Amid the uproar, Margot quietly stood in the corner.

She felt invisible as if the lively atmosphere around her had nothing to do with her at all.

After the cake was cut, cheerful piano music played, and handsome men and beautiful women gathered to enter the dance floor.

Maisie scanned the room and fixed her gaze on Margot. She walked over confidently, her face full of pride.

"How does it feel to have your spotlight stolen at your own birthday party, Gigi? You must feel frustrated, right?

“But there's nothing you can do, I suppose. Dad, Mom, Charles, and Joey all spoil me more than you.

“So what if you're the biological daughter? You're still beneath me. Look at you, so helpless and pitiful," she taunted.

Margot knew Maisie was deliberately provoking her, but her tears had long since dried up over the years.

She simply looked at Maisie with indifference.

Maisie continued for a while, but when she saw she wasn't getting any response, she stomped her foot and left.

After sitting for so long, Margot began to feel tired and just wanted to go rest. After all, the real guest of honor at the birthday party wasn’t her, was it?

Just as she was about to leave, Maisie, surrounded by the crowd, suddenly shouted, “Ah, the necklace Joey gave me is missing! There’s a thief here!”

Margot turned around and, sure enough, saw Maisie’s bare neck. For some reason, an uneasy feeling suddenly surged within her.

Sure enough, the next moment, she saw Maisie crying, her eyes filled with tears. “Just now, I was talking to Gigi, and my necklace disappeared.

“Gigi, if you really liked it, you could have just asked me for it. Why did you steal it?”

As soon as the words were spoken, all eyes in the room turned toward Margot.

Margot took a deep breath and calmly met the malicious gazes directed at her, her voice steady.

“It wasn’t me. I am the eldest daughter of the Johansons. A necklace like that is nothing to me. Do you think I’d need to steal it?”

Her calm and composed demeanor eased the suspicions of many in the room.

Joey frowned, still not believing her, but Maisie wasn’t about to let it go. She insisted on accusing Margot.

“If it wasn’t you, then who else could it be? A necklace might not mean much to you, but this one was a gift from Joey. You like him so much—how could you not want it? If you’re truly innocent, then let’s search you!”

Search her in front of everyone?

Margot clenched her fists tightly, her face cold as she rejected the suggestion. “I told you, I didn’t take it. Why should I let you search me?”

“Dad, Mom, Charles, I’m telling the truth! Please believe me!

“Joey, I know I’m just an adopted child. If it were something else, I’d let it go, but that necklace was from you. It’s the only thing you’ve given me, and I don’t want to part with it.”

Seeing her tear-streaked face, several people began to soften.

Then Charles nodded. He made a subtle gesture toward the bodyguards, who immediately stepped forward to restrain Margot.

Margot looked at him in disbelief.

She was his biological sister! Yet now, for Maisie’s sake, he was willing to strip her in front of a crowd.

She struggled desperately, shouting that it wasn’t her, but no one listened.

Margot’s luxurious gown was torn apart, and her neatly styled hair was yanked loose, large tufts of it being pulled out.

She desperately clutched at her chest, her eyes filled with pain.

No matter how much she explained or struggled, the people around her remained unmoved, watching the scene unfold with cold detachment.

Looking at her indifferent parents, and at Joey and Charles, who were too busy comforting Maisie, Margot felt as if she had fallen into a nightmare.

Her parents had once held her in their arms, terrified of her getting hurt, and her brother, who would stand up for her whenever she was wronged, then taught the perpetrators a lesson.

And Joey would always stand by her side, shielding her from the storms of the world.

But everything had changed.

As the last bit of her gown was about to be ripped off, the tears of agony blurred Margot's vision.

In a moment of despair, she suddenly remembered something.

With all the strength she could muster, her blood-stained hand—her broken nails dripping—shot up, and she shouted with all her might.

"It wasn’t me! I have the footage to prove it!"

The entire room fell silent at Margot’s words.

All the color drained from Maisie’s face.

Margot staggered to her feet. How could she have forgotten?

After Maisie had intentionally framed her last time, fearing another attempt, she had secretly placed a micro camera in her earrings.

Wiping the tears from her face, she quickly removed the earring with the camera and plugged it into the large screen.

The video showed that when Maisie had turned her back, she had used the opportunity to hang the necklace on Margot’s gown.

