While at the same time, at the Gil’s.

     The living room was filled with people, and everyone of the family was there – her grandmother, Ciara, her father, Jaden, her stepmother, Helen, the sister of Shawn, Katya, and a few good friends of Annie.

     Annie and Steven were sitting on the sofa to the side, and the atmosphere were slightly gloomy.

     “If you ask me, Annie, I would say you are just too weak. You and my brother love each other, how dare she do such a thing to you? She knew how sensitive your relationship is and she called the cop. I think she just wanted to ruin you.”

     “Katya is right. She just broke up with Steven

and immediately hooked up with another man in the bar. She’s not some decent woman.”

     “Annie, she did all these just because you are a public figure. Now everyone is talking about you online. They say you seduced Steven and was caught by his fiancée. They even say you took drugs. What a nonsense! You need to do something to solve the problem.”

     “Yeah, what a vicious woman she is. You cannot just let her be!”

     Annie cast a pitiful glance at the Ciara sitting at the head of the table and easily put up a fragile and sorrowful look on her snow-white face.

     “What can I do? How can I fight against my own sister if she insists? We are a family, after all. I don’t want to make it difficult for my father and mother.”

     Hearing what she said, Ciara cast an approving glance at her.

     However, Jaden growled in anger. “Why is it difficult for me? You treat her as your sister, but you ask her, does she ever think of you as her sister?”

     “Uncle Gil, it’s not her fault. After all, it’s me…”

     Steven knitted his eyebrows and said calmly.

     Annie hurriedly said, “No, it’s all my fault. If I did not fall in love with Steven, she would not…”

     “Annie, it’s not what I mean.”

     Steven stopped her and said in a grim tone, “I just wish that we have told her everything earlier. I should not wait that long just because I do not want to hurt her. All the grievance you have suffered today is because I did not handle it well.”

     Annie felt moved and stared at him gratefully, “Steven…”

     “Ahem!”

     With a light cough, Ciara looked at Steven with a slight smile on her face.

     “Steven, now that things have already come to this point, and you have seen what those people say on the internet, we can not just cover it up anymore. What do you think we should do to solve the problem?”

     The expression of Steven turned gloomy, and Annie clenched her hands secretly, looking somewhat nervous.

     “Don’t worried, Mrs. Gil. I would never just watch Annie suffer. I would prepare a statement when I go back and announce my relationship with Annie.”

     Pleasure was obvious on Ciara’s face.

     “But everyone knows that you have an engagement. Would they buy it?”

     Steven held her hand and explained, “They just know I have an engagement but not a lot of people know who my fiancée is. I just need to tell them you are my fiancée and that’s it. They won’t have anything to say then.”

     Only then did Annie show a touch of joy on her face.

     But the next second, she frowned again.

     “But Zoe…”

     “Don’t you worry about that. I will talk to her.”

     Ciara said with the proud authority her position in this family had given her.

     “And you don’t need to announce it online, lest some unnecessary problems would come up again. The day after tomorrow would be Annie’s birthday. We can invite some reporters and make an announcement then and there.”

     Steven nodded, “Alright, then that’s it.”

     “But you should talk to your parents. It’s your marriage. You should at least talk to them.”

     “Don’t worry. They have agreed. My parents also like Annie a lot.”

     “That’s great.” Ciara’s face finally showed a touch of relief. “Perhaps you can stay and have a lunch with us?”

     “No need, Mrs. Gio. I still have some businesses to attend to in the company. We will visit you again.”

     “Right, you are a successful business man. If that’s the case, then don’t let me stop you.”

     Ciara turned to Annie, who was sitting right next to her, “Annie, why don’t you send Steven off?”

     Annie stood up obediently, “Yes, Grandma.”

     It was only after both of them had left the house that Ciara’s face darkened.

     Her smile was gone, and she looked at Jaden, who was sitting to her left, with a fierce gaze, and said in a grim tone, “Call your cold-hearted daughter. Ask her to come back tonight.”

     Jaden said in a hurry, “Yes, mother.”

     …

     Zoe hung up the phone when she was done with the man over the phone.

     Unexpectedly, the phone rang again.

     Watching the name on the screen, she was slightly stunned, and her eyebrows was knitted subconsciously.

     Even her appetite disappeared in an instant.

     She answered it in the end, and her tone was cold, “Dad.”

