Chapter 3The Six-Year Setup

"Sloane, I'm so sorry about what happened with Liam. I never expected Mia to form a clique at school using the library donation."

The mockery in my calling her "Sister" was palpable, but she pretended not to notice, trying to pull off a familiar, friendly tone.

It seemed the Jenkins family had truly hit rock bottom; no wonder she was thick-skinned enough to have Liam call her 'Auntie.'

"Please call me Mrs. Vance. Also, no need to apologize. A million dollars lets you throw your weight around, but Liam and I won't take it to heart," I said lightly.

"Sloane, do you have to speak to me with such superiority? I am your sister, after all."

She sounded wronged, her voice choking up. "Whether you believe it or not, Elliot and I are completely innocent."

I responded with a cold sneer.

"I know you're bothered that I went on a blind date with Arthur Carter six years ago, but that was an arrangement by the family, and I ultimately didn't marry him, did I?" She suddenly changed the subject.

I sneered. "So six years later, you want to steal my man again, is that it? I'm very grateful for your validation of my taste."

"Sloane, don't be like this. I know your status as an illegitimate daughter cost you Arthur, but I've already convinced Mom and Dad. As long as you're willing, you can come back and be officially recognized by the family at any time."

"Recognized? The Jenkins family is dreaming! Besides, Miss Jenkins has truly inherited her parents' traits—feigning innocence while loving to play the other woman. It really is disgusting!" My words grew heated.

No one in New York knew that before Robert Adams married my mother, he was involved with Brenda Jenkins. To shave ten years off his struggle, he broke off his engagement to become the live-in son-in-law for the Jenkins family.

After securing his position in the Jenkins family, he coaxed my mother into having me. My mother was blinded by love; she stayed unmarried her whole life, willingly acting as his underground lover.

Yet she would wake up in the middle of the night full of resentment, feeling the whole world owed her, living her entire life in a state of madness.

That was my unbearable background, which I had never mentioned.

In fact, I had long forgotten about it, but I didn't expect Audrey to use it to agitate me!

Audrey sobbed through the phone. I found it annoying and was about to hang up when a familiar voice suddenly came through: "Sloane, you're crossing the line."

"Elliot?!" I parted my lips in surprise.

Past midnight, and he was actually by Audrey's side? Then where was Liam?!

"I have no intention of interfering in your family affairs, but you shouldn't misunderstand Audrey and your father like this. You're a mother now too; does the goodwill of parents just disgust you?"

Elliot sounded displeased. "It's because of this attitude that you throw the word 'divorce' around so casually. I think you need to take a serious lesson in family responsibility."

My voice started trembling. "What gives you the right to interrogate me?"

"As a father, and even more so as a husband!"

I snapped back, "As a husband, you eavesdrop on your wife's phone call with your little lover, and then you stand up to speak for her?"

"Sloane!"

"As a father, you think there are no bad parents in the world, that all parents are kind and merciful?"

"Enough!"

"As a wife, as a mother, I might not be perfect, but I'm at least a hundred times better than that bastard Robert Adams! As a product of that toxic affair, don't I even have the right to feel resentful? What gives you the right to demand I forgive them! What gives you the right to play peacemaker!"

Knowing this was all intentionally steered by Audrey, I still ended up in a loud argument with Elliot over the phone.

We argued about the Jenkins family, the Carter family, and then my ex-boyfriend, Arthur Carter.

Elliot stubbornly believed that my demand for a divorce was due to my resentment over my original family's flaws, and my lingering feelings for Arthur. He wanted me to reconcile with the Jenkins family for my own good.

"Elliot, I never knew you had become so self-righteous!"

I roared, my voice humiliating and choked with tears, even a bit frantic. I hadn't lost my composure this much even when his mistress cornered me all those years ago.

Elliot finally realized something was wrong, his voice panicking as he hurriedly said, "Wait for me to come back."

My response was to hurl the phone fiercely into the night sky, smashing it with all my might, leaving a trail of debris.

