“Honey, you really are pitiful. Not only are you being cuckolded by your mistress, but you're also having to adopt her bastard child.”
I feigned sympathy, though I couldn't suppress the smile tugging at my lips. “Instead of this, why don't you look at the children here?”
“Adopting a godson or goddaughter could still give you the full set of children.”
Hearing my words, they began to clamor in agreement. They all crowded around Jacob.
His veins were throbbing with rage. He shouted furiously, “Enough! I don't need any godchildren! All of you, get out!”
I shook my head in disapproval. “That won't work. The main event hasn't even started yet. How can the audience leave now?”
“Laura, you lunatic! What else do you want?”
I reached out and gave it a light tap. The red “Family Reunion” banner on the third floor instantly transformed into a white funeral banner.
They read, “In Deep Mourning Jacob Departed Virility.”
The brightly colored bouquets surrounding the scene were replaced with wreaths and the music in the living room was cut off.
The melodious and mournful sound of the horn filled my ears. Each note struck deep within my heart, like a triumphant victory song.
Jacob and Kiara's expressions twisted and contorted. Their eyes blazed with rage, humiliation and a murderous hatred that threatened to consume me.
“Laura, get out of here! Do you hear me?”
His face flushed crimson with fury. He spun his wheelchair closer to me.
Screaming at the top of his lungs, his voice raw and torn. I ignored him and took out the microphone I'd prepared to speak to everyone.
“Thank you all for taking time out of your day to witness this sorrowful moment.”
I smiled slightly at them. Then I whispered to Jacob, “Growing up is a series of goodbyes. Jacob, don't give up on yourself because of this loss.”
After all, in the future, he would lose even more. “Shut up! Laura, what exactly are you trying to do?”
“I asked for a divorce and you refused.”
“You don't want to live a good life, either. Are you really going to destroy this family?”
Jacob lost control once more. He shouted angrily in front of everyone. But from the moment he walked in until now, he hadn't remembered what day it was today. He also hadn't remembered what I just said.
Kiara then told me, “Laura, stop taking advantage of Jacob’s indulgence to push your luck. Mark my words. And no matter how much you cause trouble, Jacob will divorce you!”
“And I? No matter what kind of person Jacob becomes, I’ll stand by his side until death do us part.”
She expressed her devotion to Jacob with deep emotion. A flicker of tenderness passed through Jacob's eyes as he gazed at her with watery affection.
I chuckled softly and gave a subtle signal. The bodyguard concealed in the shadows suddenly materialized.
Without a moment's hesitation, he delivered a resounding slap across her face. The shrill wail of the sound mingled with the sharp crack of the slap drifted pleasantly into my ears.
I shot an admiring glance at the bodyguard who'd struck her. “Well done. Go collect your reward.”
“Laura! What right do you have to let someone hit me?”
Kiara clutched her stinging cheek, glaring at me with hatred.
I answered, “Because this is my home. A mistress like you has no right to speak here. Got it?”
Jacob replied, “Laura! Don't go too far! Don't forget this is the Chastan household! I can change the mistress at any time with just a word from you!”
Hearing this, I laughed. I clapped my hands, laughing.
I asked him back, “Jacob, have you forgotten how your so-called Chastan household came to be?”
When my parents passed away, I was only eighteen. As the only daughter in my family, I was young and inexperienced. I simply couldn't bear the burden of such a vast enterprise.
It was Jacob who said, “Laura, as long as you trust me, I'll show you an even more glorious Chastan family.”
By then, his family's business had already gone bankrupt. My parents, weighed down by debt, committed suicide by jumping off a building.
He was alone and so was I. So, I agreed with him. But now, he was forgotten. The Chastan Family he speaks of should be my surname, Laura Chastan.
Without waiting for me to speak, Jacob suppressed his anger.
He shouted bellowed toward the door, “Someone, get these people out of here!”
“And Laura, whoever convinces her to agree to divorce me today gets a million in cash reward!”
As soon as he finished, a group of well-trained bodyguards emerged from the shadows. But they didn't obey Jacob's order.
Instead, they smiled respectfully at me and called out, “Miss Chastan.”
I watched coldly as Jacob's expression shifted from calm to utter disbelief. I smiled at him.
“Jacob, are you ready to enter the hell I've prepared for you?”
