As long as they said "no," my father would immediately prepare a sum of money to send them abroad to live carefree lives.

In the end, they couldn’t let go of the wealth behind the Gray family.

The most hot-tempered of them all, Mariah, clicked her tongue impatiently. "You talk so nicely, but you know full well that the three of us are living under your roof, just dogs raised by the Gray family. How can we have the right to refuse?"

Sherina’s face darkened as she looked at me. "If you want to choose me, then choose me. I just hope you won't make things difficult for the other two."

Mariah and Cherry were immediately moved when they heard this.

Seeing Sherina’s self-sacrificial expression, I only felt a deep bitterness in my heart.

Before I could say anything, Warren suddenly appeared.

The moment he saw me, he looked as if he were startled, retreating behind Sherina.

He was a grown man, but he acted as though he needed protection from a woman.

Sherina instinctively stepped in front of Warren. "He didn’t do anything. Please, just let him go today."

I looked at them in confusion, only to see that the three women, who should have been on my side, were all standing in front of Warren, as though afraid I might bully him.

They saw themselves as strong women, disapproving of my confident and assertive nature, and instead, they favored Warren, who seemed to fall short in every way compared to me.

Five years ago, when Warren first joined the Gray family, he gave me a watch as a gesture of goodwill.

In return, I gave him a suit worth a hundred thousand. It was meant to be a polite exchange.

But the moment I put on the watch, Sherina snatched it from my wrist.

“How dare you steal something his mother left him?” she shouted, livid.

Confused, I turned to Warren, expecting him to speak up and clarify that he had given it to me voluntarily.

But to my surprise, Warren suddenly knelt with a look of grievance. "It wasn’t the Young Master who took it from me. I gave it to him willingly."

"He’s been nothing but kind to me. He even gave me a suit... I don’t feel wronged at all."

He kowtowed to me, and the scene made the three women teary-eyed, reminding them of their own dependent situation.

"Even if you are the Young Master of the Gray family, you have no right to force someone to give you their mother’s keepsake!" They spat angrily.

"The watch may not be worth much, but its significance far surpasses any suit worth tens of thousands. You need to give Warren his watch back!"

"You’re just as domineering as always, thinking only of your own happiness and not caring about anyone else’s feelings."

I immediately changed my expression, but thought it might be a misunderstanding. I hoped to resolve it through conversation.

I suppressed my anger and handed the watch back to Warren, but when he reached out, he fumbled and dropped it.

The watch shattered instantly, and he glared at me, shouting, "Since Young Master would rather destroy it than return it to me, why bother pretending to be generous?"

Sherina, who had always disliked seeing the poor being bullied, immediately threatened with a cold face. "You need to apologize to Warren right now, or I’ll cancel the engagement!"

At that time, I had already confessed my love to Sherina and had promised to marry no one but her.

Sherina used this as leverage to force me to apologize to Warren.

I was young then, too afraid to risk losing the woman I loved by defending myself. So I could only lower my head, and apologize with bloodshot eyes.

That apology lasted a full five years.

From that moment on, whenever Warren saw me, it was as if he were a mouse seeing a cat—he either knelt or cried uncontrollably.

But I hadn’t done anything...

I coldly looked at Sherina. "If you’re really afraid I’ll bully Warren, then keep him tied to your waistband at all times."

Although my words were sarcastic, Sherina furrowed her brows and asked, "Are you threatening me? What do you want to do to Warren?"

Mariah clapped her hands and pointed at me. "Are you planning to use the fact that the three of us gave the vast starry sea to Warren as an excuse to bully him?"

Cherry glared at me coldly. "You have everything, but Warren has never had anyone celebrate his birthday. All he has is that vast starry sea, so why keep holding onto it?"

My eyes chilled. "Vast starry sea?"

The Vast Starry Sea is an underground oceanarium that has been under construction since my birth.

On the southeast side, there was a section of top-tier imperial green jade, and through the shimmering sea water, it reflects a beauty like that of the cosmos.

Half a year ago, the project was nearly complete, and my father handed over the final phase to Sherina. She was tasked with unveiling the Vast Starry Sea at my birthday banquet, a month from now.

But now, this gift that was supposed to be mine had become Warren’s.

I looked at Sherina—she was responsible for the completion of the project. Without her approval, no one could enter the unopened oceanarium.

Sherina grew uncomfortable under my gaze, turning her head in frustration. "Warren has spent his life in the countryside, struggling to make a living. He’s never truly seen the stars. I’m just fulfilling his one wish. Besides, the oceanarium still belongs to you, doesn’t it?"

"Stop making excuses. If it makes you happy, I’ll announce our engagement at your birthday banquet. Will that satisfy you?"

Looking at Sherina’s patronizing expression, I almost believed I was the one who had been adopted.

Yet no one in the room seemed to notice anything amiss; instead, they all sympathized with Sherina.

"Why should you make such a sacrifice? Calum is unreasonable, domineering, and malicious. Marrying him is worse than becoming a nun." Cherry scoffed.

"Now, I’m afraid Calum will be so pleased, he won’t know what to do with himself. His long-held wish is finally coming true." Mariah rolled her eyes.

"Miss Sherina, please don’t throw away your happiness for me. I’ll kneel before Young Master Calum if I must. I’ll be his servant, and I'll do anything he wants..." Warren muttered.

My throat went dry as I squeezed out a reply. "I won’t marry you."

Sherina raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

Mariah and Cherry exchanged glances, clearly afraid I would say I wanted to marry one of them.

Being so utterly rejected by the three people I grew up with, I was afraid that if I didn’t walk away then, I might end up doing something I would regret.

I turned to leave, but Warren grabbed my wrist. His eyes were red, and once again, he knelt before me with a look of humiliation.