Standing numbly in the night wind for a while, my whole body was still trembling from the eye of the storm, yet at the same time, I felt the extreme, cold rationality that follows a frantic outburst.

In that moment, a thought surfaced: Fine. Elliot won't divorce me quietly; this is the perfect breach.

Afterward, I quickly drove back. I needed to find Liam.

After staying with Liam until he fell asleep, perhaps influenced by Audrey's words, I actually dreamed of events from six years ago.

Back then, I had just graduated from Columbia. With my pure, striking looks and dazzling academic record, many corporations extended offers to me.

Just as I was about to accept an offer from the Carter Group, my mother stormed into my apartment, furious:

"Isn't Arthur Carter your boyfriend? Why did your dad say Audrey is dating him! Listen to me, you absolutely cannot let that bitch's daughter win!"

At that time, Arthur and I had been dating under the radar for two years, just one step away from our parents meeting.

"Anyone else is fine, but why the Jenkins family? Why do those two women insist on making my life difficult?"

My mother wiped away angry tears, then recklessly ranted about old grievances, hating the unfairness of fate, cursing Robert Adams as a scumbag who ruined her life.

Her contorted, haggard, and frantic appearance made me frown.

But I was also thankful to her.

Because a few days later, while I was on a date with Arthur, we ran into Mrs. Carter. The elegant woman was accompanied by two friends. After eyeing me up and down, she said with a half-smile:

"I've heard of Miss Adams. Arthur mentioned you too. You're very hardworking and independent. It's just a pity about your father—"

"Enough!" Arthur shielded me behind him, cutting off his mother's words.

When it was just the two of us, he looked slightly exhausted and told me to wait, saying he would handle it.

I looked at him steadily for a while, then shook my head.

Two years. I had come to understand Arthur somewhat.

He was the kind of man whose gentlemanly respect and aloofness were carved into his bones. Despite his prestigious background, he wasn't arrogant or condescending.

Therefore, he never lacked female attention. Anyone who knew him would praise his sincerity and grace.

But I knew that after his sincere conversations, he would turn away and forget, leaving no trace behind.

His sincerity was like some people's smiles—just an expression, completely detached from emotion.

Two years, the best two years of a woman's life, ending like this. Naturally, I was unwilling. The beast in my chest was baring its fangs, restless.

But then I suddenly thought of my mother, Robert Adams, and Brenda.

With Arthur, I was destined to be the casualty of a marriage of convenience. I wasn't going to bet on it.

I closed my eyes again, letting my mother's self-pitying, frantic, and resentful image play out in my mind for a moment, and my heart suddenly grew calm.

Watching others lose their minds is always better than experiencing it yourself.

My gaze turned resolute.

I, Sloane Adams, would never allow myself to become a weak person who only complains and bares her pain for others to mock, just like her!

So, I stepped back, crossed my hands over my stomach, and bowed my head slightly:

"Thank you very much for your companionship and help over the past two years. I've learned enough from you."

He swayed slightly, his eyes revealing a hint of obscurity: "Sloane, you don't believe me?"

I slowly smiled at him: "Mr. Carter, let's part on good terms."

Then I nodded lightly, turned, and walked away, drawing the most perfect and dignified period to our relationship.

After learning of the breakup, my mother stormed into my apartment again, smashing everything to pieces, cursing my incompetence:

"I was hoping to rely on you to turn things around, but you're nothing! Wasting a perfectly good face! What does it matter how good your grades are? Without a family background, who will look up to you!"

After venting, she grabbed me, a strange light in her eyes: "Sloane, even if you can't be Arthur's wife, there's no need to break up. A man like him can't possibly have only one family—"

"Enough, get out!" I finally erupted, pointing at the door and screaming for her to leave.

How could there be a mother like this in the world!

After that day, I completely cut ties with her until a year later, when Elliot and I got married. She brazenly showed up at the door, forcing a thaw in our relationship.

"Aside from the title, how does he compare to Arthur Carter?" she grumbled at me in dissatisfaction.

I looked at her coldly: "Do you want to be thrown out by me again?"