arning, precise and deliberate, leavi

g in silence, a faint glint of astonishment

incompetent woman people once whisper

wered with quiet respect,

, Phyllis stood

omething unreasonable, John stepped in and int

and approve it. Once you marry into the Shaw family, Eliana, you'll open do

ad already calculated every move, weighing profit over everything else. F

was a child-property deeds, gold bars, bank certificates, jewelry... everything imaginable. She even put together a detailed inventory herself." Her gaze swept lig

r brows knitting together. Clearly, she ha

composure cracking as a sharp, shrill gasp escaped her just before she could lash out.

y's butler broke the tense s

sentence, the mat

John's pointed stare, Phyllis had no choice but to swallow her anger and head upst

he butler with poised politeness. "The sooner the wedding is arranged, the bet

she refused to spend another s

and said, "Understood. I'll arrange for a full inventory of the wedding gifts your parent

his wrist, he signale

in black suits stepped forward and f

y vehicles, rare limited-edition jewelry sourced from across the world, a thirty-million-dollar check, the deeds to six prim

my had presented earlier looked pitiful-so

eremy's face, his polite smile lock

the Shaw family would reclaim every last item after the wedding ceremony-the sight still

scorn. "No matter how extravagant the gifts are, if you didn't earn them yourself,

sounds more like resentment than principle. Is it really about independence

t crossed her mind, and she settled back with a c

y took it all back on the wedding night. Now she could h

ifts laid out, he offered

ee him out, which left Eliana in the l

en she latched onto Jeremy's arm, raising her voice on purpose so Eliana would hear. "Jeremy, I don't

tened Jeremy's chest at the

d his voice and murmured, "Iris, I swear I'll give you a

lightly into his suit while she shot Eliana a smug, victorious look. Befor

curve to her lips. Jeremy was someone who excelled at subtle manipu

status fragile and easily overlooked. Despite the Ward family's steady investment in his institute, he still

ed him repeat those exact tactics on Iris, every word carefully chosen to win favor. All of it was nothing mor

flickered across her composed features as she silently wished those two s

wn, lifted the boxes with effortless g

des of fate had