Chapter 11

Evelyn stood frozen in shock as she felt the sting of two slaps—one from Edward and the second, even harsher, from Mike. Her mind reeled from the betrayal, but before she could utter a single word in her defence, Mike’s booming voice silenced her.

"Didn’t I warn you not to cause any trouble?" he roared, his fury echoing across the room. "Why can’t you behave for even one day?"

Evelyn flinched at his tone, but before she could respond, Lily, still on the floor, whimpered pitifully. Edward helped her up, his face etched with concern. Once she was steady on her feet, Lily turned to Evelyn, her voice timid yet calculated.

"I’m so sorry, Miss Jones," she said, addressing Evelyn formally, knowing full well that no one in the room was aware of her true lineage. "I don’t understand why you hate me. I only wanted to say hi and get to know you."

Her pitiful act worked perfectly. Edward’s expression darkened with anger. "Just because I rejected you, you dare try to hurt my girlfriend?" he spat.

PAK! PAK!

Another two slaps struck Evelyn’s already burning cheek. Mike, his voice colder than ever, glared at her.

"You USELESS brat!" he bellowed. "What did I tell you, huh?! Didn’t I say not to cause trouble today? It’s your sister’s engagement—the happiest day of her life—and you just had to ruin it! I shouldn’t have let you attend this party at all. At least then, we wouldn’t have been embarrassed by you!"

Evelyn stood still, her vision blurred by unshed tears.

"If Mom and Dad hadn’t found out about you that day, you wouldn’t even be here today!" Mike continued mercilessly. "We could have lived happily without worrying about someone like you ruining our reputation in front of the world!"

Evelyn’s breath hitched. She knew the truth of her birth, but hearing Mike say it so openly—so cruelly—shattered her. Around the room, reactions varied—some family members were shocked because they had never known the truth, while others were stunned that Mike had dared to say it aloud in front of Evelyn. The guests, on the other hand, were in complete disbelief. As far as the world knew, the Jones family had only two daughters and two sons. Mike had never once introduced Evelyn as his daughter, never acknowledged her existence in public. And now, in the middle of an engagement party, her identity had been exposed for the first time.

Still fuming, Mike turned back to Evelyn. "And how dare you hurt Miss Lily?! Unlike you, she actually works in her father’s company, gaining experience! And what about you? All you do is waste your time with drawings, laze around, or disturb Edward! Do you even have a single useful skill? No! The only thing you’re good at is embarrassing the family!"

He was so consumed by his anger that he failed to realize he had just exposed a secret in front of the entire gathering. While some guests refused to believe that the Jones family had a third daughter, others were beginning to put the pieces together—Evelyn was the Second Young Miss of the Jones family. However, many assumed she was just a spoiled troublemaker.

As whispers spread through the crowd, Mike made an unexpected announcement. "Evelyn is leaving tomorrow morning."

Aaron, unwilling to see Evelyn cast out like this, immediately protested. "Mike, this is a misunderstanding!" he pleaded, supported by Olivia and Harry.

"Evelyn would never hurt anyone!" Harry declared.

Trembling, Evelyn finally found her voice. "I… I swear I didn’t do anything," she choked out, her body quivering with fear.

Olivia wrapped a comforting arm around her, her voice steady. "I believe you," she whispered.

But Edward wasn’t willing to listen. "Lily wouldn’t lie," he insisted stubbornly.

That was the last straw for Olivia. She turned to him, her voice sharp. "Do you have any proof that Evelyn slapped or pushed Lily?"

Edward faltered, unable to answer.

Keeping her composure, Olivia continued, "And tell me, Mr. Edward, what kind of dress is your girlfriend wearing?"

At her words, the entire hall turned to Lily. A hush fell over the guests, but their silence didn’t last long.

"Isn’t that the kind of dress people wear at clubs?" one whispered.

"She’s definitely trying to seduce someone," another muttered.

More murmurs followed, some discussing how the Shen Company had managed to secure a major business deal despite having the worst presentation.

"Now it makes sense," one guest said. "I was at that meeting. Shen Company’s pitch was awful, yet they still got the contract… I always wondered how. But now, I understand."

Anyone else in Lily’s place would have been humiliated beyond belief, but she felt no shame. Instead, she assumed they were all jealous of her beauty and fashion sense. In her mind, Olivia was foolish to think she would be humiliated by such trivialities.

Interrupting Olivia, Jack snapped, "Watch your tone. You’re speaking to Edward—Amy’s soon-to-be brother-in-law!"

Before Olivia could respond, Mike’s rage erupted again. "Enough! Evelyn will go abroad, and that’s final! No more discussions!"

To make things worse, Amelia—who had been silently enjoying Evelyn’s suffering—decided to add fuel to the fire. "Yes! How dare you try to hurt her? I’ve always hated you. You were always such a spoiled, useless brat who did nothing but annoy my son!"

Mike’s anger flared again. "Get out of here!" he barked at Evelyn.

Overwhelmed by fear, Evelyn had no choice but to obey. Without another word, she turned and hurried toward her room.

As soon as she disappeared, Mike declared, "This party is over!"

The guests quickly dispersed, leaving with murmurs of speculation. Lily, after bidding Edward and the others farewell, walked away with a triumphant smile. She was pleased—almost everyone in both the Jones and Smith families (except Olivia, Aaron, and Harry) now hated Evelyn.

But what Lily didn’t know was that Butler Lu had secretly placed cameras throughout the estate as a precaution. Every moment of her deception had been captured on CCTV.

That’s it for now…

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