Jaden Lancaster shot to his feet, his face a mask of disbelief.
“First, find a way to stall them.
Say Wynn Shaw has been too tired lately and needs a few days to rest, but that she’ll give a clear explanation afterward.
And tell them they absolutely must not give up on the Lancaster Group.”
He couldn’t be bothered with Summer Sullivan, who had just stormed out.
In his panic, he immediately dialed Wynn Shaw’s number, demanding to know what was going on.
However, the only response from the receiver was the cold, automated message that her phone was off.
A surge of inexplicable anger welled up inside him, leaving him flustered and irritable.
He didn’t understand.
How could a woman who had always been so considerate suddenly become so dramatic?
‘I don’t buy it.
Wynn Shaw is an orphan, just some village girl.
If she leaves me, leaves Eldoria, where could she possibly go that’s any better?’
The thought brought Jaden Lancaster some relief, and he decided to go and console Summer Sullivan first.
‘A woman like Wynn Shaw can’t be spoiled.
If I give her too much leeway, she’ll forget how we weathered the hard times together and try to walk all over me.’
「Meanwhile, in Kaelus.」
Wynn Shaw was in a car, on her way back to the Shaw family estate.
She no longer had any interest in the affairs of the Lancaster Group and had already set her phone to Do Not Disturb.
As she once again entered the district where the Shaw family of Kaelus lived, she felt a sense of surrealism.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t secretly returned to see her parents before, but every time, she’d only dared to watch from a distance, never approaching.
When she broke off her engagement for Jaden Lancaster, the scandal became public knowledge, and she was too ashamed to face her family.
‘Now that I’ve reached an agreement with Vincent Preston, Mom and Dad…
they shouldn’t blame me anymore, right?’
‘The Preston Family will likely feel the same way.’
The moment Butler Lowell saw Wynn Shaw, his shock turned into delighted surprise.
“Miss, you’re back!”
Wynn Shaw gave a slight nod, but her gaze fell upon two familiar figures emerging from the main gate—her aunt, Elizabeth Shaw, and her cousin, Noelle Sullivan.
Upon seeing Wynn, their faces also filled with astonishment.
“Wynn?”
Wynn had no fondness for them.
Aside from her parents, she wasn’t close to anyone in the entire family.
Elizabeth Shaw pulled her coat tighter, eyeing Wynn strangely.
“So, you decided to come back?
To think you threw away such a good match with the Preston Family for some common man from Eldoria.
You really didn’t know what was good for you.
Ever since then, our Shaw Family hasn’t even dared to work with the Prestons, terrified of being targeted.
I hear the Prestons are untouchable these days, basically running all of Kaelus.”
Noelle Sullivan covered her mouth with a light laugh, her tone dripping with unconcealed schadenfreude.
She had once been consumed with jealousy over Wynn’s “good fortune,” but now, she just felt vindicated.
“Exactly.
Even if the Shaw Family swallows its pride and goes to apologize, the Prestons probably wouldn’t even give them the time of day.
Now that you’re back, what are you going to do?
You’ll have to duck and hide from the Prestons, won’t you?
What if you accidentally displease that unpredictable Crown Prince…”
‘Who was Vincent Preston?
The heir to Kaelus’s most prominent family, handsome and wealthy—the man of countless women’s dreams, including her own.
She had been incredibly relieved back when she heard Wynn had rejected the marriage alliance.’
my uncle’s illegitimate daughter, Summer Sullivan, ran off to get back together with him.”
She added the detail to insinuate that Wynn was worth even less than an illegitimate daughter.
Wynn froze.
She never knew that Summer Sullivan was the secret, illegitimate daughter from a branch of Noelle’s family.
She also understood the double meaning in Noelle’s words.
First, to mock her as being inferior to an illegitimate child.
Second, to gloat that upon her return to Kaelus, she would inevitably be crushed by the Preston Family, likely losing any standing to even attend social events—after all, nearly every function in Kaelus, large or small, relied on the Prestons’ assets and sponsorship.
Wynn let out a soft laugh.
She hadn’t come back to be pushed around.
“The fact that I’m willing to return now means I have my reasons.
As for you, Cousin, and you, Aunt, what noble purpose brings you to the Shaw estate?
One minute, you’re saying the Prestons look down on the Shaws; the next, you’re saying the Shaws are finished.
For you to be here now…
it must be because the Sullivan Family is struggling and you’ve come to borrow money to stay afloat, right?”
‘The Sullivan Family is in decline,’ she mused.
‘Perhaps that’s why Summer Sullivan is so desperate to cling to Jaden Lancaster as her last hope.’
