Chapter 10
A bunch of girls were like. “Aww, this is so cute!”
But then some people were like, “Wait, isn’t Owen supposed to be with Selena? Why is he being so nice to this new girl from the Dalton family?”
“Actually, Owen never said Selena was his girlfriend.”
“Maybe we got it wrong”
It’s clear Selena was trying to make us think that. She was all over Owen, but he didn’t even react.
LOL turns out Owen is the boyfriend of Selena’s sister. I wonder if Selena knows about this.”
“No way she doesn’t know. I bet she’s trying to hit on him. Gross
Hearing the gossip. Selena was so angry her face tumed pale. If she had less self–control, she would have already started.
cursing.
Jaden added fuel to the fire. “Bro, so this is actually your girlfriend? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I almost made a mistake.”
He went over to introduce himself to Hailey, being extra nice.
The focus clearly shifted from Selena to Hailey.
When Hailey came down, Rose did not join her but remained in the lounge, discussing the timing of the wedding with the Blackwell family.
Selena gritted her teeth. Refusing to be the side character, she walked over and asked in a soft voice, “Hailey, please explain to everyone. Or they’ll misunderstand.
“Explain what?” Hailey looked at her and blinked innocently.
“Explain your relationship with Owen. You just came back. How could you be his girlfriend? Owen doesn’t like gossip, so you should explain” Selena was all innocent.
Hailey looked at Owen, asking tentatively, “Should I explain?”
To Selena’s shock, Owen’s expression darkened as he glanced at her. “We’ve been dating. It’s not a rumor.”
“How is that possible… Selena stuttered, her face drained of color.
She was insanely jealous
How long has Hailey been back? What charm did she have to get Owen? Selena was about to confront Hailey, but Rose’s voice sounded at this moment.
“What’s going on? Why are you all gathered here at the stairs?” Rose descended the stairs gracefully
Seeing Owen, she exclaimed in surprise, “Oh. Owen. When did you come over? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Even though she wasn’t happy, she still maintained proper etiquette.
Owen nodded slightly as a greeting.
Instantly, Jaden spoke up for him “Owen came to see his girlfriend
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Chapter 10
Rose was taken aback at this, then, the looked at Selena with a mix of surprise and happiness. It was clear as day that she was thinking. When did you manage to snag Owen, girl?
Selena caught the deeper meaning in her mother’s eyes and quickly shook her head, wanting to clarify it
Rose, being older and wiser, immediately picked up on Selena’s hint.
“Girlfriend?” she giggled, covering her mouth. “Which family is the from?”
With that, she turned to Hailey. “Oh, right. Hailey, didn’t you say your boyfriend was here, too? Where is he?
Before Hailey could respond, Owen took her hand, his gaze calm, his voice cool and deep. Tm her boyfriend”
Instantly, Rose’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Hailey lowered her head, looking sad as she told Owen, “We can’t be together. Rose arranged a marriage for me. Im to be married into the Blackwell family”
Upon hearing this, the crowd burst into an uproar.
The Blackwell family only had one unmarried son, the second son, Christopher Blackwell, since the eldest son, Randolph Blackwell, was already married.
Everyone in the circle knew what was up with Christopher, thinking. Who would’ve thought Hailey is already being arranged to marry a useless man as soon as she returned to the Dalton family?! Rose, as a stepmother, sure is something
else
Instantly, the way everyone looked at Rose changed.
“Is that so?” Owen’s expression darkened as he asked coldly.
Rose shivered, a cold sweat breaking out all over.
She forced herself to explain, “This marriage was arranged long ago between the two families. I had no choice…”
“As far as I know, the marriage between the Dalton and Blackwell families didn’t specify which lady, and Hailey was sent away when she was very young. Even though you were to arrange a marriage alliance, it wouldn’t fall to Hailey, would it?” Owen pressed coolly
The crowd’s gaze toward Rose turned even more mocking
Her image of being gentle and virtuous was instantly shattered.
“Yeah, Hailey just got back, and she’s already being pushed into marrying a useless man. Why not marry off your own daughter?”
“I thought she was such a kind stepmother, turns out she’s a wicked stepmom.”
“My husband always talks about how gentle and virtuous she is at home, never knew she was so disgusting”
“You didn’t know? Rose was a mistress who climbed her way up back then.”
“Seriously?”
The banquet was bustling with gossipy whispers, a vivid depiction of “everybody hits a man who is down.”
Meanwhile, Hailey stood behind Owen, her sexy eyes icy cold.
Rose, this is what you deserve. I just wanted a little bit of justice for myself and my late mother. Can’t you handle it? The
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Chapter 10
best is yet to come, she sneered inwardly.
“No… no!” Selena screamed, somewhat breaking down “My mom isn’t a mistress!”
“Shut up!” Suddenly, a loud, angry voice rang out from the side.
Everyone stopped talking and looked in the direction of the voice. It was Aiden, back from a business deal.
Hailey’s gaze focused on him.
When she returned to the Dalton family in her previous life, she only knew that her father didn’t like her. She was timid back then, thinking it was because of that, but there was nothing she could do about it since she couldn’t change her personality.
Π
She could only try to please him carefully. But after she time traveled, she realized she wasn’t wrong, nor was her mother.
The real culprit was Aiden. He had an affair during his marriage. After Hailey’s mother gave birth to her, she wanted to divorce him. But on the way to get the divorce papers, she had a car accident and died on the spot.
More importantly, Hailey found out that her mother’s car accident might have been intentional.
Aiden walked straight to Selena and Rose, shielding them from the crowd and roaring. “How dare you bully my woman at my house?!”
“Aiden,” Rose, with red eyes, called out tenderly
The Dalton family, being one of the four major elite clans, commanded a certain level of respect. While everyone enjoyed a good gossip, they knew better than to offend the Daltons. Thus, the crowd gradually dispersed.
Aiden turned around, hugged Rose, and whispered. Im sorry you had to go through this”
“It’s okay” Rose shook her head, looking all pitiful
Selena stood by, silently wiping away her tears, while Aiden reached out to stroke her long hair.
Suddenly, Eliza chimed in at this moment, adding fuel to the fire. “It’s all because of Hailey; otherwise, Selena and Mother wouldn’t have been misunderstood.”
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