     “So you know I’m your dad!”

     Jaden’s thundering voice came over from the phone and she could not help but put the phone slightly away from her ear.

     In the end, she just put the phone on the desk and turned on the speaker instead.

     “What do you want?”

     “When did you come back to the country.”

     She sighed silently, and said lightly, “Why do you ask?”

     “Why? You should have told me before you came back. Do you still think I’m your father? Are we still your family?”

     Hearing this, she raised the corner of her mouth in mockery, “Mr. Gil, if I remember correctly, I did call you when I just returned.”

     The other end of the phone went silent.

     After a while, Jaden said, in a questioning tone, “When did you call? How come I don’t remember?”

     Zoe felt hopeless.

     She did know, since the day when Annie returned home, Jaden had not paid much attention to her.

     But it still surprised her when she found herself completely ignored. He could not even remember she ever called him.

     It almost chuckled her when he asked her why she did not let him know after she came back.

     Apparently, Jaden also realized his mistake, and he sound a little embarrassed.

     “Alright, the company has been expanding its business these two years, and I have been too busy. Maybe I just forgot. I am your father, you should understand this. Since you have come back, why don’t you come home these days? What’s the matter with you!”

     Zoe did not want to waste any more time debating nonsense with him, and asked coldly, “What do you want exactly?”

     “I…” Jaden was enraged by her cold tone, but finally suppressed his anger thinking of her temper.

     Instead, he said plainly, “Your grandma asked you to come back for dinner tonight.”

     “I won’t go.”

     “Nonsense.” He growled, “We are still a family. What’s wrong with having a dinner with us. Do you even need me to come to you and get you an invitation?”

     Zoe just sneered, “You never think about me even when there’s a holiday. Now, all of a sudden, you ask me to have a dinner. I am afraid I might be poisoned instead!”

     “You!”

     Jaden was infuriated, “I’ll ask you one last time. Are you coming back or not!”

     “I’m not!”

     “Alright, if you say so! Then don’t blame me if your grandma should punish you!”

     Jaden felt hopeless talking to Zoe. He thought she was so cold to him all the time. Then he just hung up the phone.

     Zoe did not mind, either. She just gave a cold sneer, put the phone away, and continued with the food she just ordered.

     In the meanwhile, Ciara was sitting in the restaurant, and she knitted her brows seeing the angry Jaden coming from the outside.

     “How is it going? Did you let her know? Is she coming back or not?”

     Jaden snapped, “Will she even listen to me? She’s really a grown-up now, and she won’t ever come back again if you don’t beg her yourself.”

     The face of Ciara suddenly darkened.

     The plates on the table all bounced up slightly with a slap.

     “Insolent!”

     Everyone in the room was shocked. Ciara had been running the Gil family ever since the old Mr. Gil passed away and her position had been higher than ever in these years. Everyone in the family was somewhat afraid of her.

     Helen signaled her daughter with her eyes, who was sitting just in front of her.

     Annie hurriedly pick up the bowl of soup in

front of her and walked up to Ciara, and she said softly, “Grandma, don’t be angry. Your health matters the most.”

     Helen also added, “That’s right, Mom. Let’s not force her if she does not want to come back. We can just find another way. Don’t be angry.”

     Ciara sneered, “Funny! Is it ever up to her? Let me tell you, she would just have to come back this time. I’ll see how she dare go against me!”

     At that, she raised her hand and asked for David, the butler of the family.

     “David, go find the whereabout of Zoe, and send someone to tell her, if she’s not coming back tonight, I will just burn everything her mother has left her, and she will get nothing!”

     David paled, and said hurriedly, “Yes, ma’am.”

     …

     In the afternoon, Zoe just finished the last

delivery order and was about to close the store.

     However, just when she got out of the store, she saw David waiting there.

     Since David had been with the family for over a decade, she sure knew him.

     Actually, she got along quite well with him in the past, that is, before Helen and Annie were taken into the family by her father. While she would not think of him as good friend of hers, they respected each other much.

     Now they met again, and thinking of the call of Jaden at noon, her face was cold.

     “Miss Gil, I have been waiting for you.”

     David walked to her, while she just cast a cold glance at him, with the key for the store in her hand.

     “It’s been a long time, Mr. David.”

     “Yeah, it’s been a long time. Miss Gil is

getting more and more beautiful. If Mrs. Gil were still alive, she would certainly be very pleased.”

