?<strong>Chapter 673:</strong>


    The crowd, quick to pick up on Reece’s protective stance towards Carrie, tactfully shifted the conversation and dispersed.


    Carrie chatted with everyone for a few moments, then found an excuse to sit down on a nearby sofa.


    After the emotional toll of the evening and confronting several individuals, she felt drained and chose to sit in solitude until dinner.


    Kristopher, having lingered nearby, approached her and said sarcastically, “You’re overly generous to that woman. She nearly left you incapacitated. If you’d demanded ten million, I bet the Websters would’veplied. It seems Kyson has taken a liking to you as well.”


    Carrie, slightly raising her eyelids, responded calmly, “Is being sarcastic a way to mask your jealousy? We’re no longer together; my preferences are none of your concern, correct?”


    She didn’t pause for his reaction, adding, “And as forpensation, it’s you who should be settling the bill, not the Websters.”


    Kristopher’sugh was tinged with frustration. “Why should I be the one to pay? Carrie, are you targeting me because you think I’m an easy mark?”


    Carrie nced down, brushed imaginary lint from her garment, and exined casually, “You ignited this chaos; Marina was merely a tool used by others in your game.”


    Kristopher leaned back, exhaustion and frustration etched across his face. His voice carried a tinge of weariness as he addressed Carrie. “I admit the past incidents were my fault, but you can’t hold me ountable for every woman who dislikes you because of Lise.”


    Carrie’s expression remained impassive, but her words were sharp. “If there weren’t an endless parade of women around you, I wouldn’t bother holding you responsible.” She crossed her legs, sinking into the sofa.


    Kristopher’s jealousy red, though he tried to mask it with nonchnce. “The men around you are far worse than me when ites to flirting. They don’t settle for just one woman.”


    Carrie arched a brow, her legs crossed as she sank deeper into the plush sofa. “The women around them can’tpare to yours. Even Marina’s so-called attack was child’s y. Locking me in a bathroom? A juvenile stunt—and one she didn’t evene up with on her own.”


    Kristopher’s jaw tightened. “It’s because the Morrison family shields her.” The conversation had circled back to the very start.


    “Fine.” Carrie’s tone was t, her patience clearly waning. “If that’s how you want to spin it, then fine.” She refused to let him get to her.


    “Let me remind you: You protected Lise over a heart transnt, risking my life. Am I not allowed to protect my future cousin-inw for my living cousin? Marina locked me in a room. Lise hired people to shoot at me.”


    Kristopher’s retort died on his lips. He had no defense.


    Carrie uncrossed her legs and stood, her movements slow but deliberate.


    As she walked past him, she paused, leaning in close enough for her words to sting like a whip. “The Campbell family bullied me when I was powerless and alone. And now? You and your mother are no better.” Her voice dropped, venomced in her whisper. “But now I have a family—a formidable one. Instead of wasting your time arguing with me, why don’t you focus on protecting your precious sister?”


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