Chapter 3

Seeing that I wasn’t taking the bait, Bella began throwing my things around.

A priceless antique vase hit the floor with a loud crash, and she let out a scream, shouting for me not to hurt her and that she’d leave right away.

Her shouting brought the household staff and my parents rushing into the room.

For a moment, everyone was too stunned to react.

My mom glanced between us, clearly conflicted, but she moved toward me first.

"Alice, are you okay?" she asked, then turned to Bella to check if she was hurt.

Realizing that her little performance hadn’t had the desired effect, Bella, unwilling to give up, held out her arm, which was somehow already bruised.

“Sister, it’s fine. I’m not hurt; it doesn’t matter,” she said with a falsely brave smile.

I rolled my eyes.

After all, I had been in this house for twenty years, and everyone here knew I wasn’t the type to stir up trouble.

Apart from occasionally teasing Percy, I couldn’t even be bothered to look at people I had no business with.

It was clear that my mom wasn’t interested in dealing with this drama any further, so she just offered Bella a few comforting words.

But after a week of this routine, Bella finally realized she couldn’t shake my place in this family.

Her antics escalated from tears and tantrums to threatening to harm herself.

She ended up in the emergency room in the middle of the night.

My mom, terrified, hadn’t even put on her shoes and was now sitting on a bench in the hospital, breathing heavily.

After all, this was her biological daughter.

"Alice, what’s going on? Ever since Bella came back, there hasn’t been a moment of peace in this house," she said, exasperated.

When the doctor finally came out, my mom rushed forward to ask about Bella’s condition.

The doctor, clearly hesitant to be too blunt, suggested that while consuming two sleeping pills wasn't a big deal, it would be best to keep her under observation for a bit.

My mom gave an awkward smile, understanding that this was her daughter’s way of protesting against her.

As a wealthy socialite, my mom usually spent most of her time indulging in her own vanity.

She hadn’t been overly concerned with me either—I was mostly raised by a nanny when I was a child.

So even with Bella was back, my mom treated us both with equal affection, like two parts of the same hand—each equally precious to her.

She figured raising one daughter was no different than raising two, completely unaware of the long-standing tension between us or how fiercely her biological daughter was fighting back.

Now she was stuck, unwilling to push either of us away, just hoping Bella would eventually come to her senses.

To smooth things over and officially establish Bella's status as the eldest daughter, the Scott family arranged a grand homecoming banquet for her.

The event was meant to announce to our social circle that Bella was now fully integrated into the family and had been given the name Bella Scott.

With this, Bella finally calmed down for a moment and eagerly set about inviting everyone to her celebration.

On the night of the banquet, I decided to stay out of the spotlight and chose a corner seat.

Bella, holding a wine glass with elegant poise, accompanied my mom around the room, toasting the guests, who were all too happy to compliment her on her refined demeanor as the true heiress.

Everything seemed harmonious, except for her outfit—an outdated, layered cake dress that didn’t quite match the occasion.

Many of her former friends and colleagues had come, eager to congratulate her on her sudden leap from sales clerk to heiress of a wealthy family.

Basking in the praise, Bella’s confidence soared as she led her chattering entourage around the estate.

Percy arrived fashionably late, having been held up by some business.

The moment he entered, all eyes turned to him as he made his way straight to my side.

As the heir to the Shaw family, his choice to sit beside me in a secluded corner made a statement about where his family's loyalties lay.

Noticing this, the other young heirs in the room began to shift their attention toward us.

The Shaw family was known for its secrecy, and getting close to them was usually a challenge.

With Percy here in person, they were eager to make an impression, even if it meant just exchanging a few words.

But he ignored every attempt to make conversation, instead leaning in close and turning his attention solely to me.