     Zoe curled her lips, “If my mother were still here, which side would you take? Would you stand with my mother, or with Helen?”

     It was obviously unexpected for David, since he stayed silent for a while.

     But Zoe did not mean to make it difficult for him, either. She just gave a light smile, “Just kidding. Don’t worry.”

     David felt a chill run down his spine just now and could only force a bitter smile.

     “So what do you want?”

     David hurriedly said, “Miss Gil, the old Mrs. Gio wants me to take you home.”

     Zoe paused for a while, her eyes still cold, and she curled her lips, “I won’t go back. Didn’t

my father tell you?”

     “He did. But the old Mrs. Gil said … that if you insist, she will take care of everything your mother has left for you.”

     He only said it vaguely, but she understood him immediately.

     Her face darkened, “What does she want to do?”

     David looked vexed.

     After a while, he said earnestly, “Miss Gil, you have suffered quite a lot these years fighting against them. It’s only a dinner. Mrs. Gil did not leave much behind. Don’t regret it when it’s too late.”

     The face of Zoe looked terribly gloomy.

     After quite a while, she released her clenching hands, “Fine.”

     David felt so relieved now that she had agreed.

     He bent down and opened the door of the car for her, “Let’s go then, Miss Gil.”

     She did not say anything but got into the car directly.

     Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the Gil Mansion.

     The mansion was located in the richest part of the city, surrounded by mountains and rivers, giving beautiful scenery.

     When she got off the car, she walked inside with a blank expression.

     In the lounge, she saw Helen and Annie choosing the dress for the birthday party.

     For Annie, who was waiting for the announcement of Steven, that day would be very important. It was just not her birthday party, but also her engagement with Steven.

     Since there were just two days left for the day, certainly they did not have the time for bespoke dresses. Fortunately, they just told everyone it was a birthday party. As for their engagement, they kept it a secret for now, and they would simply make the announcement at the birthday party. Anyway, for the outsiders, she and Steven were long engaged, and there was really no need for her to pay too much attention to her dresses.

     After the entire afternoon, they finally picked a few sets of dresses they could be satisfied with.

     Now they could just wait for the delivery and then Annie could try them on and made the final decision.

     When they were chatting happily, a sudden noise sounded from the doorway.

     They looked up and saw Zoe walk in.

     She was wearing a white shirt and a pair of black pencil pants, which showed her slender and straight legs. On the outside, there was a beige coat, and her wavy hair was swept over her shoulder, looking cool and airy.

     Annie looked at her, and a faint jealousy emerged in her heart.

     She hated how pretentious Zoe was.

     In her eyes, Zoe was just selling adult products, and she was dressed like some elite businesswoman. And her aloofness and coldness made her all the more noble, which was something she could never bear.

     Come to think of it, she felt somewhat happy from the bottom of her heart.

     “Noble whore. You can just pretend as you like. Your little business is nothing in front of me,” chortled Annie inwardly.

     She was the Miss Gil everyone knew about, and the most popular actress across the entertainment industry. What about Zoe?

     Zoe was kicked out of the family long ago. What could she do even if she’s got some talent? She could not even keep her job.

     At that time, she could only stay in her little shabby store, selling adult products.

     Thinking of this, Annie felt somewhat proud. She straightened her back and her face split into a wide smile. She walked straight to Zoe.

     “Zoe, here you are!”

     Helen also came back to her senses, hurriedly walked to Zoe, her face full of smiles.

     “Zoe is here. Please, have a seat. Mrs. Lyra, get Zoe some water.”

     The Mrs. Lyra hurriedly fetched some water

for Zoe, only that there was obvious mockery in her eyes.

     Zoe just ignored her and just said in a cold tone, “What do you want?”

     Helen looked slightly embarrassed.

     Seeing this, Annie hurriedly walked up to Zoe and wrapped her arms around Zoe’s, smiling, “Zoe, are you in a hurry? You don’t come back home often. We can wait until we finish the dinner. It’s been a long time since the last time we could have a good chat. There’s still time. Why don’t we just go to my room and have some talk?”

     Looking at her with her cold eyes, Zoe sneered.

     “Talk? What are we going to talk? Hooking up with men? Sorry, I am not interested in your nasty tricks. I don’t know how I can possibly learn them either.”