Of course, there was always the chance they were in “true love.”
Even while she was in Eldoria, she had never stopped paying close attention to the business world in Kaelus.
There was a time when she had fantasized about the Lancaster Group growing strong enough for her to facilitate a partnership with the Shaw Family, creating a brilliant future together.
But now, it seemed it was better to hold the power herself than to prop up others.
Her words hit a nerve, and the mother-daughter duo’s faces turned ashen.
Noelle gritted her teeth in fury, about to retort.
‘What right does an abandoned woman have to mock me?’
“Wynn, you…”
Butler Lowell’s expression soured.
Just as he was trying to figure out how to tactfully show these two uninvited guests the door, a Maybach slowly pulled up to the entrance of the Shaw estate.
The low, distinctive rumble of its engine grew closer, carrying an intangible sense of pressure.
“What car is that?
So loud!
Have they no manners?” Noelle snapped, interrupted and annoyed as she turned around.
A black sedan, its lines sleek and its design understated yet unable to conceal an imposing aura, came to a precise stop in front of the Shaw villa.
Noelle paused.
“A client is coming to see Mr.
Shaw this late?”
‘What kind of client makes such a grand entrance?’
Elizabeth Shaw glanced over casually, then froze on the spot.
Her eyes were glued to the license plate: KA1-888888.
Everyone in Kaelus knew that license plate.
It was a symbol of paramount status and power.
“No…
it can’t be, can it?
Is that…” Noelle, finally realizing, gasped.
“Mom!
It’s the Prestons’ car!
It’s Vincent Preston!”
‘What’s he doing at the Shaw estate?
Haven’t the Prestons refused to work with the Shaws for all these years?’
The car door opened smoothly, and an assistant with an impeccable posture and white gloves stepped out.
His gaze immediately found Wynn, and he gave her a slight, deferential nod.
Then, his hawk-like eyes swept calmly over Noelle, who had just spoken.
“Miss, did you say…
loud?” he began, his voice quiet but carrying an icy weight.
Noelle’s expression froze, and for a moment, she forgot where she was.
“Pardon my frankness,” the assistant continued, his tone level, but every word was a dagger.
“As we were turning at the intersection, we could faintly hear your…
rather penetrating and crude discussion.
Such language and behavior are hardly befitting of polite company.
If word of this were to get out, I imagine it would only tarnish the Shaw family’s reputation in the eyes of those who don’t know any better.”
The color drained from the mother and daughter’s faces.
In the face of such immense power, they didn’t dare utter a word of protest.
“In comparison,” the assistant’s tone shifted, a hint of barely-there contempt in his voice,
“this vehicle of ours—personally tuned by the chief engineer of Pierce Group to meet the highest acoustic standards in Kaelus—and the faint sound it produces could, in fact, be considered a perfect example of ‘proper etiquette’.”
The two words “Preston Family” were enough to make everyone present, aside from Wynn, go weak in the knees.
“You’re absolutely right!
My daughter…
she had a bit too much to drink tonight and was talking nonsense.
Please, don’t take anything she said to heart!”
Elizabeth Shaw scrambled to offer an apologetic smile, her heart filled with endless regret.
‘If I’d known they were from the Preston Family, I would have killed myself to make sure my daughter left a good impression.’
Special Assistant Warren ignored the pale-faced mother and daughter and walked directly to Wynn, saying respectfully,
“Miss Shaw, Sir is waiting in the car.
Please.”
The world around them fell silent.
Wynn was taken aback.
‘Why would Vincent Preston come all the way to the Shaw estate to see me, this late at night?’ The worst-case scenario surfaced in her mind—
‘He couldn’t be here to call off the engagement, could he?’
Filled with doubt, Wynn followed Special Assistant Warren to the car door.
Watching her get into the car, Noelle’s expression turned grim as she hissed through clenched teeth,
“How is that possible…
Why would the Prestons invite Wynn?
What could they possibly have to talk about?”
‘She didn’t even make it through the Shaw family’s front gate before the Prestons’ car came to pick her up.’ The sudden turn of events was more than she could believe.
The mother and daughter’s constant nagging was simply born from their fear of Wynn returning to the Shaw family.
Butler Lowell stepped forward, his tone dripping with disgust.
“It is late.
You two should be leaving.”
Inside the car, the silence was absolute.
Vincent Preston was dressed in a black turtleneck, his chin propped on one hand, revealing the sharp, handsome line of his profile.
‘This man…
is dangerously handsome.’
Wynn hadn’t yet pulled her gaze away when he caught her staring.
He didn’t move, merely speaking in a low voice,
“Seen enough?”