That night, the Taylor siblings left Solana City and returned to Belbanks.
The cities werenât that far from each other. It only took the siblings less than two hours to reach.
Belbanks via the highway.
Solana City was the countryâs economic center. It was rich in resources.
It was a great place for businesses to expand and develop, so countless companies competed for a spot there.
However, Belbanks was an entirely different story. Over the past century, the Taylors were the only ones dominating the city.
The Taylor familyâs businesses gave oneâthird of the Bellbanks population their jobs. Hence, the family was known as the Ruler of Belbanks.
It could be said that Belbanks would remain a small ordinary town without the Taylorsâ influence. After all, they were the ones who brought about such a massive change in the cityâs economy.
Soon, the siblings arrived at Stellus.
âOh, Ms. Alyssa! When did you return to this city?â
Don Blackwell, the elderly groundskeeper of Stellus, welcomed the Taylor siblings happily. He was the youngest son of Winstonâs nanny. They were childhood friends who were extremely close to each other.
Don wasnât an ambitious man at all. He wasnât interested in living a life of luxury. He also chose to remain single and childâfree.
Stellus was his only priority in life, and he spent his days working on the gems. Life was very relaxing for him.
âHow have you been doing lately, Uncle Don? Do your legs still ache during rainy days? Is your asthma getting better now? I asked Sean to pass some medicine over to you some time ago. Is it effective?â
Alyssaâs eyes sparkled animatedly as she linked arms with Don affectionately.
âIâm doing well. But your return makes everything better.â Don was so delighted that he started crying happy tears.
âI came here to ask you for a favor.â
Alyssa let out a small sigh and decided to be straightforward. âA good friend of mine gave me a present, but I accidentally broke it. Iâm worried he might be sad if he finds out, so I want to make a âWhatâs the present?â
Alyssa pursed her lips before fishing a vintage accessory bag out of her bag. Then she retrieved the shards of an emerald bracelet from within.
âOh my! That emerald came from an ore of great quality. Itâs difficult to find such a great ore even if I have to crack open a thousand ores. What a shame.â Don had always been a gem enthusiast, so he couldnât help but feel heartbroken when he saw the shards.
âI know itâs hard to get such a greatâquality ore, but Iâd still like to try. How many uncracked ores do you have left?â Alyssa asked.
âAbout 500, give or take.â
âI want all of them opened tonight.â
âAhemâ Don choked on his spit at that moment.
Jonah let out a light cough out of embarrassment. Meanwhile, Silas was already reaching for his phone. He was ready to call Winston for help.
Alyssa had the tendency to say the most shocking things in such a light and airy tone.
âNo way! Youâre going to exhaust my supply!â Don sounded very anxious. At the same time, he thought that Alyssa resembled Winston a lot when it came to spending money.
âYouâre being dramatic, Uncle Don. You can keep the gems for yourself. Itâs not like you have to sell them, right? After all, Iâve already requested that the ores be cracked open. You can put the total price on-
An idea popped into Alyssaâs mind at that moment. She remembered Axel defying her sometime ago, so she wanted to punish him. Hence, she was quick to drag him into this mess.
âAnyway, you can put it on Axelâs tab. Tell him that I ordered it and have him cough up twice the original amount. Heâs extremely rich anyway, so itâll be fine.â
Don clutched his chest with a pained look on his face. He proceeded to collapse after that.
Jonah and Silas moved immediately and caught the elderly man just in time.
The Taylor family owned four beautiful gardens in Belbanks. Their names were Lunarus, Culombus, Fogustus, and Stellus.
Stellus was known for its natural and untainted beauty, which could inspire the masses. Herman Fowler, an expert in hardstone carving, had set his sights on it.
However, Winston soon bought it with a billion dollars. Herman was so furious that he almost disowned his student, Don, on the spot for being best friends with Winston.
It was Hermanâs 60th birthday half a month later. Winston gave Stellus to him as a grand birthday gift.
That act was able to get rid of the misunderstanding between them. It turned out that Winston had bought Stellus with the intention of giving it to Herman as his birthday gift.
The whole thing was meant to be a surprise, after all.
After that, Herman passed away. As his only student, Don inherited Stellus and started managing it since then.
Alyssa followed Don to the workshop to start cracking the ores open. Meanwhile, the Taylor brothers sat in a pavilion while drinking black tea.
âLyse is too nice to the Becketts. Iâm starting to get jealous of them.â Silas scowled in displeasure.
âMr. Beckett Senior is a distinguished and renowned elder, not to mention he likes Lyse a lot. Lyse is one who repays people for their kindness. Itâs only natural for her to want to repay Mr. Beckett Senior for his good deeds. She has my support.â
Jonah took a sip from his teacup slowly while speaking in a velvety baritone.
âYou support her, hmm? I refuse to believe youâd still support Lyse if she were to start dating Jast again!â
âNo one can change Lyseâs mind, you know. Thatâs how she is. The more we object to her decision, the more she wants to date Jasper.â Jonah heaved a light sigh.
âDamn it! Our sister is a revered and distinguished beauty. She even rejects the pursuits of the prime ministerâs son from the neighboring country! How could she dedicate her love to a bastard son who recently got acknowledged by his own family?â
Silas huffed coldly. âThen again, this is a good thing. Jasper is the biggest jerk out of the bastard colony, after all. Lyse wonât be fooled by the other bastardsâ tricks and ploys if she ever meets them in the future.â
Jonahâs phone started buzzing on the table at that moment.