Chapter 5

Cherise frowned. "Give that back to me."

The protective charm was one that Stanley and Marlene had gotten for her. They'd become acquainted with a renowned master by chance while abroad and had asked him for the charm. Cherise had kept it with her all these years.

Heather snorted. "What's this trash? I can't believe you're using something as cheap as this to pull a fast one on Philip when he's treated you so well! Doesn't that weigh on your conscience?"

She glanced at the exquisite box Eloise held. In comparison, Cherise's protective charm seemed particularly shabby. She didn't know whether it was because the charm was worn after years of use, but the color had faded around the edges. Even some of the etchings on it looked worn out.

Heather was immediately convinced that Cherise had gotten something worthless to hoodwink Philip. She threw the protective charm onto the floor and sneered, saying mockingly, "This is Philip's 70th birthday celebration, Cherise. No matter how much you despise our family, you can't humiliate him in public like this!

"Morgan sure is unlucky for marrying an ingrate like you! Philip has always treated you like you're his own, yet here you are, not even putting your heart into preparing a birthday gift for him! Anyone would think that we've been mistreating you!"

She sounded righteous, and it was clear she was trying to play herself off as the matriarch of the family.

Cherise snorted softly, her eyes cold as she stared at Heather. Over the years, with her help, Sterling Group had gradually become one of Dalea's 50 most powerful enterprises. However, Morgan had an iron grip over every cent the company had earned. He couldn't even bear to buy her a nice outfit.

Back then, Cherise hadn't cared about these superficial, materialistic things. She'd been more than happy to be the woman silently supporting him from behind.

Yet now, Heather was using that against her and claiming that her gift to Philip was worthless and a disgrace. It seemed particularly ironic, given the circumstances.

Heather was even more incensed when she saw the indifferent look on Cherise's face. She pointed at the latter and screeched, "What's with that look? Are you implying that I'm wrong about you? Who are you putting on a show for? This is the lovely wife Morgan has married, and the Sterling family's wonderful daughter-in-law! She's completely out of line!"

She glared daggers at Cherise, her cheeks flushed with rage. She was even trembling from her anger.

Eloise quickly stepped forward to rub her back soothingly when she saw that. She said gently, "Heather, calm down. Ms. Rhode meant well, just like me. She just wants Philip to be safe and healthy."

Then, she turned to Cherise, worry etched onto her face as she asked, "May I know which chapel you got this protective charm blessed at, Ms. Rhode? The etchings on it aren't like anything I've ever seen. Could it be that you got conned by some dishonest chapel?"

She sounded like she was speaking up for Cherise, but she was actually making the claims that Cherise's protective charm was fake more believable.

The guests shot Cherise disgusted looks and started criticizing her.

"Conned? If Cherise cared about this, wouldn't she have asked around before getting the protective charm? Did she think she could muddle her way through this by getting something random and trying to pass it off?"

"Well, I've seen the gift box that Ms. Lane holds. The packaging is unique, and it originates from a boutique situated at the base of a mountain with a famous chapel. The place is very popular in Dalea, which shows how much thought she put into the gift."

"What a joke. Cherise has been married to Morgan for years, yet she hasn't even put as much effort into this as an outsider has! If you ask me, Mr. Sterling should've waited for Ms. Lane to return to Dalea so he could marry her instead!"

Everyone chimed in, each comment painting Cherise as an ingrate.

Just then, Morgan hurried into the hall, frowning when he heard the guests' comments. "What's this about?"

Eloise hurried to him and put her arm through his, quickly explaining, "Morgan, Ms. Rhode and I both prepared protective charms for Philip for his birthday, but Ms. Rhode's gift looks a little odd…"

She paused, seemingly thinking of something. She hastily continued, "Ms. Rhode must have been conned. It costs quite a lot to get a charm blessed, after all. Maybe we should ask her where she got her protective charm from."

Morgan's expression darkened. Still, with all the guests around, he tried to stay patient as he asked Cherise, "Where did you get your protective charm from?"

There was no point in explaining anything to someone who didn't believe her, so she didn't even look up as she said, "My parents left it for me."

That was all she said. Naturally, Morgan didn't buy it. Setting aside whether her so-called parents even existed, a single look at the worn charm on the floor gave him the answer he wanted.

Everyone laughed at Cherise's words.

"I bet she's just too diffident to give a proper answer! Using her parents as a cover—what a joke!"

"Only Ms. Lane would be kind enough to speak up for her. If I had a daughter-in-law like Cherise, I would've kicked her out ages ago!"

"She was already reaching above her station when marrying into the Sterling family back then. I can't believe she's acting like she owns the place now!"

Morgan felt like he'd never been more humiliated. His anger surged, and he clenched his jaw tightly as he stormed forward to grab Cherise's wrist.

He snapped, "I don't care what trouble you usually cause, but it's Grandpa's birthday today! How dare you pull something like this when he's barely recovered? Or are you doing this on purpose? Pick that piece of trash up from the floor! Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough yet?"

Cherise shook him off, meeting his angry eyes with indifferent ones. "Are a few words from these people enough to make you believe that my protective charm is fake?"

He'd stopped believing anything she said since Eloise's return. Once, she'd burned up a high fever in the middle of the night and had lain alone on the bed while puking her guts out.

She'd called Morgan, wanting him to take her to the hospital. However, he hadn't hesitated to stay at the Lane residence with Eloise, solely because the latter claimed to be afraid of the dark.

All it had taken was a few choice words from Eloise to make him believe that Cherise was just faking the illness to get his attention.

Even now, Cherise still held on to a last thread of hope—she could keep going if he only believed her just this once.

However, the harshness of reality was like a slap to her face. A bone-chilling iciness spread through her, starting from her heart.

"Do you take me for a fool, Cherise? You should've gotten something that at least looks the part if you wanted to use it to brush us all off! Aren't you ashamed of that piece of trash? Well, I sure am!" Morgan pointed at the protective charm on the floor as he hissed at Cherise.

Heather's face contorted with fury, and her voice was shriller than ever as she shrieked, "Just say the word if you don't want to be a part of the Sterling family anymore, Cherise! Or do you think we want you around?"

A trace of smugness flitted past Eloise's face before she put on a gracious, understanding look. She quickly said, "Heather, Morgan, that's enough. It's Philip's birthday today, remember? Maybe Ms. Rhode just didn't have enough time to prepare."

She sighed and turned to Cherise. "Ms. Rhode, you should just apologize to Philip. He dotes on you, so I'm sure he won't hold this against you."

Cherise slowly clenched her fists, making her nails dig into her palms. She didn't seem to feel the pain, though. It was nothing compared to how she felt inside—it was as if her heart had been slashed open. The agony ripped through her, numbing her.

She suddenly laughed, sounding bitter and self-deprecating. She seemed to be mocking herself for having wasted her devotion on a piece of trash who wouldn't spare her even a shred of compassion.

How blind she'd been to love and devote herself to Morgan for so long, only to almost destroy herself. She couldn't imagine how much heartache Stanley and Marlene would be in if they were to see this.