All of Maisie's mocking taunts were also exposed.

The public's opinion in the hall flipped instantly, and everyone looked at Maisie with expressions of disgust and contempt.

Margot, her hair a tangled mess, trembled as she picked up her phone and dialed 911, her brows set in determination.

"Hello? Police? I’d like to report someone framing me—"

Maisie trembled violently and burst into loud sobs.

"I didn’t mean it! I just wanted to play a little joke on Gigi. Why do you have to blow this out of proportion?"

As soon as she began crying, the Johansons and Joey rushed over to wipe her tears, their cold eyes turning toward the disheveled Margot, their tone filled with disapproval.

"May said it was just a joke. Why can’t you let it go?"

"She’s so kind and pure, how could she possibly do something like framing someone? The authenticity of this footage is still in question!"

"Enough! This farce ends here. Calling the police for such a small matter—aren’t you embarrassed of yourself?"

As they spoke, they escorted Maisie out of the hall.

Watching their hurried departure, Margot truly felt what it meant to be abandoned by everyone.

She laughed quietly, her body cold, unable to control the trembling that overcame her.

In the days that followed, Margot stayed locked in her room, avoiding the outside world, just waiting to be married off as quickly as possible.

She had never imagined that one day, the family that had once showered her with boundless affection would become the very place she longed to escape.

One day, as she was packing her bags, she suddenly heard a loud commotion outside the villa.

She opened the window and saw Maisie driving a car in the garden. Joey was sitting in the passenger seat, smiling as he instructed her.

Charles stood by the roadside, gently guiding her as she backed the car into the garage.

Margot was slightly bewildered as she watched the three of them.

It was Charles and Joey who had taught her how to drive years ago.

Back then, it was winter, and the cold weather bit at her skin.

Joey worried she would catch a chill and would hold her hand after each trip, gently warming it in his own.

Charles, ever indulgent, would brave the cold wind to record videos for her and stay up late sorting through the notes he had made.

But those were memories from a long, long time ago.

Margot lowered her eyes, hiding the sadness in them.

In the afternoon, she had planned to bid farewell to a few friends and was getting ready to head out.

But as soon as she stepped outside, a car suddenly struck her, sending her flying several meters through the air.

With a loud crash, she slammed into the hard stone pavement.

Blood poured from her mouth, and her entire body felt like it was falling apart. Intense, bone-crushing pain radiated from every part of her, tugging at her nerves.

In a daze, she saw Maisie get out of the car with a smile on her face.

"Ah, Gigi, I’m so sorry! I just learned how to drive, and I accidentally mistook the gas pedal for the brake. I didn’t mean to hit you.

"Look at all this blood. You must be in a lot of pain, huh? I should call an ambulance right away.

"Wait, what’s the emergency number again? 911? 999? Or is it 991? Maybe I should call each of them one by one, but that’ll take a while. Gigi, you’ve got to hold on!"

Margot lost consciousness before she knew if an ambulance had been called.

She lay on the ground for half an hour before Joey discovered her and rushed her to the hospital.

She finally regained consciousness after a day and a half only to find that her chest hurt terribly, as three of her ribs had been broken.

She felt so weak that she couldn’t summon any strength to sit up, and just breathing caused her excruciating pain.

Fred and Martha stayed by her bedside, their faces full of concern.

Charles repeatedly asked the doctor if there was anything that could ease her suffering.

Joey tightly held her hand, wiping the cold sweat that constantly formed on her forehead.

After the accident, it seemed as though everyone’s attention had shifted back to Margot. But only she knew that their concern wasn’t solely for her wellbeing.

“Margot, the doctor said the pain is temporary. Please bear with it, and you’ll start feeling better soon. May didn’t do it on purpose, so forgive her, alright?”

“It’s all my fault. I didn’t teach her properly, and she made a mistake. Gigi, if you want to be angry, be angry with me.”

“We’re all family, it was just an unfortunate accident. Don’t take it to heart, Gigi. Rest and recover, that’s what matters now.”

All morning, Margot heard a variation of those words countless times. They looked worried, but every word that left their mouths was just an excuse for Maisie.

It was unclear whether it was the physical pain or the aching in her heart that made Margot unable to stop her tears from falling.

