“Evander, didn’t you say you were gonna treat us to dinner? Let’s go!”
The two guys had been going at it so fiercely, who knew what would come out if it kept going?
At a time like this, there was no way the woman caught in the middle could just stay silent. So Mr. Langley quickly stepped in to lighten the mood. “So, what are you thinking of treating us to?”
“For us old man and two guys, it doesn’t really matter what we eat. We gotta follow what the young lady—”
“Esther loves seafood!”
Before Mr. Langley could finish his sentence, Evander eagerly cut him off, “I already booked seafood at Baba Restaurant. The car’s waiting downstairs.”
“Alright, Evander, that’s some genuine effort!”
Mr. Langley patted Roger on the shoulder with a smile and said, “Take back what you said earlier. When you have a little sister someday, you might wanna consider Evander — he’s got heart!”
The implication was clear: Esther is his, but when Roger has a
The only consolation was that she always kept her noble lady demeanor, and what she said could only be heard by her and Esther. Even if she got embarrassed or slapped in the face, the only witness was Esther herself.Inhale, exhale, deep breath!“Evander, ditching your friends for a pretty face? That’s not very gentlemanly,” Luna said with a light laugh.She’d just taken a few emotional hits but recovered quickly. Within minutes, she latched onto Esther’s arm, forcing a graceful smile. Her voice was teasing—light, playful, trying to salvage her image.“I mean, Miss Davenier is gorgeous. Can’t blame you for being distracted. Such a heartbreaker.”It sounded harmless, just casual social banter—perfectly acceptable in public, no matter what Evander’s mood was. A joke with no real weight. A graceful retreat.Evander smiled… but not kindly.“Let me correct you, Miss Carter.” His voice was calm, but the undercurrent was ice.
Seeing that Esther was really about to approach Evander, Luna panicked and grabbed her arm. “Are you crazy? Running up to a man like that—how disgraceful!”She had to admit, she was genuinely scared. Women like Esther—background unknown, raised in chaos—were capable of doing anything. “Why would you even ask something like that? Don’t you have any shame?”“Of course I do!”Esther shrugged, tearing off Luna’s mask without mercy. “That’s exactly why I don’t want people saying I’m ogling someone else’s man.”“Then don’t look!”That came out almost involuntarily from Luna—and wasn’t wrong. But unfortunately, she was up against someone who could turn your truth into a punchline that made you look shameless.“No one’s forcing you to look!”The biggest difference between Luna and Claire was that Luna always maintained her perfect composure. Even if she was furious enough to explode, she still looked like a classy socialite.
Mathieu: “…”He wasn’t hearing things. It was Emma Hales. She said she’d come to him—and even asked about his schedule!For the first time in his life, he felt blessed by a royal visit. Mathieu was stunned for a good while, until her bright, charming voice came again, “Don’t worry, I promised Esther I’d just act. No flirting with the director, okay?”Mathieu: “…”Just like that, the female lead of “The Love in Paris” was confirmed. Mathieu trusted that he could handle the rest of the casting.Meanwhile, Esther accepted a fashion invitation to attend a luxury jewelry exhibition, hoping to explore brand collaborations.The result—She barely saw any actual brand reps. Instead, the entire elite socialite circle had shown up. With the Davenier family fallen and Chloe out of the picture, Kendall quickly aligned with Claire again. After multiple failed showdowns, Claire brought out her final trump card—Cap
The Davenier family’s reputation was completely destroyed after that public scene. Banks refused to give loans, cash flow was critically low.Chloe was completely incapable of managing the Davenier Group. Running a business turned out to be far harder than she imagined. Without ability, even a title like CEO meant nothing.In the end, the Davenier family had to shut down their only profitable subsidiary and mortgage the family villa just to scrape together enough cash to pay their downsized staff. Shareholder backlash was so severe they even stormed the Davenier residence.The Davenier household was in shambles and had no time to worry about Esther anymore.Meanwhile, The Love in Paris’s director, Mathieu, somehow got her phone number.“Esther! Didn’t I tell you? Once that scar on your face was gone, there isn’t a woman in all of City A prettier than you!”Esther: “…”“You’re my female lead, end of story!”Est
An hour later, the interview was trending online. In addition to the video, people dug up photos of Esther traveling all over to work, even pictures of her with runny noses stuffed with tissues, fever patches on her forehead, reciting lines while eating instant noodles off the floor.Her gloomy childhood was completely exposed, just as she had expected.And once again, she had no intention of deleting anything online. Some things, once brought into the light, should remain there. It was her way of bidding farewell to a painful past.But what she didn’t expect—was that netizens overwhelmingly supported her.[WTF? What kind of parents are these? Vampires?!][This is straight-up human trafficking—pretending to adopt her while treating her like a cash cow!][Hugs for little Esther!][Anyone notice Esther’s nose looks like someone’s?][Victor Davenier the tycoon!][OMG, now that you sa
Maris stood there, dumbfounded, instinctively wanting to stop her—only to realize she couldn’t. If she did, it would be as good as admitting everything Esther said was true.“N-No, Esther, back then Mom just thought… you were so beautiful…”“Mom, I know.”Before she could finish, Esther interrupted her through tears.“I know you did it for me. I mean, I’m not your biological child. If I didn’t earn my own money to support myself—and my little brother too—how would I ever know my own worth? This way, I don’t feel like a burden. So thank you, Mom… for understanding me so well.”Anyone can play the pitiful white snake. Maris: “…”Was that what she meant?No, she just wanted to use her as a cash cow.Esther was beautiful, and many directors and advertisers saw her potential. In Country A, they couldn’t openly have her act—it’d look like child exploitation. After all, the Davenier family was at least a mid-tier aristocratic hou