Chapter 2

In the end, they just couldn't walk away from the Guthrine family's wealth. Hot-tempered Samuel clicked his tongue impatiently. "Easy for you to say. The three of us have been living off the Guthrines like charity cases. What choice do we have exactly? We're basically like your pets!" Nathan looked at me. His face was drained of colour. "Go ahead and pick me if you want. Just don't make things hard for the two of them in the future." Shawn and Samuel were touched when they heard that. I felt nothing but bitterness deep down when I saw Nathan's expression. It was as if he were making a noble sacrifice. Before I could reply, Cecelia suddenly showed up. As soon as she saw me, she immediately hid behind Nathan, as if startled. He instinctively stepped in front of her. "She didn't do anything, so just let her be for today." I looked at them, perplexed. Only then did I realize that the three men who were supposed to take my side were now standing in front of Cecelia, as if worried I might bully her. When Cecelia arrived at the Guthrine residence five years ago, she gave me a hair clip. In return, I gave her a bracelet worth a hundred thousand dollars as a welcome gift. However, Nathan snatched the box away just as I was about to open it. He angrily said, "Are you even trying to take away the keepsake Cecelia's mother left for her?" Perplexed, I turned to look at Cecelia, waiting for her to explain that it was something she offered to give me herself. But she fell to her knees unexpectedly and started crying. She said, "Ms. Guthrine didn't take it away. I was the one who offered it to her. She's really good to me. She even gave me a bracelet. I'm not aggrieved at all!" Cecelia started begging for my forgiveness. The scene made Nathan, Shawn, and Samuel tear up as they recalled their own circumstances. They started accusing me. "Even if you're the only daughter of the Guthrine family, you have no right to force someone to hand you their mother's keepsake!" "The hair clip might not be worth much, but it's much more meaningful than that bracelet that's worth tens of thousands. Give it back to Cecelia now!" "You're just as bossy as ever. You don't care how others feel as long as you're happy." My expression immediately fell, but I thought it might be a misunderstanding. Everything would be fine if I could just find a moment to clear things up. I suppressed my anger and handed the hair clip back to Cecelia, but she fumbled and dropped it. The hair clip immediately broke into pieces. She bit down on her lip and yelled, "If you'd rather break it than give it back to me, why bother?" Nathan couldn't bear watching the poor getting bullied. His expression darkened immediately as he threatened, "You'd better apologize to Cecelia now, or I won't marry you!" Back then, I had already confessed to Nathan. I had told him I wouldn't marry anyone else but him. He used this as leverage and forced me to submit to Cecelia. I was too young then. I was too afraid of losing the man I loved to stand up for myself. I could only apologize with tears in my eyes. But my apology lasted five whole years. From then on, Cecelia would either drop to her knees or tear up whenever she saw me, even when I didn't do anything. My expression grew cold as I looked at Nathan. "If you're truly worried I might bully Cecelia, you'd better tie her up and keep her around you." I was merely being sarcastic, but he frowned and asked, "Are you threatening me? What are you planning to do to Cecelia?" Samuel clapped his hands sharply and pointed at me. "Don't tell me it's because we gave Oceanis to Cecelia. You're planning to bully her because of that?" Shawn looked at me coldly. "You already have everything, but Cecelia never had anyone to celebrate her birthday with. It's just Oceanis. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?" My gaze turned icy. "Oceanis?"