Chapter 243


    Timothy and Cheryl were taken aback. K Brooks was their second-born, a blossoming actress who


    had already won an Academy Award despite her young age. Her poprity was skyrocketing, which


    meant her filming schedule was quite hectic. Even with the news of Scott finding his biological


    daughter, she couldn''t find the time toe home.


    "Call K." Judith instructed with her voice strained.


    Cheryl nced at her husband. She was uncertain of Judith''s intentions, but she stillplied. She


    dialed K''s number for a FaceTime call, assuming it would go unanswered due to the time difference


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    and K''s busy schedule abroad.


    To her surprise, K answered immediately. "Mom, do you miss me?"


    "Actually, your grandma misses you." Cheryl replied with a small smile and passed the phone to Judith.


    "K." Judith greeted her with a now softer voice.


    On the other end of the call, K was in the middle of a makeup touch-up. Half her falseshes had


    fallen off, and she was squinting as a makeup artist worked to fix them.


    “Grandma!” She greeted her back.


    "Do you remember grandma''s Peach Blossom bracelet?" Judith asked gently.


    "Of course! The one Aunt Pa always fusses over, right?" K sounded a bit muffled since she was


    reapplying her lipstick.


    Upon hearing this, Pa''s expression flickered.


    "Do you want it? I can give it to you." Judith offered with a faint smile.


    Timothy and Cheryl exchanged worried nces, silently hoping K would decline. Thest thing they


    wanted was to upset Judith over a bracelet.


    "No thanks." K responded while making a face. "Why would I want to wear jade? It''s so old-


    fashioned!"


    Vivienne, who was wearing a jade bracelet, could only smile awkwardly.


    "Then I will give it to your cousin Vivienne." Judith said, chuckling. She knew her eldest granddaughter


    was not one for ttery.


    K shrugged indifferently. "Sure, go ahead."


    Suddenly noticing Vivienne next to Judith, K leaned closer to the screen. "Wow, this cousin is so


    pretty! Much prettier than thest one. I like her at first sight. Thest one, I just wanted to p her


    face!"


    Everyone at the table exchanged awkward nces.


    "K, you need to mind your manners." Her assistant warned her.


    "Ugh, everyone always tells me what to do." K pouted.


    Laughter erupted from Judith and herpanions. Timothy and Cheryl shared a helpless look,


    knowing their daughter was notorious for herck of a filter.


    Just then, someone off-screen called for K. She leaned in to fill the screen. "My little cousin, I''ll bring


    you a gift when Ie home. What do you like? There are so many blonde, blue-eyed hunks here; do


    you want one? I can wrap a few up for you."


    Cheryl quickly ended the call, blushing slightly. "Don''t mind your cousin; she''s always been a bit...


    entric." She was relieved that Percival wasn''t present.


    Vivienne''s eyes lit up. What woman wouldn’t want more hunks around? The more, the merrier!


    ‘You wouldn’t dare!’ It was like Vivienne could hear Percival’s voice in her head.


    If he could flirt, why couldn''t she find some hunks?


    But when did Percival ever flirt with someone else?


    "Ashley, do you want this bracelet?" Judith asked, turning to Ashley.


    The bracelet was rare, and Ashley would love to have it. However, she could only suppress her


    jealousy of Vivienne and politely decline. "The bracelet suits Vivienne best."


    Judith nodded in satisfaction and turned to Pa. "Everyone is okay with me giving the bracelet to


    Vivienne. Do you have anything else to say?"


    Pa scowled at the bracelet on Vivienne''s wrist. Her appetite was gone. She threw her forks down in


    a huff, earning a stern reprimand from Judith.


    Calista, who had been quietly observing, spoke up then, offering to take Pa to a private gemstone


    auctionter in the afternoon.


    Hearing this, Pa''s mood lifted slightly, and she thanked Calista for her generosity.


    With the tension diffused, the family continued their meal, each with their thoughts preupied with the


    events of the day.


    Pa surveyed the younger generation of the Brooks family gathered around the table, and then her


    gaze finally settled on Vivienne. "I must say," she dered, "none of our kids can hold a candle to our


    little gem, Calista."


    Vivienne continued eating her meal, her face an unreadable mask.


    Calista and her mother sent smug nces her way, seemingly trying to gloat.


    She found it quietly amusing.


    What were they trying to show off to her?


    Some kind of female rivalry?


    She was not interested in the least.


    Judith, smiling and nodding in agreement, was about to add apliment or two about Calista when


    Pa''s nextment made her shut her mouth.


    Upon seeing Judith''s expression fade, M silently cursed Pa for her tactlessness.


    No matter how good someone else''s child was, who would ever enjoy hearing their own child belittled?


    "On the contrary." M quickly interjected, trying to smooth things over. "I think Ronald is doing


    fantastic. He’s a real whiz in the business world. Everyone sings his praises."


    This seemed to alleviate Judith''s mood slightly.


    Each individual had their own talents.


    Calista''s gift was in medicine, an area where the younger generation of the Brooks family couldn''t


    undoubtedly the star.


    Only someone as thoughtless as Pa would praise another''s child while stepping on her own.