Chapter 4The Second Chance Menu

"You intentionally embarrassed your father!" Grandma hit my back hard in anger. "Where are your manners?"

He wasn't embarrassed; my mom was.

I said quietly: "Grandma, who is that woman? Why did dad not blame her for spilling wine on mom's dress?"

Grandma frowned. "As the head of the group, your father must be magnanimous."

I didn't speak again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Julian drinking glass after glass of wine.

I heard that everyone thought my mom and Julian would end up together, but they missed each other in the end. Julian hasn't married to this day; Lucas was adopted from a relative.

I rubbed my chin in thought.

Just then, I saw Lucas sneaking off somewhere.

I immediately started to follow.

Grandma grabbed me, displeased. "Don't run around. Sit here nicely."

"I need to use the bathroom!" I bolted away.

I followed Lucas to the lounge. He didn't notice me. I hid by the crack in the door.

Voices came from inside.

Vivian said lazily: "You said your family was struggling, so I introduced you to the company. I showed you kindness. Why make everyone look bad in a setting like this?"

Silence inside. Then the soft voice said: "It was Mr. Jiang who showed me kindness, promoting me to secretary. The salary is several times higher than my old job."

Vivian laughed. "Okay. Love, money, you have both. What else do you want? The position of Mrs. Jiang?"

No answer.

After a long time.

"I'm pregnant," the girl whispered. "Sister, you lack nothing. Give him to me. I don't want my child to be born without a father."

The sound of a coat rack falling over. Probably kicked by my mom.

Seeing Vivian finally lose control, the girl's smile became a bit more genuine:

"I checked. It's a boy. Mr. Jiang and I are looking forward to his arrival. He even bought baby supplies in advance."

Slap. A crisp sound. The girl sighed: "Hit me. Mr. Jiang will be the one hurting."

Her gentle voice finally couldn't hide the triumph:

"Ms. Zhong, when you condescendingly gave me charity back then, did you ever imagine you'd be kicked out of the Jiang family with your daughter like a dog?"

I gripped my dress tightly.

But suddenly, a white light flashed in my mind.

Wait, she was never pregnant!

If she was really pregnant with a boy, forget her asking for status, Grandma would never let her grandson be illegitimate.

My expression hardened.

Then I met Lucas's eyes.

He stepped back, surprised to see me right next to him.

Lucas was silent for a few seconds, then awkwardly whispered in my ear:

"It's okay. If your mom doesn't want you, I'll ask my dad to adopt you too. I won't let you be homeless."

I froze, touched, and held his hand: "Thank you."

His fingers curled.

Suddenly, a tall shadow fell over us.

"What are you doing?" Richard looked down coldly.

I jumped, smiling sheepishly. "Dad, we were worried about Mom, so we came to check."

"We?" Richard sneered, lifting me by the scruff of my neck with one hand. "Stay away from this kid."

Lucas gritted his teeth and ran off.

The door opened.

The girl threw herself into Richard's arms with a red handprint on her face, sobbing without speaking.

Vivian stood inside, smiling but not smiling.

Seeing me, she immediately put out her cigarette.

I: "..."

Richard frowned, asking Vivian: "You hit her?"

Vivian glanced over lazily: "Hitting her hurt my hand."

For some reason, Richard's calm brow darkened.

The girl was incredulous: "What are you saying? You hit me..."

"Enough." Richard interrupted coldly. "Since you don't want to stay here, I'll send someone to take you back."

With that, he signaled the bodyguards to take the girl away.

The sobbing continued, fading into the distance.

Richard walked closer to Vivian, his voice flat: "Satisfied?"

Vivian stared at him for two seconds, the fake smile gone from her face.

Finally, she mocked herself. "You make me sick."

She pushed Richard aside and walked out in her high heels, still wearing the wine-stained mermaid dress.

Richard had his back to the door; I couldn't see his expression.