âBella, tell me the truth. Have you fallen for that bastard again because of this incident?â Mila asked
worriedly.
âNo.â
Bella answered firmly. âIâm not so stupid to jump into a pile of shit. I just donât like owing him anything.â
Inexplicably, she felt a trace of paniq, but it quickly vanished.
âThatâs good, then. If you want to get back together with him, you probably wonât have any home to
come back to.â
Mila cast a chilly glance at her. âDo you want your family or do you want a scumbag? You choose.â
Bella rubbed at the goosebumps that had risen all over her arms in fear.
âBella! Mila!â
Right then, Sasha knocked on the door and strode in. âTheyâve just delivered the gowns for Celesteâs
birthday party. Hurry up and come take a look! Iâm not too good at fashion. After all, I even wore pants
to my wedding.â
âSure, sure! Weâll head over right away!â
Bella hurriedly dragged Mila off to look for Celeste, afraid she would ask further questions.
The three women arrived at Celesteâs room, only to find a wheeled rack crammed full of gorgeous
evening gowns.
Every single one was limited edition and fresh off Paris Fashion Weekâs runway. They were so
dazzling!
There were also rows upon rows of custom-made high heels on the floor. A few of them were topped
with sparkling diamonds, making them look extravagant.
If she had been any other woman, she would be shrieking in delight by now. One could buy a house
just by scraping off a few of the diamonds and selling them.
But Celeste, clad in a plain and ordinary light purple sweater, sat on the sofa at a loss.
âWhatâs wrong, Aunt Celeste? Your birthday is coming soon. Wh arenât you happy?â Bella sat beside
Celeste and put an arm arou in a bossy manner.
âBella, can you ask your dad nicely to call off the party?â
Celeste sighed helplessly. âIâve been going back and forth on this with him for half a month now. I said it
was fine to just have everyone gather at home. Iâm not used to eating outside food anyway, and itâll be
so tiring and expensive to entertain so many guests. But Wyatt wonât listen, so what should I do?â
âWow! Celeste, youâre showing off, arenât you?â Sasha teased.
âIf we didnât know you, weâd probably assume you were trying to subtly show off and make us jealous.â
Mila put an arm around Sashaâs slim waist and joined in on the teasing.
Bellaâs eyelashes trembled slightly, feeling uncomfortable.
When she was young, out of consideration for her feelings, Celeste made herself invisible at home
after getting together with her father. She only saw her bustling around in the dining hall during
mealtimes.
At the time, Bella could not remember much but knew Celeste was her motherâs love rival, so even at a
young age, she was very protective of her mother and clashed with Celeste often. She often caused
huge uproars at home and even said a lot of terrible things about Celeste to her face.
Bella always thought that Celeste had too little self-respect. How could she shamelessly cling to Wyatt,
despite knowing he had a family and more than one woman by his side?
It was not until later that she learned the whole story from Asher and Axel after she grew up.
Back then, Bellaâs mother had contracted lupus, and Celeste had donated bone marrow to her without
hesitation.
That was two decades ago, when medical technology was not as developed as it is now. Donating
oneâs bone marrow was not completely risk-free, and Celeste had gotten long-term after-effects from it.
From time to time, she would feel unbearable pain.