Chapter 3

I was in the middle of presenting our company's latest tech breakthrough to Mr. and Mrs. York when Cody suddenly popped out of nowhere.

The moment he saw the three of us standing side by side, his face turned as white as a sheet. Then, he clutched his chest like a tragic heroine and crumpled to the floor.

"Vi, you lied to me…" Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked pitifully at Violet, who hurried over. He pointed a trembling finger at me and went on, "Your parents have already accepted Mr. Secretary, yet you still told me there was nothing between you two…"

Mr. and Mrs. York were dumbfounded. They'd never seen anything like this before.

Cody was fully immersed in his own melodrama. He swayed as he got to his feet, looking exactly like some fragile little flower that had just survived a hurricane.

He said, "The powerful union between the richest Colson family and the York family sounds like… such a match made in heaven. Vi, should I be congratulating you in advance on your marriage?"

I couldn't listen to another word. If he kept spinning this nonsense, the next thing I knew, Violet and I would already have a child together!

I couldn't care less if Violet's reputation was ruined, but I wasn't going to let him drag my name through the mud.

I walked right up to him, my face devoid of emotion. I pulled my birth certificate—which I'd deliberately kept with me for such a situation—out of my bag and smacked it against his chest with a loud thwack.

"Mr. Moore, take a good look at this. My name is Scott Colson. My dad is James Colson, and my mother is Tina Hall. I have nothing to do with the richest Colson family that you're talking about!"

I honestly thought that once I'd whipped out my birth certificate, the truth would finally be clear. It turned out that I was far too naive. Cody's thought process operated on a level mere mortals couldn't reach.

The moment his eyes landed on my birth certificate, his expression went from shock to confusion to a kind of sudden, enlightened revelation. It was honestly a stunning performance of emotional transformation.

He whipped around to face Mr. and Mrs. York, his tone thick with resentment. "Mr. Secretary and I are both poor nobodies, so why is he acceptable and I'm not?"

The confusion on their faces was one step away from solidifying into something tangible.

Meanwhile, Violet looked like she had a headache. She rushed forward and tried to drag Cody away. "Cody, stop this. Let's just go…"

But he shook her off and planted himself right in front of us. "Mr. and Mrs. York, I know I come from nothing, and I'm not good enough for Vi, but my love for her is real! Why can you accept Mr. Secretary but not me? Is it because I'm not as handsome as he is? Not as capable?"

Mrs. York, completely thrown by this baseless accusation, was starting to get annoyed. She frowned and turned to Violet. "Violet, what on earth is going on? You'd better give me a proper explanation for this!"

Cody immediately cut in. "No! Mrs. York, this has nothing to do with Vi! It's all my fault… Why do you dislike me when we're only meeting for the first time? Did Mr. Secretary say something about me behind my back?"

As he spoke, he swung his gaze back to me, his whole body trembling with wounded grievance. "Mr. Secretary, I know you like Vi, too, but matters of the heart can't be forced…"

I parted my lips to explain, but an overwhelming wave of helpless exhaustion washed over me, like I'd skipped my daily energy supplement and then some.

Fortunately, Violet finally managed to drag Cody away by sheer force, not giving him any more time to improvise new plot twists.

I rubbed my temples in relief and turned around, only to find Mr. and Mrs. York staring at me with eyes suddenly shining far too brightly.

Mrs. York grabbed my hand. "Scott, do you really like Violet?"

Mr. York stood to the side, looking thoughtful. "We've practically watched you grow up and know your character… It's not impossible for you two to be together."