The people in the room blurred into shadowy figures in the mist, their faces indistinguishable.

Perhaps it was a hallucination brought on by the pain, but her mind conjured up many vivid images.

Her parents, who used to call the doctor to dress a small cut on her hand; Charles, who knew she hated taking medicine and would always take it with her, no matter what it was, just to make her feel better; Joey, who would guard her every step when she sprained her ankle, ensuring she didn't walk a single extra step.

All of that was gone now.

When Joey saw her crying, his heart tightened, and he raised his hand to wipe away her tears. Just then, a nurse walked in.

“There’s a young girl outside the ward who fainted from emotional distress. Someone needs to go check on her.”

Upon hearing that Maisie had passed out, everyone immediately left to attend to her, rushing toward her room.

The once noisy ward instantly became empty, leaving only Margot in its silence.

Her tears, however, continued to pour uncontrollably.

She cried herself to sleep, and when she awoke, the room was still silent, and the pain in her body had not subsided.

The phone next to her pillow lit up intermittently. When she unlocked it, she saw a message from Maisie.

[You’re the one who’s hurt worse, but everyone is only concerned about me. You’re nothing but a joke, Gigi.]

Joey was gently blowing on a bowl of porridge before feeding it to her. Charles was racking his brain for all kinds of bad jokes, trying to make her smile. Fred and Martha were adjusting the blanket around her.

In the one-minute video, everyone gathered around Maisie as they comforted her.

“We know you didn’t mean it, May. Your sister won’t blame you. Please stop feeling guilty.”

“You’re upset, and it hurts us too. Don’t cry anymore, or your eyes will swell up. You’ll look worse.”

“Margot just needs to rest for a few days. It’s not serious. She’ll be fine. Please don’t worry.”

Each word felt like a knife, piercing Margot’s heart.

She tightly shut her eyes, barely managing to stop the tears, her nails digging painfully into her palms.

At that moment, one thought consumed her mind: On the day she left to marry, not a single one of them should come.

A week later, Margot was discharged from the hospital.

The doctor advised her to stay longer, but she shook her head, telling him she couldn’t wait anymore.

She was to leave for Northwatch to get married.

When she returned home, the villa was quiet, except for her phone, which kept vibrating with provocative messages from Maisie.

She ignored them all.

Later that morning, as she looked at a picture of Maisie having fun at an amusement park with their parents, smiling together on the carousel, Margot sat at the table and wrote a letter severing all ties with her family.

She then placed it in her parents’ room.

From now on, she would no longer be a daughter of the Johansons.

She no longer had parents or a brother.

At noon, when Maisie sent a video of Charles giving her a piggyback ride and promising to love and protect her forever, Margot called a few gardeners to dig up all the tulips in the backyard.

Charles had carefully planted all the tulips after learning that she loved them, and he had tenderly nurtured them for over a decade.

He had said that no matter where she got married, he would transplant the tulips there, as they symbolized his love for her.

But now, she no longer wanted his love.

That evening, when Maisie sent an audio recording of Joey setting off fireworks by the river and declaring she would always be the most important person to him, Margot took a box to the Griffins.

Inside it was the heirloom Joey had entrusted to her when he was seventeen.

Back then, she had joked about him giving her the heirloom so early, asking if he wasn’t afraid of what the future held.

However, Joey had only held her tightly, his eyes full of passion, and said, “Margot, the only person I want to marry in this life is you. If it’s not you, I’ll never marry at all.”

Now, she was getting married, and the groom was not him.

Suddenly she heard the sound of a car engine coming from outside.

Margot opened the door to find a middle-aged man in a suit standing there.

“Hello, Miss Margot. I am the butler from the Stewarts, Alfred Hampton. I’m here to take you to Northwatch.”

Margot nodded politely, grabbed the luggage from the side, and softly said, “Let’s go.”

Alfred took the luggage from her and glanced at the empty house.

“Don’t you need to say goodbye to your family?”

Veridian City and Northwatch were thousands of miles apart, and since she was marrying into a prominent family, it was unclear when she would be able to meet them again.

Margot shook her head and got into the car. “Drive, please.”

There was no need for goodbyes.

There would be no need for anything from now on because, starting today, she no longer had a family.

In the dark of night, the car slowly made its way to the airport.