Belinda eyed the old man with a shrug, unfazed by his indifference. Turning to Fitch, she rubbed her hands together.
"Wow, what a bash this is, huh? I've never seen a shindig this swanky in my life! You really are something, my future son-in-law.
Honey, con over and say hello."
The man behind her was still draped in a coat, but he didn't seem embarrassed in the least. Strutting up to Fitch with all the airs of
a patriarch, he said,
"I'm Zoey's dad. We've raised Zoey all these years, and if you want to be with her, you've got to get past us first."
It was as clear as day that they were after Fitch's money.
Fitch's expression was icy, so cold it seemed like he could freeze everyone in their tracks.
Wendy stood nearby, her smile twitched at the corners of her mouth before settling into a fixed gaze on Zoey in the crowd.
"Zoey, maybe you should clear things up with your parents. You and Fitch have nothing to do with each other. They must have
gotten the wrong end of the stick."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAt those words, Belinda's face fell.
"What do you mean they got it wrong? Zoey told us herself!"
Wendy's eyes were wide with surprise as she looked at Zoey, her face a mask of disbelief—Really?
Zoey stepped forward, emerging from the crowd with her spine ramrod straight.
Behind her, the murmur of onlookers filled the air.
For a moment, Zoey's mind went blank, but then she remembered Maja's advice.
Taking a deep breath, she smiled apologetically.
"Sorry to say, | disowned her as my mother a while ago. This isn't the first tI've been put in an awkward spot, but please, in the
future, don't draginto scenes like this. | don't really know them. The disowning was mutual, starting from the moment she
pressuredto apologize to a cheating ex. From that point on, we were no longer mother and daughter.”
The debacle with Belinda at Star Movie Group had been ugly, and it was Maja who had to step in and smooth things over.
That incident had opened Zoey's eyes to her mother's true nature.
She hadn't expected her mother to be even thicker-skinned than she'd imagined.
Zoey seemed beyond caring now, and that made her invincible.
She looked up, her gaze lingering on Belinda for a few seconds. For sreason, Belinda suddenly felt a chill.
Then, Zoey's attention shifted to her stepfather who had always been off-key.
She picked up a glass of wine from a passing server's tray, and took a casual sip.
"The man standing next to her isn't my real father. My mother divorced my dad because he didn't make enough money and took
me, the unwanted kid, with her. This guy is my stepfather, a real piece of work. But my mom loves him to the point of losing
herself, so much so that she even resented me, her own daughter. Now that I've made something of myself, she enjoys making me
look foolish at every opportunity, like tonight. I've been in this situation four or five times before, including one tthat made the
headlines, with Mr. Haskins and Ms. Bennitt in attendance."
Her smile was eerily calm, as if she was recounting someone else's family .
But this was her life she was talking about.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"The tbefore last, she caused a scene at my company, demanding Ms. Pennyfeather fire me. She threw a tantrum, aiming to
ruin my career, insisting | marry my ex who had already cheated on me. Luckily, Ms. Pennyfeather trusted me, my colleagues
trusted me, and | wasn't destroyed. Of course, she was not content and started looking for other opportunities to embarrass me.
There will probably be countless more incidents like this. But it's just as well. I'm taking this opportunity to tell everyone here, | am
now an orphan with no parents to speak of."
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