Colette was so upset she wept, "It's my fault. It's all my fault. I failed to restrain my fans …"The reporters consoled her, telling her it wasn't her fault. Then, they
Victoria saw that Benjamin wasn't looking like he was kidding at all. She placed both of her hands on his chest and turned her head away when he leaned in to kiss her.She then pushed him away hard and changed the topic by saying, "I heard that Solomon was beaten up in his own house last night."Benjamin chuckled lowly and said, "There's no use changing the topic."As he was talking, he arched his neck and pressed his lips near Victoria's ear.Victoria's ears, especially her helix, were extremely sensitive. She subconsciously pulled her hands back and covered her ears with her palms.Benjamin took the chance to wrap his arms around Victoria's waist and pulled her close to him. His face was close to hers.Victoria could feel Benjamin's burning desire as she was pressed down onto his lap. She now knew better than to struggle.This was just shooting herself in the foot!It wasn't that she didn't know what he was like, but she just had to stir him up.Victoria felt uneasy when she
Victoria used her other hand to support her cheek as she blinked.She said, "How could someone who dislikes wasting words and unnecessary chatter nag endlessly over just a small wound?"Benjamin coldly asked, "Are you complaining that I'm long-winded and annoying now?"He looked aggrieved, as if he would be angry if Victoria were to answer "yes".Victoria laughed out loud again and replied, "I'm not!"She used her finger to poke at Benjamin's cheek.She was smiling when she asked, "Are you madly in love with me, Benjamin?"Benjamin looked at Victoria seriously as he crouched by her legs.If it was before this, he would've nodded and replied "of course" without hesitation. But now …Benjamin couldn't be as confident and sure when he recalled Wendy's previous words.Victoria didn't think much of it and took Benjamin's silence as affirmation.She continued, "I'm thinking that you're definitely madly in love with me. That is why you're so heartbroken and reacted abnormally even
"Where are we heading to now, Ben and Mrs. B? Why are the people here so weird? Why are they dressed up as if they're in a period drama?"What is this place? Why are the both of you here?"Yves was back to his lively self as soon as he got into the carriage. He started asking endless questions."You regained your memories now, Ben? I knew you'd never forget about Mrs. B no matter what. Even if you did, you'd definitely remember everything as soon as you saw Mrs. B!"Yves gushed on. It took him a good while to realize that Benjamin's expression had changed. Even the atmosphere in the carriage became strange.He asked, "Did I say something wrong?"Wendy laughed dryly and replied, "He's not as deeply in love with Victoria as you think he is. He didn't remember anything."Yves laughed awkwardly before pursing his lips.He started to butter Victoria up."How did you know Ben is here, Mrs. B? How did you find—"Victoria pursed her lips and glanced at Gwen who was driving in the fro
Yves stared at Anna. She started out mumbling, and her voice grew louder toward the end.He looked confused. "Ben, Mrs. B, what is she talking about?"He was sure she was speaking the same language but couldn't, for the life of him, understand what she meant.Upon listening to Anna, Wendy immediately felt she was too quick to agree to Yves' request because of the money. She wanted to push him aside.However, he was in a sorry state with his limp. His face was visibly thinner than before, and his eyes weren't as bright as they used to be. She found herself sympathizing with him.Victoria pressed her lips together, and her brows creased further.Benjamin turned to Silas. "Go and get Asher!"Anna didn't dial back on her arrogance. "Great idea. I'm looking for him, too."There was a horse race today, yet he locked me up in that cabin! I have a score to settle with him!"Victoria recalled Asher leaving the stables urgently during the day and had a hunch about what happened."If yo
Yves looked up with teary eyes and could vaguely make out Benjamin's sour face.He rubbed his eyes with all his might. Benjamin's face slowly became clear to him as his vision cleared."It's really you, Ben! Oh, Ben!"He was pleasantly surprised, as though he finally had someone to rely on. He teared up in excitement.The next moment, he became aggrieved again. He was just like a three-year-old who was bullied by a stray cat.He cried, "You're here, Ben. Why didn't you ask someone to look for me? You've no idea what I've experienced."I've been locked away in that shabby cabin and almost lost it. I miss you so freaking much!"Benjamin looked less sour now. He took out his handkerchief that he brought along wherever he went.He passed it to Yves, who had tears and snot all over his face. "Clean up. You're a grownup man, you know. Look at you."With one hand taking the handkerchief, Yves clung onto Victoria with the other.Benjamin stared at his hand that was holding onto her.
