Chapter 7

"T-That's impossible… I made sure not to leave a trace…" Raymond thought. However, the absolute certainty in Samantha's eyes proved that she indeed knew the truth. His voice was low and hoarse as he asked, "What are you talking about?" "Can't you understand me?" Samantha scoffed. "Samantha," Suddenly feeling exasperated, he demanded, "You were born with everything you could possibly want. Why did you have to force your younger sister this way?" A bark of laughter left her lips, but within her ribcage, her heart felt like it was breaking into pieces. "Just what did I force her to do? The very first day she was adopted into the Norton family, she set me up, and I almost lost my virginity." Samantha's voice abruptly dropped low, but that didn't blunt the sharpness of her words. "I had only just come of legal age when my reputation was destroyed. In just one night, I went from the treasured daughter of the Norton family to the laughingstock of the entire city. As for Tiffany? She took over my position." She raised her gaze to look straight at Raymond, not a hint of timidness in her eyes. "My home, my jewelry, my bank card, even the chance to enroll in the art academy I had been dreaming of since young—she snatched them all from me! I nearly lost my life at the racetrack because of her! And just now, she told me my father's car accident wasn't actually an accident!" With every sentence she spoke, the wounds she had kept buried deep within were once again brought to the surface and ripped open, making them feel raw and bloody. Raymond was stunned. "But… I heard that it was Tiffany who had it rough in the Norton residence…" His tone was stiff as he unconsciously clenched his fists. "If what she experienced is 'having it rough,' then what about what I've gone through?" For the first time in her life, she wept tragically, looking so frail that it was as though the slightest breeze might topple her. Not wanting to cry in front of Raymond anymore, Samantha ordered the driver to start driving. … Meanwhile, Hector was throwing a grand party for Tiffany. She had also posted a new update on her social media. It was a photo of a pigeon blood ruby ring adorning her finger. This photo swiftly spread across the internet, and a barrage of press releases took over the trending topics in the blink of an eye. Without fail, each and every one of them described Tiffany as a modern-day rags-to-riches woman. Besides that, her so-called best friends in the industry also started posting vague posts to get with the hype. "Tiffany, I thought you liked emeralds more?" "No, she likes pearls!" "Jewelry is inanimate, while humans aren't. Didn't you once say you wished someone would book out an entire amusement park for you?" "Your future husband better be good at car racing and music, and also love to go on vacations. In other words, he has to be good at everything!" Samantha sat in her dimly lit room, laughing coldly as she read all these posts. Anyone with a brain could tell that Tiffany was playing hard to get. Yet, to Samantha's surprise, Raymond fell for it hook, line, and sinker. When she returned to the company, she spotted Raymond's driver, Lewis Pritchard, entering Raymond's office with a small box. Since the door was left slightly ajar, she could hear Lewis attempting to persuade Raymond. "Mr. Holt, this is a family heirloom. Are you sure you want to gift it to Tiffany?" "She's worth it," Raymond answered without any hesitation. Samantha glanced at the open box and saw a phoenix-shaped emerald pendant. It was a matching pair to the one Raymond wore around his neck. There was no doubt this pendant symbolized the status of the future Mrs. Goodwin. Lewis exited the office and ran into Samantha. Upon seeing her, he couldn't help but sigh. When Lewis next returned, Raymond had already contacted several divers. "Let's go. We're heading to the Southern Sea." "Mr. Holt, there's no need for you to go personally. Have you forgotten that you have a fear of the deep sea?" "Don't you think you're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong?" Samantha, who was leaning against the glass door just a few feet away from him, bit her lip silently. Naturally, she could tell that Raymond wanted to fulfil every one of Tiffany's requests. "She likes emeralds but loves pearls more. Since I have the ability to give her both, why not do so?" That night, a nosy netizen took a screenshot of Tiffany's post, which revealed a pair of black pearl earrings hanging from her ears. It was captioned, "Who is the most radiant pearl in your