"Okay, that's enough."
Mr. Curtis spoke up. He looked at his wife for a few seconds, and it seemed that Ernesta was frightened by her husband's warning gaze. I saw her biting her red lips lightly and clutching at the hem of her skirt, slowly turning away and not looking at me anymore.
"The funeral will be held tomorrow. Juliet Joan, please call the funeral home to prepare the procedure for cremation."
Aunt Juliet and her husband quietly left the room.
I stood dumbfounded, not knowing what to say. It feels like I'm the extra in this family. Finally, I couldn't help but feel the pressure, so I tried asking my father.
"Father, do I need to prepare anything for my great-grandfather Joan's funeral?"
"No. You and I have important things to talk about. Ernesta, go out and wait for me." My father coldly ordered.
"But..." Mrs. Ernesta seemed to want to stay in the room, but she dared not disobey my father. After a few seconds of lingering, she finally let go.
Father looked at me for a moment, cleared his throat, and spoke.
"We haven't seen each other for many years, how are you and your mother?"
Well, I didn't expect my father to suddenly ask me such an intimate question. In my memory, my father almost never visited our poor and makeshift home. Every month, he regularly deposited a sum of money into my mother's account, as fulfilling his duty as a father.
"Mom and I are fine, thank you for your concern."
"Um…"
The conversation fell to a stalemate. We are clearly father and son, but when we talk to each other, it is extremely awkward, like two strangers just getting to know each other.
Feeling that it was too useless to talk to me, my father seemed to have run out of patience, he got up and walked towards me.
"Actually... I called you back so suddenly because of this."
I took a document from my father's hand.
"Testament?"
I opened it and skimmed the will left by my great-grandfather Joan. The content is quite long and nothing special, almost just information about the property of the Joan family. It wasn't until I read the last line that my emotions suddenly became out of control.
I gaped, looked up at my father, then back down at the will written by my great-grandfather Joan. If there's one word that can describe how I feel right now, it's "shocked".
"This is… impossible."
"As you can see, I don't believe it either, but it was Joan's great-grandfather who wrote this will and gave it to the Joan family lawyer."
Looking down at the will again, I read it over and over again to make sure I didn't misread it.
"Great-grandfather Joan... really left all his fortune to me? Only me? Why? How is this possible?" I stammered.
"You yourself find it absurd, don't you? I know. That's why I prepared this." My father pulled out another document. "You just need to sign here and everything will be settled, you don't have to worry at all."
I looked at the document my father had just given me, and suddenly I wanted to laugh. Everything seems to be more ridiculous than I thought.
Joan's great-grandfather unexpectedly left all his inheritance to me, an unknown grandchild who had never been in Joan's mansion. I met him a few times, he was aware of my existence, and it was he who asked my father to provide monthly support for my mother and me.
I don't know why great-grandfather Joan chose me as his heir, but I understand great-grandfather Joan was smart and sane enough to know what he was doing.
What about my father? Well, he seemed to only care about me when I suddenly became rich. Even though he was acting calm and like a caring father, I could still see the impatience and the urge in his eyes.
He must be coveting this huge fortune.
It must be. Because, without this weird will, the one who automatically inherits Joan's property is my father.
"Father, why do I have to sign here?"
"Why are you asking such a stupid question? You can't keep this fortune to yourself. Joan's family will be in chaos."
"You're a member of the Joan family, too."
"No, you're not." Mr. Curtis vehemently denied. The way he looked at me was devoid of any emotion. "Stop being stubborn, you've been dependent and parasitic on Joan's house for over 20 years, and now you're so shameless that you've taken the family's property?"
"You mean... I don't deserve to be your daughter?"
My voice trembled, the corners of my mouth still smiled, but not because I was happy, but because I was so disappointed. Actually, I don't need this huge fortune, and of course I can easily sign it according to my father's wishes. However, what I really wanted was some love, just a little bit, from my father.
Unfortunately, he is too stingy.
"..." Mr. Curtis did not answer.
"I won't sign it. Great-grandfather Joan left a will and wrote my name on purpose, so I'll do as he wishes."
"You... you dare to disobey me?" Mr. Curtis widened his eyes in surprise. Up until now, he was used to everyone having to listen to his instructions. Now, the very daughter he abandoned is doing the exact opposite of his request.
This made him angry and raised his hand and slapped me hard in the face. My cheeks hurt, my mouth tasted weird, like blood.
"Esther Joan, listen. You can't leave Joan's mansion until you sign this paper."
"What? You're going to lock me up? How dare you? I'll call the police." I panicked and yelled at my father, but soon I was dragged away by some of Joan's bodyguards.
Everything is really unbelievable. Yet my father actually locked me up in the warehouse of Joan's mansion. He treated me worse than animals. Even the Joan family dog is not as pathetic as I am.