"Please, don’t make things hard for Miss Sherina. The three of them were adopted by your family, and their status is already lower than you. If you’re upset about the oceanarium being given to me, and you want to complain to Mr. Gray, I’m willing to apologize to you."

He began kowtowing loudly, and soon, his forehead was red and bleeding.

Sherina hurriedly helped him up, glaring at me with fury. "You say you won’t marry me, but when the time comes, will you really not choose me? What’s the point of bullying Warren to get back at me?"

"Aren’t you just trying to find an excuse to complain and push Warren away?"

I looked at Sherina coldly. "I don’t understand what you’re saying, but rest assured, I will never choose you to be my wife."

I thought Sherina would give up after this, but to my surprise, she grabbed me by the arm.

"If you won’t choose me, who will you choose? Cherry or Mariah?"

"Mariah wants to go abroad for art studies, and Cherry yearns for freedom. Haven’t you already ruined my life? Do you want to ruin theirs too?"

Sherina took a deep breath and continued, "If you promise not to make things difficult for Warren, I’ll marry you. Just stop causing trouble, okay?"

Her eyes were filled with exhaustion, as if I had tortured her for a long time.

I looked at Sherina deeply. "Everything will be as you wish."

She was afraid I would bully Warren, and even more unwilling to marry me.

Once I marry Meredith, all her worries will be resolved.

I hadn’t sought out Sherina during this time. She only showed up on the day of the birthday banquet, her face was cold and expressionless.

Cherry and Mariah followed behind her, both looking displeased.

I frowned and glanced at my assistant. I had clearly said that the woman I planned to announce an engagement with today wasn’t one of them—there was no reason to invite them.

But the assistant frantically shook his head with a look that screamed, “I don’t know! They came on their own!”

I sighed helplessly, deciding to pretend I hadn’t seen them.

Down below, the guests were more enthusiastic than I was, eagerly greeting the three of them.

“Miss Sherina, you're truly impressive at such a young age. The project you secured last month must have generated millions in revenue! No wonder Mr. Calum only has eyes for you.”

But that project had been negotiated by me. Sherina had done nothing but sign the final contract.

“Miss Mariah may have a fiery temper, but she’s fiercely righteous. Mr. Calum would be lucky to marry you.”

I sneered inwardly. The one who had bullied me the most was Mariah. She treated me like a venomous snake, as if she couldn’t wait to wipe me off the face of the earth.

“And Miss Cherry is such a refined beauty. Mr. Calum would be wise to choose you. We’ll count on you to take care of us in the future.”

The three of them acted as if they were the true hosts of my birthday banquet, basking in the spotlight.

I furrowed my brow, and was about to put an end to this absurdity, but all three suddenly lowered their heads and pulled out their phones.

Before I could react, Mariah’s expression darkened, and she stormed up to me.

Without warning, she slapped me.

The blow left me dazed, nearly knocking me to the ground.

Gasps erupted. The guests froze in place, not daring to intervene.

Sherina clenched her fists tightly and stepped in to stop Mariah from hitting me again. She then turned to glare at me, seething with fury.

“We’ve already allowed ourselves to be paraded here like goods for your choosing—what more do you want?”

“Do you have to push Warren to his death?”

I stared, bewildered. Cherry, seeing my confusion, looked at me with even more contempt.

“You dared to have someone kidnap Warren while none of us were with him? Let me tell you right now—you’ll never get your way!”

And just like that, I understood. Warren was playing tricks again.

The guests here were either my father’s friends or business partners. Yet not a single one stood up for me after I was slapped.

A chill settled in my chest.

They had likely decided that the Gray family’s assets would never fall into my hands—so they didn’t hesitate to curry favor with the three women instead.

I covered my face, my voice cold as I looked at Mariah.

“Apologize.”

Mariah glanced at my reddened eyes, her tone mocking, “Warren was almost beaten to death. You only got slapped once—what are you crying about?”

“I’m fine...”

A voice interrupted me.

Warren limped through the doorway, his clothes torn, his face was swollen and bruised.

Just one look and anyone would assume he’d been badly beaten.

Sherina rushed over, quickly draping her jacket over his shoulders, then turned to glare at me with pure disgust. “You’re as manipulative and heartless as ever. I’ll never marry someone like you!”

Even the usually quiet Cherry stepped forward, shielding Warren with a stern expression. “Your family has a weak bloodline and wants to rely on women to produce heirs and secure your legacy. You dragged us three back to be tools, and we’ve already accepted our fate—but you’re still not satisfied.”

“In that case, there’s no need to keep up this charade of peace.”

She turned and walked away, showing zero regard for the Gray family’s reputation.

Just before leaving, Sherina threw down a final, haughty line, “I’ll marry you. But once I’ve given birth, you’ll be nothing more than a placeholder. If you want my child to protect the Gray family’s legacy, you’d better learn your place.”

I laughed.

Did they forget who I really am?

If it weren’t for me, the Gray family would never have taken them in.

As the three of them turned to leave, someone in the crowd finally made a move to stop them.

But I barked coldly, “Let them go!”

Warren glanced at me sideways with a smug expression, as if he had just won the world.

I stood still, silent, until my assistant rushed over, flustered.

“What should we do now? All three of them are gone. Who are you going to choose?”

The other guests began to frown as well.

“The Gray family needs an heir sooner or later. If even those three—who know your background—refuse to marry you, then who’s left?”

I nearly burst out laughing. There are millions of women in this world—who says I have to marry one of those three?

With a calm smile, I raised my wine glass and addressed the guests. “Ladies and gentlemen, as you all know, today isn’t just my birthday—it’s also my engagement party.”

Just then, a face appeared on the large screen behind me—cold, elegant, and stunning.

A collective gasp swept through the room.

“Isn’t that Meredith from the Hoffman family in the capital?!”