heart?" Samantha shut her eyes, her fingers gripping her phone tightly. She still hadn't recovered from her injuries, and every movement caused pain to shoot through her. Nevertheless, she had grown numb to it by now. In her other hand, she was clutching her flight ticket to Edunia, which was scheduled for three days from now. The next morning, Samantha paid a visit to the hospital to retrieve her health report. She had only just stepped out of the elevator when she overheard the nurses ahead of her gossiping softly. "That man was cut by some coral when diving. Supposedly, it was because he wanted to harvest pearls for his girlfriend." "It sure is rare to see such a devoted man nowadays…" Raising her head, Samantha glanced through the crowd to the other end of the corridor, only to see Raymond. He was in casual clothes, with bandages wrapped around his forehead. Several cuts on his cheeks had already scabbed over but were still looking rather inflamed. His injuries made him look a lot more haggard than normal. Raymond also happened to spot Samantha. He hesitated, but in the end, he still approached her. "Samantha," he began, voice raspy. "I accidentally injured myself… so I'll have to take a break from work…" Samantha merely gazed at him emotionlessly, though a sardonic smile adorned her lips. He truly had fallen so low, even willing to throw away his life in his bid to curry Tiffany's favor. Not a hint of sympathy could be seen in her eyes, and only a frosty chill lingered. "Alright." She no longer held any feelings for this man before her, and she certainly wouldn't take pity on him. That night, at one of the best restaurants in Huxville, Samantha was treating her assistant, bodyguard, driver, and housekeeper to one last meal. A veritable feast weighed down the table, and while the atmosphere wasn't particularly heavy, there was a sense of reluctant parting in the air. "Ms. Norton, have you really decided to leave?" The housekeeper, Beatrice Wood, blew her nose into a tissue, sobbing, "I watched you grow up, so whenever you want to come back here, just let me know! I'll continue to take care of you." Samantha's driver, bodyguard, and assistant also grew somewhat teary. They were all well aware of how kind Samantha was. Though they were mere employees working under her, she was incredibly forgiving of them, no matter if they had made mistakes or had emergencies that affected their work. "Beatrice, don't cry anymore. Once Ms. Norton leaves, she won't have to endure further bullying from the people here." The bodyguard raised his glass in a toast. "Ms. Norton is truly a rare kind soul. Let's all wish her a happy and blissful life overseas!" "That's right!" Her assistant also stood up. "Samantha, don't you worry. If there ever comes a day that you want to return to the entertainment industry, I'd be more than willing to be your assistant again, even if you don't pay me!" Laughing, Samantha also raised her glass and touched it to theirs. "Don't worry. Once the entertainment industry has forgotten me, I'll be back." These people weren't related to her by blood, but they were her found family. They exchanged smiles with each other, but they could see the hint of exhaustion and determination in her gaze. "Raymond Holt is such a bastard! He's so busy with being a simp for Tiffany that he's been negligent of his duties toward you, Ms. Norton." The driver snorted and added, "And here I used to think he was a great man!" "I absolutely agree with you! I guess this is a prime example of one man's trash being another man's treasure." Their words coaxed a soft chuckle from Samantha. After that, she transferred each of them some money as a parting gift. Right before they were about to part ways, Beatrice suddenly hugged Samantha to her tightly. Her voice was tinged with heartache as she said, "Sammy, your brother is truly blind… Also, about Tiffany's father drugging Mrs. Norton back then… do you need me to step forward as a witness?" "Forget it." Samantha reciprocated the hug with an equally tight embrace. "Beatrice, don't mention this incident at all, okay? I had evidence of her involvement in the racetrack incident, yet I still failed to win against her. There's no doubt something that happened a decade ago would be even more difficult. I don't want you to get hurt because of me. "Besides, once I leave, all this will have nothing to do with me anymore." After seeing them off, Samantha went to pay the bill. It was then that she realized that she had accidentally dropped her emerald bracelet in the private room.