Chapter 490
Tears slowly welled up in her eyes. Touching her cheek with her fingertips, she felt a chill.
It turns out that I still remember how to cry. I''m actually crying for him now.
Then, she heard a series of taps on the car window. The man who was supposed to be on the front
steps had now gone next to the car and knocked on the window before him.
Victoria drew a deep breath to suppress swarms of emotions roiling inside her, unbuckled the seatbelt,
and got out of the car.
“Let''s head inside to register our marriage. Today might be my father''sst day in this world, and he''s
waiting to see our marriage certificate.”
When Victoria walked past Lionel, he grabbed her.
The man before her looked haggard. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was skinner than before.
His odd behavior began two days ago after he met her father.
What exactly did they talk about that day?
“Vicky,” said Lionel. His voice was weak and hoarse. “If you''re not willing to marry me, we can end the
marriage any time after getting the certificate. I don''t want you to be angry or torment yourself with your
emotions.”
Victoria shot him an icy re after hearing that. “That won''t be necessary. We''ll maintain the marriage
because I''m not willing to lie to a man who is dying soon. If we terminate our marriage the moment
Father leaves this world, I doubt he can rest in peace. I haven''t been a good daughter to him, and I
don''t want to fail him anymore.” Her tone was t and indifferent.
Pursing his lips, Lionel was hesitant to speak.
He wanted to tell her about the blood feud between the Gezmond family and the Saunders family and
promise her that he would watch over her for the rest of his life to atone for his sin, but those words
remained at the tip of his tongue, refusing to go past his lips.
At this point, Victoria was losing her patience. After breaking free from his grip, in a cold-clipped tone,
she said, “Do you still n to get the marriage certificate? If so, cut the crap. If not, please inform me
so that I may stop wasting my time here.”
With that, she scurried to the front step.
Her words made Lionel clench his fists, which were by his side, a few times. Finally, he followed behind
her.
Lionel hoped this painful past would remain sealed in Vincent''s grave after thetter passed away.
Bailey initially wanted to get someone to find out about the deal Juliana made in exchange for the
emerald.
However, before she could reach out to her contacts in Moranta, a piece of overseas news provided
her with the answer she was looking for.
The news went: The Hoffman family''s second daughter of the first wife, Juliana Hoffman, had returned.
The family''s old patriarch had revealed multiple times to the public that she would be taking over his
position and bing the new patriarch of the Hoffman family. Today, the Hoffman family released a
statement that Ms. Juliana had engaged, and the day of the reception will be the day she inherits the
crown.
Bailey trembled all over with fury after reading through the statement she found online.
Is she out of her mind? How could she exchange her marriage for the red emerald? I can''t believe it!
She shouldn''t do that!
Artemis frowned upon noticing his wife''s face contorted with anger after exiting the bathroom.
“Didn''t I tell you not to get angry again? What happened?”
Bailey gritted her teeth, threw her phone at the end of the bed, and hollered, “Juliana, that idiot girl
married herself off for the sake of the useless emerald!”
Artemis was caught off guard by the news. He alternated his gaze between his furious wife, who was
leaning against the bedpost, and the phone at the end of the bed. He then curiously looked at the
screen.
After getting a clear look at the content of the news, he rubbed his temples in exasperation.
I knew it! The apple does not fall far from the tree. The disciple and the master are both of the same
characters. They are daring.
“Let her be. She will leave Zeke alone this way. Whenever I think about the possibility of her being my
sister-inw, my head throbs.”
How could he say that?
Bailey took the pillow next to her and flung it at him. “Get lost!”
How could he be cracking jokes when I''m so worried?
“Artemis, what should I do?”
From her tone, Artemis could tell she was pleading for help. He strode to the bed and leaned over to
hug her. “I''ll deal with it.”
Bailey wrapped her arms around his neck and pouted. “Why do you think Juliana is doing this? I don''t
believe she would use her life as a stake for the sake of that red emerald. There must be another
reason forcing her to do so.”
Artemis narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. He suggested, “The Hoffman family requires
their future patriarch to be married before allowing them to take over the position. It is possible that she
wants to be in power as soon as possible, so she gives in. You don''t have to worry about her. She
knows what to do.”
Bailey sighed. “I don''t know if letting her return to her family is the right thing to do. That girl is in a hurry
to gain power. I fear that she might go down the wrong path.”
“She has to go through this to learn never to give up when frustrated. Her efforts and hard work must
be ten times or a hundred times harder than others if she wishes to rise to the top of the world. You
can''t do anything about it.”
Bailey shook her head. Helplessly, she said, “You''re right. I called Julie just now, but she didn''t answer
it. I guess she fears that I might confront her about her decision. Anyway, if she dared to do so, she
must have thought of a way to deal with it.”
“That''s right. So, there''s no need to worry about her. I will have someone monitor the Hoffman family
closely. If anything happens, I will let you know immediately.”
“Okay. Please do so.”
Back in the study of the Shurmer residence, Zeke furrowed his brows deeply after reading the news
online.
That girl had only returned to the Hoffman family not long ago. Why would she be engaged so soon?
Did she do so by choice?
When his train of thoughts ended here, he suddenly chuckled self-depreciatingly.
Zeke, what are you thinking about? You wanted her gone then. But now you couldn''t stop thinking
about her? Is it possible that she is my demon?
He couldn''t help having shbacks of Juliana pestering him as waves of inexplicable emotions swirled
inside him and assaulted his heart.
His life became boring without Juliana around.
Then, his phone on the table pinged. He took it and saw the notification of an iing message.
The paternity test result is sent to your email.
Zeke''s mind went nk for a moment. When he finally remembered what it was, he quickly fired up his
After a brief pause in silence, he reached out, opened the email, and scanned the content of the report
swiftly.
Soon, he finished reading it.
When he saw the result at the bottom of the report, his expression becameplicated.
This is...
Then, the door creaked open from the outside, and in walked Zoey.
Zeke instinctively shut hisputer and lifted his head to look at her. “What''s wrong? Why are you still
up at this hour?” he asked casually.
Zoey stood by the door, toying with her dress with both her index fingers uneasily, and haltingly
requested, “Z-Zeke, I have a favor to ask.”
Zeke turned his gaze away from her and responded tly, “Tell me. If it''s something I can help with, I
will do my best.”
His tone made Zoey clench her fist tightly so she wouldn''t lose control of her emotions.
Zeke treated her differently than before now. He was cold to her. She knew that that incident had
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nted suspicion in their hearts, and they would stop treating her like a family.
“I-I want to be one of the Ten Acimed Socialites again.”