Chapter 5

Jade's eyes met Caelan's, which were icy and contained a hint of a warning. It seemed like if she didn't handle this well, she would get into trouble.

She stepped away from Caelan's embrace and looked at everyone calmly. "Mr. Fitzgerald is a bit intoxicated, so I helped him up here to rest. Is there a problem?"

"But what about your dress?" Neve still wouldn't let it go, as if Jade's embarrassment was vital for her own survival.

Jade tugged at the hem of her dress, smiling confidently. "I accidentally got that dress dirty."

Everyone looked relieved, understanding everything now.

"Mr. Fitzgerald never indulges in carnal pleasure. Besides, he is well-dressed. How could he have anything to do with Ms. Jade? This might have been set up by someone," someone whispered.

"Who knows? There is plenty of intrigue in wealthy families. Let's just enjoy the show," someone else sneered.

These remarks reached Melvin's ears, making him scowl. He glared at Gemma, who lowered her head guiltily.

"Alright, alright, it was just a misunderstanding. Let's all take our seats." Melvin changed the subject.

However, Jade had no intention of letting the matter slide. She looked at Melvin with a somewhat aggrieved expression and asked, "Dad, someone slandered me. Do you intend to just let it go?"

"Slandered you? Who would slander you?" Melvin asked in confusion.

Jade's eyes turned to Neve with a touch of coldness. "Neve, why would you say things that led to a misunderstanding about me?"

In her previous life, hypocritical Neve had caused Jade a lot of suffering. Now, Jade aimed to expose her true nature for everyone to see.

As expected, Neve turned nervous and teary-eyed and pretended to be wronged. "Jade, I was just worried about you. How could you misunderstand my intentions?"

Neve was good at acting. Putting on a weak and pitiful front was her usual tactic. Unfortunately, this tactic was useless against Jade.

"You deliberately distorted the facts and made everyone think I was a morally loose woman. Isn't that enough?" Jade asked.

"No, it wasn’t like that," Neve cried, trying to defend herself. "I was just worried about you. You shouldn't take this the wrong way. You know very well how I treat you."

Neve wiped tears from her face. "No matter what I have to eat, I save some for you."

"That's just what is left over," Jade retorted coldly.

"I let you wear all my pretty clothes."

"Those are the ones you don't want."

"You—no, it's not like that…" Neve defended herself weakly.

Jade looked away, concealing her emotions. Her smile contained a tinge of pain. "I know I'm adopted. I've been grateful since I was a child, never daring to ask for anything. But you've always treated me like a thorn in your side, scolding and berating me, treating me worse than the servants. If you really hate me so much, why keep me here?"

Jade's calm tone was like a drop of water on a calm surface, causing ripples in everyone's hearts.

Most of the guests at the banquet were elite figures from high society, wealthy and influential individuals, so the information revealed by Jade was enough to shock them.

"I never expected the Severins to treat an adopted daughter like this. Truly, one can't judge a book by its cover..."

"Yeah, I heard that Neve has a heart condition and a rare blood type. They probably adopted Jade to use her as a blood bank. What a ruthless family..."

Gemma saw everyone turning against Neve and hurriedly tried to mediate, holding Jade's hand affectionately. "It's not what you think. It's all a misunderstanding among kids. Let's just treat this as a joke. Right, Jade?"