Chapter 2

I just frowned in return. It turned out that Silas had attempted to transfer the money to the bank account that I had used when I was still working here five years ago.

"Isn't it normal for my account to get frozen by the bank? After all, I've already immigrated to another country with my husband. It's been a super long time since I last used the local bank account."

Silas was momentarily surprised, but he soon pelted me with more mocking remarks.

"Immigrated? Wow, Cassiopeia. You're still as full of excuses as ever. If you truly moved abroad and weren't lacking in the money department, you wouldn't be kneeling here, digging through the lawn for rocks like a beggar!"

With what little patience I had left, I explained, "I'm not looking for 'rocks' like you said—I'm looking for the crystal my son lost.

"Also, we've already broken up for five years, which makes us strangers. Regardless of how well I'm doing in life and how rich I am, they have nothing to do with you.

"I'd love it if you and your lover could stay the hell away from me. My husband is extremely petty and hates it whenever I get tangled up in messy business with my ex-boyfriend."

I specifically stressed the words "lover" and "husband".

But Silas chose to take a step forward instead of leaving me alone.

"Tangled up? Cassiopeia, are you hinting that I'm still in love with you? Or are you using the excuse of having a husband to hide how wretched your life has become? On top of that, you're trying to guilt-trip me, aren't you?"

It was as though Silas had suddenly found an outlet for his pent-up frustration, for his tone grew increasingly confrontational.

"Oh yeah… I suppose I'm responsible for your downfall. After all, I broke up with you far too decisively without giving you a way out."

Silas then grabbed Maisie's hand and plucked a diamond ring off her finger before thrusting it into my hands.

"Take this. I had originally planned on giving this ring to you back then. Now, get out of here and clean yourself up elsewhere. Stop embarrassing yourself in front of everyone!"

Maisie was stunned, to say the least. She didn't expect that Silas would slide the ring off her finger right away.

"S-Sile, you already gave me that ring! Besides, wasn't Cassiopeia's whole dreamwalking act just a bunch of psychological tricks at the end of the day?

"All of her interpretations were vague and misleading! They can't hold a candle to my dreamwalking interpretations!"

Honestly speaking, I was completely baffled after hearing Maisie's self-righteous words.

"Maisie Caldwell, how does it feel pretending to be an expert dreamwalker just because you got your hands on my notebook?"

"Notebook?" Silas frowned deeply, clearly not understanding what I just said.

I didn't want to waste more time dealing with Silas and Maisie, so I bent down and began searching through the shrubs once again.

My darling son must have been worried sick waiting for me.

However, Silas gripped me by the wrist and yanked me up to my feet.

"Back then, you refused to disclose more information because of the stupid rules you had been following. On top of that, you were acting all high and mighty around me.

"Yet now, you have the gall to drag May's name through the mud! What happened to your beloved rules and that pride of yours, huh? Did you discard them like the phony you are?"

Pain flared from my wrist that was trapped in Silas' vice-like grip.

"Let this be my final warning to you, Silas Kielsburn! My husband has a terrible temper. You'd do well to release me now if you don't want any trouble knocking on your doorstep!"

"Husband?" Silas retorted. "It's been five years since we last met, Cassiopeia. I see you've been honing your talent for lying.

"Where's your so-called husband? Did he seriously ditch you here all by yourself? In that case, I suppose he's not that much of a man at all. Or perhaps… you came up with the whole husband thing just to protect that laughable ego of yours…"

Silas didn't release my wrist at all. On the contrary, he even leaned in to question me.

"Why don't you tell me who your husband is and what he works as? I'd like to see just who on earth would be crazy enough to marry someone like you—"

"Sile!" Maisie cut Silas off uneasily at the sight of how bloodshot his eyes had become. She quickly tugged at his other arm with all her might.

"That woman is outright filthy! Why are you still wasting your breath on a liar like her, anyway? Where are the security guards? Kick her out right now!"

Howard, who had been eyeing me with distrust, as well as the security guards, closed in on me instantly after hearing Maisie's command.

Weirdly enough, Silas refused to let go of me at all. He seemed hell-bent on wanting to fight with me till the bitter end.

An idea popped into Maisie's mind at that moment. Suddenly, she plastered a gracious expression onto her face.

"On second thought, it's fine. Since you look so pathetic and refuse to leave, I guess you're trying to find an opportunity to restart your career so that you can scam more money from the onlookers.

"Here's an idea. Everyone attending the university's anniversary celebration is rich and influential in society. I'll give you a chance, Cassiopeia. You may give dreamwalking interpretations to a few university alumni who are present with us. If your interpretations turn out to be accurate…"

Maisie drew out a small stack of bills from Silas' wallet before waving them airily in my face.

"Well, this five thousand dollars will be yours. Isn't it way better for you to use your capabilities to earn money instead of collecting rocks in this place?"

Silas went along with Maisie's flow instantly, thinking that he was magnanimous for bestowing such a grand opportunity on me.

Oh? So I got to earn my money by giving away dreamwalking interpretations here? And that I'd be rewarded five thousand dollars for doing that?

I was very tempted to applaud the couple for being so generous as to throw me a few crumbs from their lofty perch.

"Not interested."

While Silas was stunned by my response, I took advantage of his moment of weakness to free my wrist from his grasp by shaking his hand off me.

"I turned down a seven-figure dreamwalking deal just so I could attend this function with my husband. You can keep that chum change of yours."

Laughter, tinged with disbelief, rippled through the crowd.

"Wow, you sure know how to boast without any shame at all! Guards, kick her out already! Ashcroft Group's representative will be here any minute! Who's going to answer for it if that woman upsets our VIP?"

A security guard's hand landed on my shoulder once again. This time, he was serious about dragging me out of the campus grounds.

Amid the chaos, I caught a familiar sparkle reflecting off a surface from the corner of my eye.

Delight washed over me instantly as I lunged toward that specific corner without a care in the world. That sparkle came from the crystal that my son cherished the most!

What I didn't notice was that Silas kept staring at the crystal I quickly recovered.

"Cassiopeia Vale! Why are you still keeping that fraudulent little trinket?"