Witnessing a Happy Moment
Juliet's face twisted with complicated emotions.
She didn't believe it to be a trivial matter. She thought it was a fateful moment in my life.
Knowing that things didn't go the way she planned felt worse than hearing me snap back.
Gritting her teeth, she pushed her luck. "Stop pretending! You're holding a grudge because I stopped Dad and Mom from adopting you twenty years ago. Now you want revenge on me and my brother!"
I snorted. "Ms. Stafford, your accusation is uncalled for."
A cold look replaced my smile. "Why would I waste time on you? Speaking of which, I should thank you for talking your parents out of adopting me. Otherwise, Madam Astrea Perkins wouldn't have adopted me, and I wouldn't have achieved greatness."
I paused, then concluded calmly, "So really, I can't thank you enough. There's no reason for me to be angry with you."
The more I downplayed the importance of the Stafford family to me, the more harm my words did to her.
She choked on her words, unable to find a clever comeback. Embarrassment had painted her cheeks red.
"Watch what you say. What does this have to do with Astrea Perkins?"
As if she had caught me in a lie, she mocked, "Just because you're a Perkins now doesn't mean you're related to her. You can keep dreaming about having ties to that family, but you'll never truly be one of them!"
At that, A black Bentley pulled up to the curb.
The door opened, revealing a slender, elegant woman.
She strode toward me and put a trenchcoat on me.
The whole time, she ignored Juliet.
Gently caressing my head, she urged, "Let's go, Sage. Grandma is waiting for us."
Only then did Juliet's presence seem to catch her attention. "Who is she, Sage?"
I linked my arm around hers and smiled at her. "Don't worry, Sylvia. She's a client. We were just talking."
The revelation stunned Juliet.
She stared at us in disbelief. She refused to connect Sylvia's affection and the luxury car to me.
Still, she could not deny it.
She recognized Sylvia as the founder of a top law firm.
She had also heard that Sylvia had a younger brother, treasured by the whole Perkins family.
She simply never expected me to be that brother.
She couldn't help but recall a young man in a prison uniform staring blankly at her from behind the glass panel in the visitation room. It happened in her previous life.
But now, the same man was smiling sweetly and linking arms with another woman.
Leaving her frozen in a daze, I got into Sylvia's car.
The next day, Dakota told me that Juliet had used her connections to transfer the fraud case and involve me directly.
As he compiled the documents, he complained, "Mr. Perkins, what's wrong with Juliet Stafford? Not long ago, she still had doubts about your competence. But today, her attitude changed. Now, she specifically demands your involvement. I bet she wants to win your favor after learning your family background."
I dismissed it with a faint smile and signed the referral application.
I looked forward to seeing what Juliet would bring me.