Asher felt his heart shatter. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I've already gifted it to someone else!"The person in charge felt his heart ache, too. "I wanted to inform you when you arrived, but you told me to talk to you after the race."You've always said that horse has a character and that you like it, no? I never expected you to give it away."Who did you give it to? Could you, perhaps, buy it back from him?"Asher was dispirited. "I can't."He waved it off and continued, "Forget about it. It belongs to someone else now."I'd been obliging to its every wish for all the time it had been here. Still, it never obeyed me."It's intelligent and chooses its own master. I can't tame it. It's no better than an average horse to me."Tell those who witnessed that incident that they shouldn't talk about it to anyone. You may leave."The person in charge glanced at him. Bowing, he acknowledged the instruction he received and left.Asher looked toward Sebastian and sighed dejectedly
Silas and Wendy immediately hurried over in excitement when they heard they were going to split the winnings.Wendy, who wasn't the best in maths, counted gleefully, "We bet one thousand gold coins. As the odds are at one to 246, we'll get … ten thousand, 200 thousand … 244600 gold coins. Am I right?"She surprised herself when she said that out loud. She and Silas exchanged glances and started hopping about in delight.That was a lot of gold coins! They were rich!"Ten percent of 244600 gold coins would amount to roughly 24 thousand gold coins, so 20 percent would make it about 50 thousand. Victoria—"Silas and Wendy were already dizzy. Turning to them, Victoria instructed, "Give us a moment, and take Onyx with you.""You …" Silas looked at her suspiciously. Was she planning to keep all the money to herself?She gave him a warning glare, and he and Wendy obediently led Onyx away.They shouldn't offend their moneybag right now.Victoria looked at Asher. "That's over 240 thousa
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound. It was a teenager who was around 15 years old. Not bothering to keep up his image, he sat on the floor and clung to Sebastian's leg.Besides him, many others were standing around Sebastian. They all looked at Sebastian pitifully.Asher loudly asked the one kneeling, "Just look at you, Troy Lancaster! What happened to your enthusiasm?"It's only a meager sum. Do you really have to react this way?"Troy Lancaster? He was the Lancaster family's youngest son, Sebastian's younger maternal cousin.Victoria had a photographic memory. She saw his name when she skimmed through the log book earlier.He had bet 500 silver coins, which wasn't the least of all. It wasn't a hefty sum either, considering who he was.The Lancasters had very conflicting approaches in his upbringing. His mother pampered him, while his father was very strict toward him because he thought he was spoiled.Judging from his reaction, he must've been greedy and impulsivel
Once Roxy left, several women with ill intentions who criticized Victoria earlier became uneasy. They came up with excuses and left one after another.As the drama ended, everyone calmed down. Some were listless, while some were feeling down.There were also a few who approached Victoria, among whom were mainly men. They earnestly introduced themselves.Benjamin scanned the men who surrounded Victoria and somehow felt betrayed. Glowering, he seemed about to fly off the handle.His glare was too harsh, and many retreated after a short exchange with Victoria. She studied those who resolutely remained beside her.Compared to people from the outside world, the clan members had less desire for material possessions.Those who stood their ground didn't feel displeased at losing a hefty sum in the bet. They also withstood the pressure Benjamin's glare exuded.It was fair to say they were the best among the best.They were from decent families and had been receiving proper education sin