It dawned on me that in order to please him, I was unknowingly imitating Martha's dressing style.

“Can I go now?” I asked in a low voice.

He swept a disgusted glance at me. “Go change your clothes and come with me to meet Mom and Dad. What to say, you know well, right?”

I nodded in silence and walked straight to the bedroom. Just as I pushed the door open, my steps stopped violently.

My clothes were all cut into pieces. My wedding photo was also trampled and thrown on the bed. Martha followed behind me. 

Her voice carried a deliberate apology. “I'm sorry, Serena. I just now had a sudden attack of bipolar disorder. When I came back to my senses, it was like this...”

I interrupted with a cold smile. “Martha, you can commit a crime anywhere! Why did it have to be in my bedroom?”

Her eyes immediately turned red. “It was Joseph who let me rest here, the other rooms were not cleaned.”

Joseph couldn't bear to see her suffer a little grievance. He directly threw the black card at my feet.

“It’s enough for you to buy the entire mall.”

In the past five years, the birthday gifts he gave me never exceeded three digits. He said that the Duckett Family was rich, but he wanted our relationship to be pure and untainted by money.

It was the first time I had the feeling of being in a wealthy family. I bent down to pick up the black card and smiled at him.

“Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Duckett.”

Joseph looked at me with contempt. “Serena, if I had known that I could get rid of you by spending money, why would I bother coaxing you? The daughter raised by the Berneux Family shouldn't look like this.”

I clutched the card with a death grip and broke the jar. I then smiled brightly.

“That's because you looked away, I'll do anything for money! I've been stalking you for two years and I didn't do it for money?”

The knot in his throat rolled and his chest rose and fell violently. “Disgusting!”

Joseph dragged Martha and slammed the door. They left me.

Martha asked him in disbelief, “Joseph, why are you with someone like Serena? She doesn't deserve you no matter her family history or character.”

Joseph was in a troubled mood. “It's not even my dad! He insisted on believing the words and prophecies of the old man from the Berneux Family. He says that the Duckett Family has a death curse and that he has to find someone with a pure destiny to resolve it.”

“What a coincidence that it was Serena?” 

Martha asked suspiciously, “Could it be that the Berneux Family is doing the trick on our family?”

Joseph sneered, “There's no way, my dad is convinced. Otherwise, why would I agree with Serena? After chasing me for two years, she's average-looking and still spends all day making a fool of herself like a kid.”

“If it really worked, two years ago my brother and I wouldn't have gotten into a car accident, Martha.”

I leaned against the back of the door, my tears falling uncontrollably. I tried hard to wipe them away, but the more I wiped, the more they fell down.

I fell in love with Joseph at first sight. Just because he smiled at me at the school debate.

“Opposing debaters, please answer yes or no directly.”

He was handsome and well-built, with a noble temperament. But I answered him stupidly, “Opposing debater, yes, I like you.”

The whole room was in an uproar. Joseph, however, said with a sour face, “I don't like girls who are too proactive.”

From then on, I became the object of ridicule in the whole school, Joseph's licking dog.

His fortune wasn't calculated by my grandpa. My grandfather could read fortune-telling, but fortune-telling wasn't his domain. When I decided to give up on him, I asked the master to secretly look at our destiny.

The master frowned. “There is karma, but there is no share. If you stay with him, you can ensure his longevity, but your life will be miserable.”

I didn't hesitate to ask my grandfather to reveal this information when he was reading fortune telling for Joseph's father. I didn't realize that Joseph had instead decided that the Berneux Family had set up a trap to force him to give in. He tied his uneven hair into a bun, barely covering the traces of shaving.

Silently, I followed Joseph to the Duckett Family's old mansion. In the car, my cell phone vibrated. Lawrence sent some messages to me.

Lawrence: [Serena, our master just gave you a divination and said that your destiny has changed. You will finally get a happy ending after suffering.]

Lawrence: [See, what did I say to you? Marrying me will be the right thing to do!]

I couldn't help but laugh lightly. I just sent my answer.

[Hei Young Master, our master said that you've made no progress in your cultivation for many years, so you've just mixed up your seniority.]

