What kind of question was that? Did I look like that kind of person?
I shot him a glare. “Don’t worry about it. You’re safe.”
Ignoring the simmering tension among the three of them, I sat back and focused on eating and drinking.
Reuben’s hand kept wandering around my waist. I glared at him several times, but he acted as if nothing had happened.
Soon, Melanie appeared, arm–in–arm with our parents.
The drama surrounding the Jordans’ real and fake heiresses was already an open secret among the elite, but today was the first
time the details were made so blatantly clear.
Listening to Melanie on stage, alternating between lamenting her hardships and subtly disparaging my biological parents, I could
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not hold back any longer. She could slander me, but she had no right to insult my parents.
I stepped forward, cutting off her performance, “Melanie, can you really say these things without feeling any guilt?”
The crowd turned their eyes toward us, their faces lit with curiosity and anticipation for gossip.
+15 Bonus
On stage, Melanie gave me a timid, pitiful look, her voice trembling with grievance. “Eliza, what do you mean by that? I know they’re your biological parents, and it’s natural for you to side with them. But you shouldn’t overlook the suffering I’ve endured. Unless you’ve walked in someone else’s shoes, don’t lecture them on morality.“”
With those words, the sympathy in the room began tilting in her favor.
I stepped up to the stage and met her gaze. “Melanie, you keep saying your adoptive parents neglected you. Then who taught you to play the violin? You claim you’ve been doing housework since you were little, yet somehow, you don’t even know how to cook?
“Don’t tell me that in just three months of being back with the Jordans, you magically mastered the violin and forgot how to
cook? Even a fool wouldn’t buy that.”
Her expression froze, and she was rendered speechless.
Since returning to the Jordans, she had flaunted her skills time and again to prove she was not just some country bumpkin. Yet now, the violin that had once been her pride had become undeniable evidence of her lies.
The crowd began whispering among themselves, their glances darting back to the stage where Melanie stood.
My father’s face turned ashen as he interrupted my questioning.
“Enough! How long do you plan to make a scene? I know you resent us for kicking you out of the Jordans, but don’t forget
Melanie is our biological daughter.
“Even if you dislike her, can’t you consider the occasion? You’ve disgraced us Jordans in front of everyone.”
My eyes stung, and tears threatened to spill.
Here it was again. Ever since Melanie returned, no matter what happened, it was always my fault.
Anyone unaware of the truth might think I had committed some unpardonable crime.
When she first came back, I suggested leaving. My biological parents were gone, and I was old enough to take care of myself.
Yet what did the Jordans tell me?
They made lofty claims about how raising me was no different from raising their own. They insisted blood ties did not matter and
refused to let me go.
In reality, they resented me at every turn. They quietly tarnished my reputation and eventually kicked me out.
They used me as a stepping stone to gain sympathy and a good reputation.
It was pure hypocrisy.
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+15 Bonus
I clenched my fingers and looked at my father. “Us Jordans? What kind of a Jordan am I? Didn’t you already throw me out of the
family? If you’re so afraid I’ll embarrass you, why bring me here at all? To make yourselves look kind and generous in
comparison?”
His expression darkened as he glared at me. “Shut your mouth.”
