Chapter 9

William's face fell. He tapped his fingers heavily on the table. All these years, he'd seen how serious Laurelle had been about Maverick. After so many difficulties, she'd finally gotten engaged to him. Could she bear to call off the engagement? "Is it because of your older sister? Bibi and Maverick have only gotten closer recently because of work. Is that really worth getting jealous over?" Leona echoed his thoughts, saying, "Don't you know what Bibi is like? Ever since you were young, she has always given in to you. Why would she steal Maverick from you?" Laurelle looked at her parents and then glanced at Bianca. What a joke. William and Leona were still standing on Bianca's side and arguing on her behalf. Bianca didn't even need to say a word. But Laurelle was their biological child, not Bianca. She was the one related to them by blood. The corners of Laurelle's lips curled into a smirk. "I'm not joking, and I certainly am not jealous either. From today on, Maverick and I are over. I'm calling off the engagement." Maverick tugged at his necktie impatiently. In a grim voice, he questioned, "Laurelle, what are you going on about now?" Laurelle burst out laughing. "What am I going on about? Maverick, did you think that I'm inferior to you just because I loved you? Do you see me as a sinner? Can't you see that I'm in pain and feeling terrible? You think I'm just making a fuss? "Truth be told, there's something I've been wanting to ask you. You abandoned your fiancée to protect another woman. Have you ever considered that doing so would make me feel upset? "Also, how could you just give me up to someone else just like that?" Laurelle was overwhelmed with disappointment when she thought about what Maverick had said to his friends earlier in the poker room. Maverick was taken aback, but he had a moment of realization right after. So, it turned out that Laurelle was suddenly acting like this because she'd overheard him. She was mad at him. He sneered. "It's just a joke between friends. Can't you take a joke?" Upon noticing that something was amiss, Bianca chimed in, "Laurelle, why do you have to do this? Your waywardness is just going to put Mom and Dad in a difficult position. "If you cancel your engagement out of nowhere, outsiders are going to see our family as a joke." "This family is a joke in itself. I've never seen any adopted daughter trampling on a family's biological daughter to this extent. Things have already turned out this way. Why are you people still afraid of being seen as a joke?" William blew his top. He landed a slap right on Laurelle's cheek. His chest heaved as he glared at her through bloodshot eyes. "You're being ridiculous!" Laurelle's head had swung to the side from the force of his slap. Her head had already been feeling heavy after her fall from the stairs. The slap made her see stars. Feeling the burning sensation on her cheek, she forced herself to hold back the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Through gritted teeth, William hissed, "Do you think that anyone else would still want you after you call off this engagement? Who would dare to risk everything by getting on the Grays' bad side to marry you? "Plus, you were once incarcerated. It's a shameful thing in the first place. Tomorrow, everyone in the upper-class society will find out. You have really put our family to shame!" "You're right, I was once incarcerated, but I was framed. You people just turned a blind eye to it because Bianca was the one who framed me!" Laurelle was extremely disappointed in her family. She had nothing else to say to them. Hence, she turned around and stormed out. It had started pouring outside. One of the household staff members at the door couldn't bear to see Laurelle like that, so she handed an umbrella to the latter in silence. Laurelle didn't accept the household staff member's gesture. She turned and walked right into the rain. She'd seen the true colors of her so-called family and fiancé. She allowed the rain to beat down on her. Despite that, she had this feeling of liberation that she'd never felt before. At this moment, she felt like she'd emerged from her cocoon and transformed into a butterfly. She'd gotten a new life. Perhaps due to the darkness of the night, Laurelle didn't notice a black vehicle parked by the side of the road a short distance away. A man in a white shirt sat in the car with a lit cigarette between his lips. He let the cigarette burn until the end before he puffed out a cloud of white smoke. Not long after, a man, who looked like an assistant, approached him from outside. Silence befell that narrow space. The assistant, Owen Patterson, whispered a few words to the man. Seated in the back seat, Zachariah Gray narrowed his eyes dangerously in an instant. "That was roughly what happened." Owen thought it was unbelievable as he recounted the events at the Fletcher residence earlier. He felt it had all been too dramatic. The Fletchers' biological daughter was being bullied by their adopted daughter. Yet, none of them had stood on Laurelle's side. What was wrong with that family? Was there something wrong with their heads? Owen took a glimpse at Zachariah's face. Then, he glanced toward Laurelle, who was walking farther and farther away. He asked, "Should we go after her?" Zachariah looked at his phone screen, which was turned off. Thereafter, the screen of his phone lit up, illuminating the prominent features of his face. The muscles in his jaw were tense, and a gleam flashed across his eyes. When his phone rang unexpectedly, Zachariah curled his lips upward into a slight smile. This time, he didn't miss her call. Speedily, he swiped on his screen and answered the call. Laurelle's hesitant voice came from the other end of the call. "Number 258, is that you?"