Chapter 4

Everyone knew that Jay had, at one point, been invited to the royal palace at Scoythe as a guest and was even close friends with the princess of Scoythe. So naturally, he would have seen the royal badge before. Even if Zora did manage to get her hands on a fake, Jay would surely be able to tell the difference! Zora snickered at this. "Do you think I'll show you such a valuable item just because you asked for it?" What she was implying was that she did not see the need to prove herself to Winona. Winona was furious to hear this, but she still plastered a smile on her face and said, "You're just too chicken to show it to us, aren't you? "Do you see this, Jay? She's just trying to fool all of us. She knows you're close with the royal family and can spot a fake badge from far away, so she doesn't dare to show you hers lest she expose herself." She was an entirely different person in front of Jay versus everyone else. Jay curled his lips into a smirk. "You're right. I was the one who funded the hundred and forty million dollars, and I was also the one who decided to headhunt you from Lux Jewels. If you can prove that you are indeed Zora the jewelry designer, I will let this go, but if you cannot… " He lowered himself so that he was just inches away from Zora and enunciated, "I will personally see to it that you don't last a single day here in Ethertown." The familiar scent of his perfume made Zora freeze. It was the same Gucci cologne that she smelt on the man that night six years ago! Seeing that Zora's face had turned pale, he straightened up and said matter-of-factly, "Since you have no way of proving yourself, please leave before I call security." Winona sneered. 'Zora, Zora. After six years, you still have yet to learn your lesson,' she thought to herself. To her surprise, Zora smiled. "Are you sure you will do so, Sir?" Jay stared straight at her but did not reply. "If I can prove that I'm indeed Zora the jewelry designer, what are you going to do about Ms. Jacobs slapping me just now?" The color drained from Winona's face. She glanced surreptitiously at Jay, waiting for his response. Although she and Jay were together now, Jay had never once tried to be intimate with her throughout these six years. If it were not for the fact that she had left no trace of what she had done six years ago and that she had used her identification when she booked that hotel room, he would certainly have doubted her identity by now. "Jay…" "She will apologize to you," Jay said finally. Zora froze in the middle of rummaging her purse and lifted her head to meet his gaze. "She slapped me and all I get is an apology?" A scowl crossed his face. "What do you want, then?" Zora met his gaze head-on. "An eye for an eye. It's only fair that I get to slap her back for what she's done." No one dared to say a word. Some of them even began to wonder what was going on. The fact that this woman was so adamant meant that she was telling the truth. Jay pursed his lips in disapproval at her arrogance. This was his first time encountering a woman who dared to talk back to him like this. A split second later, he finally replied, "Don't overstep it." "Well, if that's the case, you'd better find a new designer." Zora placed the royal badge in front of him. "Since you've seen the royal badge before, why don't you take a good look at this and see whether it's real or fake?" With that, she whipped the royal badge out from right underneath him, shoved it back into her purse, and strutted away. Winona gritted her teeth and lowered her head so that no one would catch sight of her anger. How could that be? How was it possible that that bitch would become a world-famous jewelry designer? Jay was the one who had headhunted Zora from Lux Jewels in hopes that she would be able to help save the tanking company. Zora had kept negotiating her salary with Vienna Jewels, and if it were not for Jay stepping in, Winona could never have afforded to pay such a price. Who would have thought Zora the designer would turn out to be none other than her half-sister, Zora? She had embarrassed Jay in front of everyone! "Jay, I…" Winona reached out to grab hold of his arm, but he whipped his arm out of reach and turned to glower at her. "Take care of this yourself." With that, he strode away without another glance. Jay walked out of the building. A bodyguard waiting next to a Rolls-Royce opened the door for him to get in. The moment he got into his seat, he barked to the man in the front passenger seat, "I want a copy of all the information there is to know about Zora the fashion designer within two days." Meanwhile, at Baywatch Villa, Nina, Bobby, and Casper were staring intently at a computer screen. Their noses turned up in disgust at the photo of the woman on the screen. "Ew! Winona Jacobs looks despicable!" "She's hideous," Nina said as she clutched her doll close to her. Bobby turned to his brother and sister. "This woman framed Mommy and caused her to become an outcast. We have to get our revenge on her." Nina propped her chin on her tiny hands and asked, "How are we going to do that?" They had to find a way to do so without alerting their mother to what they were up to. Bobby contemplated this for a moment, then finally snapped his fingers in an Eureka moment. "Didn't Aunt Tonya say she's hit the jackpot by finding a rich husband? Well, why don't we start with that husband of hers?" "What's that man's name again?" Nina scrunched her brows in deep thought. "Jay Sullivan!" Casper chirped as he typed the name into the search bar. Soon, a whole page of information popped up. However, the moment Casper clicked on the first link, all three of them fell silent as the man's face appeared. "Why does he…look so similar to us?" Bobby stared at the photo in disbelief. Their mother had never once told them anything about who their Daddy was, so could this man… be their real father? A mischievous glint flashed through Casper's eyes as he exclaimed, "If this man is truly our Daddy, things will become much more interesting soon." "How are we even going to approach him?" Bobby wondered aloud. "Don't worry, guys. I know how to go about this! Didn't you see that one of TG Group's children's fashionwear brands is recruiting a child model? I'm sure I'll be able to ace the interview and get in!" Nina declared, thumping her chest confidently. She had always been the one with the most creative ideas out of the bunch. "My dears, Mommy's home!" The three children closed the browser tab the moment they heard Zora's voice. "Mommy! Our queen! You're finally home!" they pounced onto her the moment she strode through the door. Zora kneeled down, smiling at the sight of her three children waiting for her at home. "Did any of you trouble your Aunt Tonya?" "Do you honestly think we'd do that, Mommy?" Casper asked, cocking his head innocently. Nine nodded. "That's right, we'd never trouble our Aunt Tonya. She loves us so much she even bought each of us a cupcake!" Zora smiled. Her children mattered more to her than anyone else in the world. Her second-born, Casper, was the most mischievous little boy with the sharpest tongue anyone had ever seen. The eldest, Bobby, was level-headed and considerate and would not stop at anything to protect his siblings. Nina was the youngest and the only girl out of the three. She was also the most creative and would always come up with the silliest ideas that frequently got the three of them into trouble. "What's wrong, Mommy? Did someone hurt you?" Bobby, who had an astute eye, could tell at first glance that something was wrong. Zora paused at this. For some reason, the man she had met alongside Winona felt strangely familiar to her. She felt like she had seen him somewhere before, and most importantly, she remembered his distinct Gucci cologne. "Are you hiding something from us, Mommy?" Zora forced out a smile, knowing that she could not hide anything from observant Bobby, and stood up. "You children shouldn't meddle in adults' business. Come on, I'll make you something to eat." She was about to go into the kitchen when her phone rang. She recognized the number and could not help smirking when she saw it. It was Winona.