Lawrence immediately replied to my message.

Lawrence: [I'm a late bloomer, can't I suddenly become enlightened? Isn’t that possible?]

Lawrence became enlightenment? Of course not.

He was the only son of the Humphrey Family. He was weak and sickly when he was young. He was sent to a monastery to be raised for twenty years there.

He achieved nothing in practising meditation or divination but he managed the Humphrey Family's business very well and became the richest man in Montpelier City.

I was only sent to the monastery because my grandfather wanted me to learn more skills. I have never thought that this young master had a crush on me. After all, the seniority was there and I always felt that I couldn't cross this hurdle.

Until the day of the marriage certificate, I looked at him so nervously that he was at a loss. I suddenly thought, maybe, we could give it a try.

Joseph suddenly turned back to look at me. His eyes lingered in my hair for a few seconds.

“You look okay with your hair tied like this, Serena.”

That was probably the highest praise he has given me over the years. In the past, I was afraid that I could be so happy that I couldn't sleep the whole night. But now, my heart could not set off a ripple at him.

Martha gently agreed. “Serena, don't learn from me. Just be brave and be yourself, it's the most beautiful.”

I lowered my head and scrolled through my phone without saying anything.

“Serena Berneux!” Joseph slammed the seat fiercely.

“Martha complimented you, you should at least say thank you! Mom and Dad were already dissatisfied with you. Later on, if you behave like this in front of them, you can't even think about marrying into the Duckett Family...”

“So I'm getting off now?” 

I interrupted him, “To save them from getting angry?”

The car suddenly fell silent. Joseph's face was pale. And he didn't speak again until we arrived at the old mansion.

Just after stepping onto the threshold of the Duckett Family's old mansion, Joseph's mother, Abigail, scolded in a cold voice, “Serena, don't you know how to greet me when you enter this mansion?”

This so-called “greeting” rule, from the beginning to the end, was only for me. On the other side, Joseph and Martha had always been straight into the mansion.

I directly ignored them. Abigail raised her hand to slap me but was stopped by Joseph's father, Domenico Duckett.

“Enough! Joseph said you're pregnant and want Martha to take care of you, right? You have a big face!”

“I don't care.” 

I shrugged my shoulders full of concern. Joseph's eyes were instantly gloomy and appalling.

Domenico turned to Martha and said, “The hospital just called, Kenneth is showing signs of waking up. You must stay with him, Martha.”

Martha's body shook violently. “Impossible, Kenneth is clearly… wake up?”

Joseph immediately held her up. His brows furrowed.

“Didn't the doctor say that there's no chance at all that Kenneth will wake up, Dad? How could it be?”

Domenico raised his hand and wiped the corners of his reddened eyes. “Kenneth lost his parents when he was young. Since we adopted him, he has always been very competitive and managed the company in an orderly manner. This child has a miserable life. If he hadn't risked his life to protect you in the car accident that year…”

Abigail said with a voice choked up, “Now finally, he is finally waking up.”

“When he is well, the company will be handed back to him. You are too conservative in doing things, Joseph. The Duckett Family needs to go to the next level.”

Joseph nodded woodenly and walked out soulfully. Martha immediately lost her support and fell softly to the ground.

Abigail suddenly called out my name, “The young master of the Humphrey Family who is practising at the monastery is organizing a wedding in three days, Serena. You remember to attend on time and make more connections.”

She glanced at me with slanted eyes. I didn’t say any words.

“You remember to dress appropriately! Don't disgrace the Duckett Family with this messy hair.”

I responded obediently, “Okay, Auntie.”

“No rules!” 

Abigail immediately pulled down her face. “You still can't change your tone and call me mom after all this time?”

I ignored her and turned to leave. Outside the door, Joseph drove off in his car.

Thinking about it, I knew that he was in a hurry to go to the company to make some arrangements. How could he be willing to hand over the power back to his foster brother who had always been jealous?

I took out my cell phone and sent the abortion surgery form of Martha taken by the City Hall to Abigail.

At the same time, I dialled Lawrence's phone.

“Lawrence, how are the wedding preparations going?”