I was left at the barn until almost midnight, or more, I guess. The room was dark, with only a small window that helped me guess the time.My whole body is exhausted and tired. My whole body was disheveled from sweat and dirt. The swelling in the ankle seemed to throb again. My phone and bag were stolen, so I couldn't call anyone for help.Both thirsty and hungry, I became exhausted. No one in this Joan family cares about me, maybe they're just waiting for me to give up and beg them. However, I have made up my mind, I will not sign that property transfer paper. I also want to be selfish for myself, and for my poor mother.Mom is waiting for me at home, she must be very worried.My mother, Rowan Ambar, was an outstanding ballerina. Her background is not really good, so she always aspires to fall in love with a talented and rich man. And indeed she found the man she longed for. My mother gave her love and her body to my father, but what she received in return was abandonment, contempt,
Perhaps because of the effects of alcohol, my body was also lightheaded and out of control. I couldn't see this man's face and body clearly, but somehow I still had the feeling that he was strangely attractive."Girl, I know you hear what I say." The man leaned close to my ear and whispered.I frowned slightly and moved my body. It seemed he took it as a response from me, so he continued speaking."I'm a businessman, so I'm always concerned with losses and profits. You sneaked in here and made me lose an evening of rest. So, you need to compensate me proportionately for what I lost.""Compensation... what?" I woke up a little, and whispered back."You."I heard the sound of his belt being undone. Looks like he's stripping his clothes. I slowly opened my eyes, this time, I got a better look at him. A tall man... very tall... he wears a black suit... now he wears nothing... very nice and muscular body. I guess he must have been working out regularly. I wish I could see this man's face c
The bright light in my eyes woke me up from my long sleep. My mind was blank and completely in a state of confusion. I opened my eyes slightly, blinked a few times, then observed everything around me. A rather luxurious room, the mattress is soft, the curtains are half ajar.My body ached as if I had just been through a terrible fight, just twisting my body makes me feel tired."What's this?"I pulled up the blanket and found myself naked, a few red hickeys that made my mind even more chaotic. Just before I could get up, I heard running water in the bathroom. Is someone else in this room too?I fell into a panic and didn't know what to do. This is the first time I've been in this weird situation. I frantically searched for my underwear but couldn't find it, instead a new set of clothes was placed at the end of the bed.Without thinking much, I grabbed the suit and hurriedly put it on. Unfortunately, before he could finish dressing, the person in the bathroom stepped out.In my life, t
Following the instructions of the nurse, I was taken to my mother's hospital room. The doctor's instructions were still ringing in my ears, making it impossible for me to concentrate."Patient Rowan Ambar has terminal breast cancer. Based on the patient's health condition, perhaps the patient has only a year to live. The patient needs radiation therapy as soon as possible."I sighed, holding my mother's hand. My mother is in a coma in bed, looking very tired. She looked much older than her actual age, perhaps because she had been miserable all her life.My mother, whose full name is Rowan Ambar, is an accomplished ballerina. She has been invited to perform at government guest houses and major national ceremonies. People used to call her "White Angel". My mother used to be a beauty icon and a woman loved by everyone, until she fell in love with my father.She gave up ballet and became an ordinary woman. Her only desire was to become a member of Joan's family, to become my father's wife
I heard the phone ring and woke up. My mother was still fast asleep in bed, her ventilator making a soft noise. I glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that I had been asleep for five hours. It is evening now, and my head is still aching and dizzy.I clicked on the phone screen without even paying attention to who the caller was. My father's loud voice rang out."Esther, you, bitch. Where are you? Go back to Joan's mansion, I have something to talk to you about, not about inheritance.""I'm not going back there. You locked me there like you're putting me in a prison, and yet you think I'll go back there? Never."Was he angry and yelling at me? I'm the one who should be angry. Immediately, I hung up the phone and turned off the power. I don't want him to contact me, and I also want to cut ties with Joan's family. I hate my own name.At first, I thought of leaving the inheritance money to them and only taking a little to take care of my and my mother's difficult life. However, t
Dominic felt the meeting was pointless. His purpose is to go to Joan's mansion to meet Esther and give her a surprise. But she wasn't there, so he didn't need to waste time with boring people.Kaylin was completely taken aback by Dominic's behavior. In fact, she had heard some rumors about Dominic, that his personality was scary and cold, and that he was also quite erratic. Dominic Arnold is the manager of the entire Arnold family business on behalf of his father, including more than 30 large and small companies, hundreds of manufacturing factories and even secret jobs that others do not know.Dominic is a rich, powerful man, attractive in appearance, but his coldness and indifference make people fear and respect, even Kaylin. She fell in love with this man from the first meeting because Dominic was undoubtedly the most outstanding man she had ever met. However, before she could do anything, Dominic left."Sorry, maybe we need to make another appointment to discuss this. Sorry Miss Ka
Everyone turned their gazes to me. There was surprise, there was doubt, there was anger, and there was Dominic Arnold's teasing look.Right now, I felt how right it was to tear the check and throw it in his face. He is truly a trouble maker. I bet he knew I was his fiancée, that's why he was teasing me like that."Are you mistaken? I don't remember we ever met. I guess you must have mistaken me for someone else." I tried to smile wryly and replied to him."No. I remember very well. I saw you lying there, and then...""Wait... wait."I can't believe he actually told us about our one-night stand. This man doesn't seem shy at all. I'm seriously questioning the "Cold and Scary Dominic Arnold" rumor. They should call him "Crazy and shameless Dominic Arnold"."Um, Dominic, don't tell me you're going to tell everyone?" I tried tactfully reminding him."Why not?""That's embarrassing." I stressed the fact that."Oh yeah. It's a bit embarrassing for you, indeed. You fell right in front of my c
By the agreement of Dominic and I, I became Dominic's fiancée for three months. My father got really angry and threatened me after I broke his word to him. However, now Dominic Arnold has become my strong shield, protecting me from my own father, so I don't need to fear him anymore.Kaylin Joan didn't show any extreme emotion, she was unusually quiet. I feel this is not very similar to Kaylin's personality.True to Dominic's promise to me, he invited the best foreign doctor to treat my mother. My mother is recovering well, although she still hasn't regained consciousness.My focus now is entirely on practicing ballet at Malibu academy. It's been a week since admission. My disappearance without permission made the ballet instructor very angry. I was forced to clean the dance studio after every class.Well, at least I didn't get kicked out of this dream academy, so cleaning wasn't such a bad thing.Things are getting back to the way they were, and my classmates and I are preparing for t